Houghton swimmer Evelyn LaTendresse stretches out in a butterfly stroke during a race Saturday at the Gremlin Splash held at Houghton High School. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — While the cold, snowy weather on Saturday stopped the Westwood and Ishpeming-Negaunee swim teams from showing up at the Houghton High School pool on Saturday, it had no effect on the host team. Both the Gremlins boys and girls teams won top spots at the annual Gremlin Splash.

The boys won with a score of 83.5, compared to Gladstone’s 62, and Kingsford’s 60.5.

On the girls’ side, Houghton won with 81 points. Kingsford finished with 80, and Gladstone had 45.

According to Gremlins coach Erik Johnson, it was nice to be at home and in familiar waters.

“We really had a chance to focus on things we do well in our pool every day,” he said. “Being able to do turns and finishes in the pool you practice in daily makes a big difference.”

He added that the Gremlins brought the energy.

“Both the girls and boys teams have a lot of depth, and we have been doing very well this season,” he said. “We have won most of our meets and done it as a team, not just relying on one or two people.”

Johnson loves the Splash, which has become a tradition at Houghton.

“The Gremlin Splash is always a meet I look forward to,” he said. “It is a tradition that dates back to before my time as a swimmer and is something different for the kids. They get to do events like the 200 fly and 50 breaststroke, events that we don’t typically get to swim all season long in high school.

“I know the weather wasn’t great, but the competition was on fire. It is always great to take on well coached teams like Kingsford and Gladstone.”

On the boys’ side, Evan Massaway won the 100-yard individual medley. Isaac Neva won the diving competition.

“On the boys’ side, I was very impressed with our 400 free relay,” Johnson said. “I challenged them to step and post a best time, and they improved by over 12 seconds, so that was excellent.

“Evan Massaway swam a great 100 IM, then turned around and swam a strong leg of the 400 free relay right afterwards. That is the type of grit we are always looking for. Kameron Johnson had a great meet as well, dropping best times in all his events and kicking off our 400 free relay with a lot of energy. We showed our depth and by winning the meet with just two individual wins.”

For the girls, Kayleigh Dart won the 50-yard freestyle, and the 100-yard freestyle as well. Meg Ruhonen won the diving competition.

“On the girls’ side, we did a great job pushing each other in events and taking advantage of the chances we had. Kayleigh Dart had a very impressive meet, winning both the 50 free and 100 free while posting a best time in the 100 free,” said Johnson. “She also swam some strong legs on our relays.

“As you can see from those individual wins, we did this with depth, and it was a lot of fun.”

Johnson noted that numbers have been key this season. The Houghton boys have 15 swimmers and the girls have 18.

“This year we have a lot of new swimmers, and they have been really pushing each other to get better,” he related. “Our strength is our depth, we don’t have to win a lot of races to win meets. I really like the attitude the kids bring and the effort they brought today was something we had been missing up until now.”

The coach added that he likes the work ethic of this year’s team. That was apparent on Saturday.

“Some of the hardest working kids don’t show up in the results, that is just the nature of our sport,” said Johnson. “I will say (freshman) Kayleigh Dart has been having a good season for the girls and (freshman) Kameron Johnson has stepped up for the boys. They are both young and have a lot more to learn but they approach it the right way every day, pushing themselves and pushing their teammates.”