Marquette Senior High School, along with Superiorland Kiwanis, are proud to announce that Callie Tonella (dance team) and Dasan Smith (wrestling) have been named as the Student-Athletes of the Month for January 2024.
Callie Tonella is a member of the graduating Class of 2024 and is currently participating as a member of the MSHS Dance Team.
Throughout her time at MSHS, Callie has not only demonstrated the student-athlete experience as a multi-sport athlete with high academic achievement, but she has also been a servant leader for her peers in extracurricular organizations.
Callie is one of four seniors on this year’s Dance Team that, aside from regularly performing at home events and hosting biannual “Not Just A Halftime Show” events to bring together the dance community within Marquette, had the unique opportunity to travel to Tampa, Florida over the holiday break to take part in the Just For Kix Reliaquest Bowl Performance Tour. As part of the tour, the team represented MSHS by performing in both pregame and halftime shows at the Reliaquest Bowl held at Raymond James Stadium. As a multi-sport student-athlete at MSHS, Callie has also been a three-year member of the MSHS Girls Soccer program.
Outside of athletics, Callie has been a prominent voice among her peers within the MSHS student body by serving as Student Representative to the MAPS Board of Education and Ombudsman for the Student Council. In both roles, Callie has effectively represented the voices of her constituents during the MSHS nickname selection and rebranding processes.
Callie’s dedication extends to the classroom as well, where she holds a 3.68 cumulative GPA and is a member of both the National Honor Society and MSHS Honor Roll. After graduating from MSHS this spring, Callie will be …
Dasan Smith is of senior class standing and is currently competing in his second season of the MSHS Wrestling program.
After Dasan’s junior year on the mat saw him advance to Ford Field as an MHSAA State Finals qualifier as a result of finishing second at the MHSAA Regional meet and third at the MHSAA District meet, he is once again turning in podium finishes at events in the 2023-24 campaign.
After finishing with a perfect 4-0 record at the Westwood Super Dual on 12/9/23, he went on to finish third at the New Lothrop Hall of Fame Tournament (1/6/24) and second at the U.P. Championships (1/20/24). In addition to his individual results, Dasan has been instrumental in leading the team and his peers which paid off when the group captured the team title at the Marquette County Meet on 1/11/24.
In addition to wrestling, Dasan has been a two-year Varsity Football standout and ended his prep career as one of the most decorated players in school history after being selected MHSFCA All-State First Team (2023), AP All-State First Team (2023), MHSFCA All-Region First Team (2023, 2022), U.P. “Lineman of the Year” (2023, 2022), U.P. “Dream Team” (2023, 2022) and All-Conference First Team (2023, 2022). He capped his high school career in December when he participated in the 2023 Blue-Grey All-American Bowl held at AT&T Stadium.
Dasan’s desire to succeed athletically this year has been matched by his effort in the classroom where he turned in a 3.11 GPA for the first semester to earn him a place on the MSHS Honor Roll. Outside of school, Dasan plays an active role in promoting Native American culture as a member of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. In December 2023, Dasan finalized his post-graduation plans when he signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to attend Central Michigan University and compete as a member of the Chippewas football team.
Bella began dance at the age of three and entered competitive dance at eleven years old attending Studio Dance Arts. At age thirteen, Bella was invited to a summer intensive camp at the Elite Interlochen Center for the Arts selection program where she was chosen to join an intensive camp for ballet study. Her experience includes both solo and group performances in Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop, Pom, Kick, Modern and Lyrical. She has also choreographed many routines over the years and assisted at Studio Dance Arts with young beginning dancers. Bella’s highest solo achievement was placing second overall against 57 competitors at the Rainbow Dance Competition.
David is a four-year member of the boys basketball program at MSHS and two-year member of the varsity team. After playing an unsung hero role on last year’s district championship and regional finalist team, David was a leader within this year’s squad and helped guide the team to another winning season. At season’s end, David was named to the All-U.P. Second Team and All-Great Northern Conference First Team.
