The Sentinels swept the boys and girls team titles at the U.P. Finals at its home pool on Saturday, winning it sixth straight boys title and fourth straight girls crown.

Kingsford and Houghton came close, but Marquette’s depth and breath of its contributions proved too strong to overcome.

While Marquette did not win every event, its strength came from the entire team, with many, many swimmers contributing points.

The boys’ team saw all 19 of its top-seeded swimmers reach the podium, while the girls had 16 swimmers in top heats, with 18 actually finishing on the podium.

Marquette’s Trevor Crandell shouts with jubilation after winning the boys’ 50-yard freestyle in dominating fashion in 22.46 seconds, more than a second and a half ahead of the rest of the field at the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals in high school swimming and diving held at Marquette Senior High School on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

In the girls meet, Marquette won with 347 points, nearly 100 ahead of Kingsford’s 252 and close to 200 better than third-place Houghton’s 165. Gladstone came in fourth with 146, followed by Westwood with 145, Rudyard 102, Sault Ste. Marie 78, Ishpeming 72 and Manistique 8.

Marquette opened with a thrilling victory in the 200-yard medley relay as Olive Krueger, Maija Talvensaari, Kaytlin Roell and Logan McFarren edged Kingsford by just 0.15 of a second in 1 minute, 59.32 seconds. That MSHS quartet followed up later in the meet with another dominating performance in the 200 freestyle relay, as Sophie Hausmann joined Krueger, Roell and McFarren to post a winning time of 1:46.51.

Krueger, who is only a sophomore, continued to show why she’s one of the U.P.’s top swimmers, winning individual championships in the 100 free in 57.42 and the 500 free in 5:40.30. And she demonstrated her versatility by racing in a sprint event and defeating Kingsford’s Sierra Scott.

McFarren also had a powerful performance for Marquette, claiming the 200 free in 2:13.57. In diving that was held Friday afternoon, Hausmann continued a winning tradition for Marquette with a top score of 221.80 points.

For the boys, Marquette won by almost exactly the same margin as its girls team, just a few points shy of 100, after scoring 338 points. In this meet, Houghton was runner-up with 246 while Kingsford was a close third with 223. Gladstone was next with 116.5, then the Soo with 115, Ishpeming 66, Westwood 54.5, and Manistique and Rudyard each with 49.

The Marquette Senior High School girls swimming and diving team, including head coach Nathan McFarren at back left, display their championship trophy after the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals meet held at the Sentinels’ pool on Saturday. The MSHS girls won by nearly 100 points over runner-up Kingsford for their fourth consecutive U.P. title. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

Marquette finished off its victory by winning one of the relays, the 200 free relay, where Trevor Crandell, Chase Thomsen, Josiah Youngren and Isaiah Youngren swam the fastest time of 1:36.09.

Kingsford’s Joey Lundholm had one of the meet’s top individual performances, winning both the 200 individual medley in 2:09.74 and 100 free in 49.68 seconds, the latter a close 0.58 of a second margin over Crandell.

Crandell was one of three Sentinels swimmers and divers to win individual events. He took the 50 free in 22.46 seconds, while Isaiah Youngren won the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.20.

In diving held Friday, Marquette was unbeatable, taking the event in a sweep with Wyatt Ansell winning with 177.30 points. He took over where last year’s winner, Chase Thomsen, left off and continued a strong Sentinels showing in the event.

Marquette’s success also extended to record time improvements, with several swimmers achieving personal bests. Notable drops included Natalie Schetter shaving 21.38 seconds off her girls’ 500 free time, Anton Voigt improving by 9.07 seconds in the 200 IM and 3.88 seconds in the 100 breaststroke, and Maija Talvensaari cutting 7.29 seconds from her 500 free. Nearly every Marquette swimmer posted at least one personal or season best.

The Marquette Senior High School boys swimming and diving team, including head coach Nathan McFarren second from left, display their championship trophy after the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals meet held at the Sentinels’ pool on Saturday. The MSHS boys won by nearly 100 points over runner-up Houghton for their sixth straight U.P. title. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

Among the other area teams, the Westwood girls tasted the most success, including a pair of runner-up finishes by Maggie Harvala in diving and the Patriots’ 200 free relay of Kamryn LaVigne, Libby Ollanketo, Abby Williams and Hayden Freudenstein.

LaVigne in the 200 IM and Westwood teammate Emily Hytinen in diving each finished third.

From I-N, Emma Arbelius finished in fourth place in girls’ diving, while the boys’ 200 medley relay team was fifth, consisting of Trent Emard, Caden Steede, Miles Spaulding and Lukas Barron.

With another title campaign in the books, Marquette’s program continues to set the standard for U.P. swimming. The season will officially close with a team and family banquet on Feb. 25 at Bethel Baptist Church.

Caden Sierra can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 551. His email address is csierra@nmu.edu.