OXFORD, Ohio-The Western Kentucky University swimming and diving team continued to have a strong showing at the 19th Annual Miami (OH) Invitational, as the Lady Toppers hold fourth and the Hilltoppers at fifth after day two's totals.
The women's team holds at fourth with 634 points. Ahead of them is host Miami (OH) with 1512.5 points followed by Cincinnati with 781.5 and Emory with 765.5. Denison follows WKU with 578.5 while Wright State (289), Marshall (245) and Urbana (56) round out the field.
With 619 points, the men's team is in fifth place behind Denison's 932.5, Emory's 901.5, Cincinnati's 806.5 and Miami's 727. Wright State comes in behind WKU with 567.5 while Urbana has 165 points.
WKU took multiple top five finishes in day two's events, highlighted by sophomore Hannah Runyon-Hass' pool-record 4:14.48 finish. Runyon-Hass along with three other teammates took first-place times.
Junior Amy Halligan notched a top time in the 100 breast after touching the wall at 1:02.41. Fellow classmate Allie Duff took the best time in the 100 back at 55.28 while senior Billy Kunkel added a first-place score in the 100 breast after finishing at 54.96. Runyon-Hass, Halligan and Kunkel each posted NCAA "B" qualifying times in their respective events.
The men's 400 medley closed out the night with a best time, as the Hilltoppers came in at 3:18.66.
Each team earned a top-five time in their respective 200 free relay to open the day's events, as the men came in at 1:24.45 and the women at 1:35.18.
Along with Kunkel in the 100 breast, WKU took four of the five best times in the event. Freshman Connor Dwyer came in second at 56.48, sophomore Tyler Groneck in fourth at 56.81 while senior Jordan Vorst finished fifth at 57.09.
In the 200 fly, junior Heitor Rodrigues came in second, stopping the clock at 1:48.88 while senior Adam Dajka also took a second-place time of 1:39.28 in the 200 free. Kunkel took the second-best time in the 50 free with Rodrigues not far behind in fourth at 20.93.
Sophomore Susan Marquess also added a top five individual time, going 1:51.14 in the 200 free. The women's team closed out its portion of events with a third-place finish in the 400 medley relay after touching the wall at 3:46.63.
In the diving evaluations, senior Caitlin Dean put up 217 points in the three-meter board for a top 10 finish. Freshman Caroline Alexander finished the day with 148.50 points.
On the men's side, freshman Giorgi Meyer scored 229.05 on the one-meter while fellow classmate Brooks Price tallied 174.85.
The Miami Invite concludes on Saturday, December 1 with prelims in the morning and finals taking place in the evening session. Live scoring is available at MUredhawks.com.
