Quaker Valley senior headed to Michigan State after getting out of the pool and into a boat

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, February 9, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Quaker Valley senior Paige Juliano apparently is a fast learner.

After jumping into the sport of rowing for just one year, Juliano, who has a 4.22 GPA, has landed a spot on the Michigan State women’s rowing team.

“Funny story about rowing,” she said. “I have been a year-round swimmer since age 7. I was competing at a national level and was looking for something to help me cross-train over the summer. I started with a rowing club per a recommendation from one of my swim friends (Maddie Shatzer). The rest is history.

“I was fortunate enough to swim at many out-of-state meets. The swim world gets very small when you are qualifying for those types of meets, so you make friends with people from all over the country. One of my good friends from Maryland, Maddie, was one of those fast friends. We would keep up with each other on social media and see each other at many of these big meets.”

Not only did a new alliance develop, but so did a new path.

“Maddie and a few of the other girls we hung with at these out-of-state meets were starting to get burned out from swimming,” Juliano said. “We were all talking about the burnout being a real thing, and Maddie suggested to try rowing to cross-train to just give yourself a break from the constant grind of swim. She and a few others from other teams had started to try it. Some loved it. Some, not so much. But she is the one who sparked my curiosity.

“The rowing program at Michigan State is a strong program with a tight-knit group of girls. They are competitive, always ready to put the work in and incredibly supportive of each other during the good and hard times. It is what really attracted me to the program. And watching the coaches give unwavering support demonstrates positive leadership from the top down.”

Michigan State is a member of the Big Ten and is coached by Stacey Rippetoe, who served as head coach at Boston University from 2008-17.

“It was an incredibly hard decision to leave swimming, a sport in which I had tremendous success, and jump into the unknown of rowing,” Juliano said. “It has been an amazing transition. I am so thankful for my rowing coaches and teammates who showed me the way and guided me to the unbelievable success I have already achieved in rowing.

“I am grateful for everyone that has touched my life along the way. And I just want to add how thankful I am for the opportunity I have been given by Michigan State.”

Juliano plans to major in communications with sports media and marketing in college.

“I did many official visits at schools like Alabama, Rutgers, Oklahoma, among others,” Juliano said. “Every visit, college and team had good aspects.

“But there was something special about Michigan State that made it stand out. The coaches and team were incredibly warm and accepting. The campus was beautiful, and the opportunities I will have for my major were second to none. I signed and committed with Michigan State in November 2024, but my ‘official’ signing day with Quaker Valley was in January 2025.”

The 5-foot-7 Juliano enjoyed a productive swim career as a WPIAL and PIAA multiple medalist and swam a leg on the QV girls’ record-setting 200-yard freestyle relay team.

“I was a competitive swimmer until the end of my junior year,” she said. “I competed on a national level until my swim career ended. I now am a full-time rower.”

Juliano is a member of the Three Rivers Rowing Club in Pittsburgh. Her team is coached by Matt Grau.

“Paige is relatively new to rowing, so she has an undetermined ceiling as a rower,” Grau said. “She has a strong athletic background and a well-developed work ethic, and those have benefited her transition to rowing significantly.

“Paige has had an accelerated learning curve, and her ability to pick up on both the major and minor parts of the sport has been impressive.”

Grau is a Level 3 USRowing certified rowing coach who has been in charge of youth rowing at Three Rivers since 2017. Before arriving in Pittsburgh, he was named Washington Post All-Met Coach of the Year while teaching and coaching at Wilson High School.

Grau also has a number of roles within the USRowing U-19 system. He is thrilled with Juliano’s college selection.

“I am very excited for Paige to join the Michigan State program,” Grau said. “The Big Ten has a strong rowing history, and Paige will be met with a significant amount of coaching knowledge and athlete-support resources once she joins the MSU team. I am very excited to continue to watch her rowing career grow.

“I think Paige’s freshman year will be marked by a similar trajectory that she has displayed this year. Her work ethic and focus on team culture will be beneficial to Michigan State.”

Juliano’s rowing position in an 8-boat is mainly the fourth, fifth or sixth seat. In a 4-boat, she’s usually in the second seat.

“What drew me to rowing was the team aspect of the sport,” Juliano said. “My entire life, I have been a swimmer. This is mainly an individual sport with the exception of a few relays.

“When you’re rowing, everyone has to show up, be present and give it everything they have. You are on the water communicating with each other in the midst of an intense race. There is nothing like that feeling of your team crossing the finish line first because you all made it happen together.”

It is not unusual for swimmers to switch to competitive rowing. Among the sports’ requirements, rowers must be able to tread water for five minutes and swim at least 50 meters (and complete a swim test) before they are permitted to go on the water to row.

“There are a lot of rowers that came from a very extensive swimming background,” Juliano said. “Many of my rowing teammates from Pittsburgh and even girls in my recruiting class at Michigan State were elite-level swimmers who transitioned to rowing in high school.

“Girls who come from a swimming, ice hockey, cross country or Nordic skiing backgrounds tend to make the most successful and fastest transitions to a successful rowing career.”

Juliano last swam for the QV girls team as a sophomore in 2022-23.

“My junior year, I was doing too many out-of-state meets with my swim club team (PEAQ) and would not have been able to devote myself to high school practices and meets on top of club practices and the out-of-state meets.

“Also, at the beginning of my junior year, right before the high school season would have started, my father passed away from brain cancer. Balancing the grief I felt from the loss of my dad — who was my biggest cheerleader in swim — my academics, and two very rigorous swim seasons simultaneously, something had to give.”

As Juliano quickly discovered, rowing is a year-round adventure that requires extensive training.

“Our fall season consists of 5K and 6K races, which are endurance sprints. This season is from August to November,” she said. “Our spring season is our main season. Our sprint season, which runs from March through June, this consists of 2K sprint races, and these take place all over the country.

“During the winter, from December to the end of February, we are doing heavy conditioning. This consists of miles and miles on an ERG (rowing machine), rowing indoors in a row tank (actual water with moving seats and paddling with the oars), biking, running and weightlifting. The summer is the time when we do a lot of technique work on the water while still racing shorter sprints.”

Juliano’s younger brother Jayden also is an up-and-coming athlete at QV. He has been running track since seventh grade and advanced to states in track as a freshman and sophomore.

Oh yes, he also swam for the Quakers for one year before jumping into indoor track.

Tags: Quaker Valley