HOUGHTON — The Houghton Gremlins swim teams both last Thursday at home against the Marquette Sentinels. The boys lost to the Sentinels, 114-69, while the girls lost 113-71.

“The boys battled hard the whole way through the meet, and I was impressed with the efforts they put in,” said Gremlins coach Erik Johnson.

The boys saw Beau Haataja win the 200-yard freestyle, Collin Raasio win the 200-yard individual medley and the 500-yard freestyle.

“The kids are starting to see the fruits of all their labors, and I am excited to see how we stack up against the Soo (Sault Ste. Marie) and Rudyard on Saturday,” said Johnson. “This was the first loss for the boys this year, but they showed more fight in today’s meet then they have all year, so in my book that is a win.”

Two Gremlins earned spots in the U.P. Finals for their efforts.

“Tate Evans qualified in two new events today,” Johnson said, “and Anderson Limkemann in another event as well.”

On the girls’ side, Eveyln LaTendresse won the 200-yard individual medley.

“Marquette is a very strong team, but we didn’t back down in any of our races and made them fight for this win,” said Johnson. “Evelyn was impressive again today finishing in comeback fashion in the 200 IM and swimming best times in all her events today.”

The girls saw several swimmers accomplish qualifying for the U.P. Finals.

“Ahri Olson and Willow Jenson qualified for the first time today, so that was super exciting for both of them,” Johnson said. “Stella Soumis had another strong meet, taking second in both the 50 and 100 free, along with anchoring our 400 free relay that dropped a combined 17 seconds.”

The Gremlins are in the second half of the season at this point.

“Super proud of all these kids,” said Johnson. “(I am) excited to see what they will do with our remaining four meets before heading to finals.”