Houghton coach Julie Filpus gives some late-game instructions during a time out in a game against Hancock this season at the Hancock gym. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Houghton Gremlins girls basketball coach Julie Filpus cannot remember what court she was on in the Fall of 1999 when she tallied her first varsity win. However, fast forward 26 years to a night in February which became an unforgettable one for the local coach. On Feb. 24, Filpus knotted her 500th win as the Gremlins downed the Ewen Trout-Creek Panthers, 56-51, on the Houghton hardwood.

It put the Gremlins’ leader in a top-five spot for wins in the Upper Peninsula, and certainly on the short list for notable high school coaches across the state of Michigan.

“It was great,” she said. “I got a lot of texts and well wishes from former players and parents, people I hadn’t heard from in years. I certainly could not have done this without a lot of support.”

Filpus the player first…

Filpus said her love for basketball began as a girl growing up in Baraga in the late 1980s.

“I spent a lot of hours in the driveway shooting hoops,” she said. “This was before screens and technology vied for our time.”

After graduation from Baraga High School, she played NCAA Division II basketball at Wayne State University (Detroit) from 1990-94.

“My finest moment was my junior year of college,” she recalled. “That year was the first time the women’s program had posted a non-losing season in 20 seasons. I was proud to be a part of that.”

She says that after graduation she knew she wanted to be a teacher and coach. She did just that — returning to Baraga and heading up the girls’ junior varsity team. Then it was onto Houghton, where she taught math and first coached middle school, then JV, and then finally accepted the head-coaching position for the girls at Houghton High School.

Twenty-four-year old Casana Ryynanen was a player for coach Filpus from 2017-19. Today, she is a counselor at Chassell High School and a basketball coach herself with the school’s co-op with the Dollar Bay-Tamarack City girls’ varsity team.

She credits Filpus’ love of the game as the cause of her success as a leader.

“At the root of it all is her passion for the game,” said Ryynanen. “(Julie) loves it, knows it, and is committed to it. It is hard not to hop on board with that as a player and find success in that as a coach.”

Then a coach

In more than 25 years as a coach at Houghton, Filpus has had just two losing seasons and, obviously, a lot of 20-plus win seasons. She says that continuity of the girls’ basketball program from middle school on up as a definite key to success.

She cites the work of longtime middle-school coach Jack Powell as laying the foundation for future Gremlins. They then graduate to the tutelage of Mark Nolan on the girls’ JV team before moving onto varsity with her and Wayne Henry.

“The support has been there,” stated Filpus. “It starts when the girls are young with Jack and Mark. When there is consistency and continuity in the program, that sets us up for success.”

Ryynanen recalled that, as a player, you knew where you stood with Coach Filpus.

“Coach Filpus held everyone to a high standard,” she said. “You knew from very early on that you had to be willing to work the hardest in order to be a part of her squad.

“The thing about Coach Filpus is that she wasn’t asking more out of you than she was willing to put in. She had the gym open at least an hour before school every morning and was there working out and shooting around with whoever was willing to show up.”

Powell added that at the heart of Filpus’ coaching spirit is a desire to win basketball games.

“Part of what makes a coach so successful is the fact that she has always been a fierce competitor,” he said. “If you were fortunate enough to watch Julie play back in her high school days, you know that nobody worked harder; nobody wanted to win more.

She has carried that competitive spirit with her throughout her coaching career as well. If you challenge coach Filpus to a game of Horse … be prepared to lose.”

Championship season

Not only did this season mark an historic win for Filpus, but it also marked the 20th anniversary of an unforgettable season for the Gremlins. In 2005, the Gremlins girls were state champions on the basketball court as they posted a 25-2 record.

Powell remembers the season well as he had coached many of the team members when they were with him as eighth graders.

“Every player, coach and community dreams of winning a state championship,” he said. “In 2005, Coach Filpus led a great group of players to the top of the basketball world. It was the experience of a lifetime. It was a group who were willing to work hard, play unselfishly and play big on the big stage.”

In early February 2026, many of those players came back for a reunion and were recognized at half time during Gremlins’ girls game between Hancock.

“It was great to see everybody,” Filpus said. “I am grateful to have been able to coach so many wonderful players, and it makes me proud to think of how many players have contributed to 500 wins.”