Thiriot rows from Skyline to Harvard

From the Wasatch Front to the Ivy League, Danielle Thiriot has come a long way since graduating from Skyline High.

The academic all-state basketball player has gone on to attend Harvard University and is graduating in June with a degree in government and religious studies. She continued in sports, but she left the court for the water.

Thiriot competed with the Radcliffe Heavyweight Crew in the NCAA rowing championships. The boat she was in finished fourth in the Petit Final, and Radcliffe (the traditional name for the Harvard women's rowing team) finished 11th overall.

Thiriot started rowing during her freshman year. She had been involved in sports throughout high school and wanted to continue in college.

"I thought at first, being at Harvard, I would just focus on the academic side of it," Thiriot said, "But I couldn't exist without sports."

Thiriot had seen the boats practicing and thought rowing looked interesting. She had a few friends on the rowing crew who suggested she join. She eventually decided to try it out.

"Rowing is one of the few college sports that still allows walk-ons so I was able to just walk up to the coach and say I wanted to be on the team," Thiriot said.

But there was more to it than that.

"It was challenging walking on to a Division I team; they were the division champions."

Thiriot met the challenge.

She stayed on the team, rowing in both fours (four-person boats) and eights (eight-person boats) in various seats. She had the chance to be in the first varsity eight, Radcliffe's top boat, for one regatta. Thiriot's main position is the three seat in the second varsity eight.

During her time at Harvard, Thiriot also joined the Navy ROTC program.

"I guess I really liked boats," Thiriot said.

Thiriot traveled to MIT three times each week to attend training classes. She hopes to become an F-18 pilot as she heads to flight school after graduation.

One of the most difficult things for her was the balancing act she had to do to keep up in officer training, rowing practice and academics.

"What was challenging was not just trying to complete everything," Thiriot said, "but completing everything well."

Thiriot attributes her success to the support she had from coaches, friends and family, especially her mother, Mary.

"Challenges are diminished with the support you get from your friends," Thiriot said.

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E-mail: hlebaron@desnews.com