Sewickley sports notebook: Quaker Valley swimmers look ahead to MAC, WPIAL meets

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

Anna Fuener is a key member of the Quaker Valley girls swim team.

Like the majority of swimmers on the boys and girls teams at QV, Fuener is looking forward to taking a dip into some of the “faster” pools in the area in hopes of lowering event times across the board.

“MACs and WPIALs are just around the corner, and I know a lot of swimmers have been nervous for the upcoming meets,” said Fuener, a sophomore. “But I know that as long as everyone tries their best and has fun, this will one of our best seasons no matter what happens. People always end up dropping time even when they think there is no more time to drop, so I’m confident a lot of people will have some awesome personal bests as we close out the season.

“As for me, I’m hoping as we get to faster pools and as the season ends I’ll drop time from some of my personal bests from last year. This year, I’ve been mostly focused on the energy I bring to the team than the times I get myself. But I’m also I’m looking forward to MACs and WPIALs when I will get the chance to go my fastest.”

Fuener’s older brother Thomas is a senior on the QV boys swim team.

“The boys team only has seven guys on it, and sometimes they’ve had less during meets where the opposing team has double their numbers,” Fuener said. “But they always work hard and have managed to give some teams with twice the number of boys a run for their money.

“The QV girls have been dropping time left and right and also working really hard to get their MACs and (WPIAL) cuts. Coach Merci and Coach Matt have been helping us along the way, offering needed advice and insight based off their valuable experience.”

Juliano shows power

Paige Juliano, a senior at Quaker Valley who competes for the Three Rivers Rowing Association, will move on to row for Michigan State in the fall. Juliano is considered an 8-boat “power” rower.

“When you say 8-boat, there are eight girls in the boat,” she said. “Each position has a specific duty. The eighth seat is closest to the coxswain and is called the stroke seat. They basically set the pace for us based on what the coxswain tells us to set our stroke speed and are the most technically good rowers.

“The seventh seat balances out the boat and helps the eighth seat with stroke speed and is also one of the most sound technical rowers. I am usually in the fourth, fifth or sixth seats which are the powerhouse of the boat. We are the strongest rowers who will provide the most power and acceleration when rowing.”

In the back of the boat are the remaining three seats.

“The third seat is another balance rower who provides stability to the boat when rowing,” Juliano said. “The back of the boat, seats 1 and 2, are the bow pair. They have to be quick to make adjustments in their stroke to help change direction of the boat.

“And, yes, we do call them boats. Some of the international rowers at competitions (regattas) will call them shells, but we just call them boats.”

Along with the 8-boat, rowing also consists of two types of 4-boats.

“One is a quad where all four rowers have both oars when rowing (called sculling),” Juliano said. “The second is called a 4-boat where each rower only has one oar (called sweeping).

“The 8-boat is a ‘sweeping’ boat and always has a coxswain. The 4-boats don’t always have a coxswain.”

Playoff-bound

The Sewickley Academy and Quaker Valley boys basketball teams, along with the QV girls team, have clinched WPIAL playoff berths.

As of Feb. 3, Sewickley Academy stood in the top spot in Section 2-2A with a 10-0 record. The Panthers were 15-3 overall and winners of six of the last seven games.

The Quakers were 4-4 in Section 2-4A, 14-5 overall and also had won six of their past seven games.

The QV girls, riding a three-game winning streak, were 8-4 in Section 1-3A and 11-8 overall. The Quakers were tied for second with Beaver Falls in the section, four games behind Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (17-2, 12-0).

QV defeated Mohawk, 43-14, on Feb. 3 behind junior G/F Mimi Thiero’s 23 points to improve to 12-8 and 9-4 with one game remaining on its regular-season schedule.

Championships ahead

Dates and times of some of the upcoming WPIAL championships are in place.

The WPIAL basketball finals are set for Feb. 27 to March 1 at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

The diving championships are scheduled Feb. 21-22 at North Allegheny, and the swimming finals are lined up for Feb. 27-28 at Pitt’s Trees Pool.

Class 2A boys individual wrestling championships are booked for Feb. 21-22 at Chartiers Valley. Class 3A individual wrestling finals are on tap Feb. 28-March 1 at Canon-McMillan.

And the girls wrestling finals are planned for Feb. 15 at North Allegheny.

Did you know?

Dustin Shoaf, at age 23, recently was hired to coach the Southmoreland football team. He is a Yough graduate who previously served as an assistant at Jeannette for one season.

“I looked at this as an opportunity,” said Shoaf in a Trib HSSN interview. “If you’re going to be a head coach, you have to start somewhere. This is something where I can work with our guys to compete each day and learn about life.”

Tags: Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy