MARQUETTE — The Houghton Gremlins swim teams had a strong showing Saturday at the U.P. Finals in Marquette to close out their season with pride. The boys finished fourth overall, but the girls finished second to only the Marquette Sentinels.

“The girls absolutely crushed it today,” said Gremlins coach Erik Johnson. “I can’t say enough about how hard they worked this year. To finish runner-up to Marquette, from where we started, is something that I couldn’t have seen coming. It all comes back to the girls and the work they put in, their willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team, and their ability to come together as a group.”

In the U.P. Finals, the top six finishers earn podium spots. The girls had a number of podium finishes.

Aya Keteri earned the top spot in the 500-yard freestyle. She also nabbed third in the 200-yard freestyle.

“Aya Keteri swam a great meet, taking third in the 200 free, and winning the 500 free,” Erik said. “She also helped both our free relays finish second, which was a huge part of our success.”

Evelyn LaTendresse finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly, and fifth place in the 100-yard freestyle.

Kayleigh Dart placed third in the 100-yard freestyle.

Meg Ruohonen and Naomi Frahm earned fourth and sixth in diving, respectively.

Lydia Williams placed fourth in the 50-yard freestyle, and she took sixth in the 100-yard freestyle.

Ahri Olson took sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke.

“Our divers did outstanding, getting us some key points and then we had lifetime best swims all over the map,” said Erik. “Aya, Lydia, Evelyn and Kayleigh teamed up to crush our previous relay times. I am excited for the future of this team, because we get them all back next year.

“Hard to say enough about all these kids because words can’t describe how proud I am of all of them. We don’t do it in a flashy way, by winning a lot of events, but we do it together as a team by pushing each other every single day to be better.”

On the boy’s side, Isaac Neva had the highest finish of anyone on the Houghton squad with a fourth-place finish in diving.

Tate Evans earned a fifth place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke.

William Jiang took sixth place in the 200-yard individual medley. He also finished sixth in the 100-yard backstroke.

Evan Massaway also took sixth in the 100-yard butterfly. Kameron Johnson took sixth in the 500-yard freestyle. Anderson Limkemann finished sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke.

“The boys had a great meet,” Erik said. “We have a lot of young guys, and we got some great leadership from our senior boys Anderson and Evan.

“This team has always been about what is best for the team, and many kids put the team before themselves to help us finish fourth overall.

Erik Johnson continued to beam proudly of how hard the boys fought for every point. He also pointed out a swim that didn’t make the podium, but was Luke Meyer’s best time of the year.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of guys,” he said. “Isaac had a solid meet, finishing fourth in diving and seventh in the 50 free. We had a lot of really great swims that don’t show up in the results unless you are a coach, like Luke Meyer dropping 16 seconds in the 500 free.

“We will definitely miss our seniors next year, but I am excited about this young core of guys we have and what they can do in the future.”