MARQUETTE – Marquette Senior High School captured its first state figure skating title since 2009 at the Laura Maki High School Figure Skating Championship held in the Detroit suburb of Novi on March 5 and 6.

Members of the Redettes team estimated there were 45 teams competing, with only one other from the Upper Peninsula – Escanaba – after qualifying took place several weeks earlier.

Though not a Michigan High School Athletic Association-sanctioned sport, the team is a self-funded school team like several others at MSHS.

The team attended three previous meets during the season, and all 12 team members also competed with the Marquette Figure Skating Club.

The team was escorted when they arrived back home during the overnight hours early last Monday by Marquette and Chocolay Township fire departments along with Marquette city police, according to team spokeswoman Brenda Helgren.

At the finals meet, the team accumulated 181 points, well ahead of the 132 for runner-up Lakes Area from the Pontiac suburb of Waterford.

One team member is from Negaunee, Hailey Mankee; two are home-schooled and live in the Marquette area, sisters Sydney and Janel Voss; with the rest students at MSHS.

The team did so well in individual competition on Saturday that they were informed they had clinched the state title before team competition on Sunday.

“I think it really affected their performances in the team,” Helgren said about participants getting overwhelmed emotionally.

Nevertheless, senior Nora Gaffney, sophomore Emily Helgren and freshman Jasmine Burke won individual state championships during the Redettes’ dominating first-day performance.

Gaffney won in the Preliminary Bronze Dance finals, Helgren in the Preliminary Free Skate finals and Burke in the Pre Juvenile Artistic final.

Five teammates also medaled by picking up second or third places in the finals of other disciplines.

The Voss sisters each won second-place silver medals in their respective finals after winning qualifying group competition.

Sydney Voss, a senior, pulled off the feat in Pre Preliminary Artistic, while Janel Voss did the same in Pre Preliminary Free Skate.

Sophomore Emily Johnson also won silver in Pre Bronze Dance.

Third-place bronze medalists were Mankee in the Beginner Free Skate final and Sydney Rehmann in the Bronze Dance finale.

Rehmann just missed another medal in Preliminary Artistic, where she finished fourth in the finals after winning her group.

In team competition, Marquette just missed medaling after finishing fourth in B Team moves. The C Team did best in moves, coming in eighth.

Here are Marquette’s other top placers at the finals:

Gaffney – Preliminary Free Skate: group qualifying, 7th place

Sydney Voss – Pre Preliminary Free Skate: group, 3rd; final, 5th

Helgren – Preliminary Artistic: group, 4th

Gabi Mackey – Pre Preliminary Artistic: group, 4th; Pre Preliminary Free Skate: group, 5th

Johnson – Preliminary Free Skate: group, 4th

Faith Perala – Juvenile Free Skate: group, 3rd; final, 6th; Juvenile Artistic: group, 5th

Clare Belkowski – Pre Juvenile Artistic: group, 4th; Pre Juvenile Free Skate, group, 5th

Burke – Pre Juvenile Free Skate: group, 4th

Janel Voss – Pre Preliminary Artistic: group, 5th

Grace Charmley – Beginner Free Skate: final, 8th

Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.