Senior Michaela Jones is no stranger to early mornings — not just “get up and barely make it to first period” mornings, but rather, “wake up at 4 a.m. and row through the sunrise” mornings.

“It’s a shocker for most people,” Michaela said. “Some people are like, ‘Oh, maybe I should try rowing,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, see you at 5 a.m. tomorrow.’ That usually takes care of itself. On the weekends it’s a little better… we’re only up at 7.”

Since joining a rowing team in the summer of sixth grade, Michaela’s life has consisted of early mornings, and she plans to continue this throughout college with her commitment to Division I rowing at the University of San Diego.

“I started rowing at a summer camp, and I didn’t really know what rowing even was at the time,” Michaela said. “It wasn’t at all what I expected, but when I got into it, I ended up really liking it.”

At her early age, many teams — including Norcal Crew, which Michaela later ended up joining — did not even consider athletes for their novice competitive team. But Michaela’s dedication and experience made her an exception.

“When I first met Michaela, she was feisty; she was younger than most other kids in the program, but she was very competitive,” Michaela’s former coach Steve Hope said. “The next fall, there was a plan that we would not take any eighth graders for the novice crew, and Michaela was crestfallen as a seventh grader. But because she had been such a standout, I told her, ‘We would move heaven and earth to make sure she could be in the novice program.’”

Under Hope’s wing, Michaela picked up rowing full-time, where she trained often and competed at local — and then national — competitions.

“Rowing’s a sport where you just have to try harder for longer, both in an individual race and in terms of your training over the course of a year,” Hope said. “Michaela’s determination and, frankly, her stubbornness probably really helped her out. She never thought she would lose or should lose.”

In 2021, as a sophomore, Michaela qualified with the Palo Alto Rowing Club for the Head of the Charles River Regatta, one of the largest rowing competitions in the world, held in Massachusetts.

Michaela and Hope parted ways after that year, and she moved to her current team, Redwood Scullers. Despite all of this change, however, Michaela remained — as her teammate and Nueva senior Taj Delaet Jagerson described — “an independent, self-assured rockstar.”

“Michaela is determined, loyal and gritty as hell,” Taj said. “She is an absolute speed demon on the water. Her devotion to the sport is really unique, and to watch her give 100 percent effort in every race is so amazing.”

In 2022, Michaela debuted in the U.S. Nationals and Summer Nationals with the Redwood varsity team.

“When I qualified for Nationals, I was pretty young, and me and the other girls didn’t think that we were going to qualify at all — it was completely unexpected,” Michaela said.

That same summer, Michaela also started considering recruitment. After emailing DI coaches across the country, taking tours and narrowing down her list, Michaela finally settled on USD, a small private university in San Diego.

“Their team culture was amazing, and USD was my favorite visit,” Michaela said. “They took me to the beach and we got food with the coaches. The coaching staff is incredible — one of the coaches actually flew down to see me row one morning and watch me practice; they really care about everyone.”

After announcing her commitment to USD in 2023, Michaela has continued training hard and preparing for the collegiate athlete life. Despite committing over 15 hours a week to training on the water and doing additional weight training, she manages to balance her athletic life with schoolwork, but more importantly, with her social life as well.

“Although I love the teeth-gritting, sweat-dripping Michaela, goofy Michaela is my all-time favorite,” Taj said. “Michaela can make an all-you-can-eat sushi bar disappear, turn a 12-hour layover into a blink, and bedazzle a water bottle with my name so I can stop losing it. I feel very lucky to have her in my life.”