LI Sophomore Will Run In World Athletics Cross Country Championship In Australia

MASTIC BEACH, NY — A William Floyd High School sophomore will compete at the World Athletics Cross Country Championship in Bathurst, Australia, on Saturday after qualifying for the U.S. National Team with a third-place finish at the USA Track and Field championships at Pole Green Park in Richmond, VA.

Zariel Macchia, who has qualified to compete in the under 20 women’s division, was chosen by the USATF Track and Field Committee as the USATF-Long Island Junior Track Athlete of the Year, William Floyd School District officials said.

Macchie is being honored as one of the 25 high school runners from across the nation nominated for the 2022-23 All-USA Today Girls’ Cross Country Runner of the Year award, according to school district officials.

“This season for Zariel has been unlike any other to date,” stated John Ryan, head coach of the girls’ varsity track and varsity cross country teams, in a news release.

Macchia won county and state championship titles earlier in the school year, along with several national races, including a 2nd-place finish at the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships, 3rd-place at the Champs Northeast Regional, and a 6th-place finish at the Champs National Cross Country Championships.

She ran a 4:47 mile at the Nike Girls’ High School Invitational Mile at the 115th Millrose Games in Manhattan, a 2nd-place finish on Sunday. She has one more race before heading to Australia, the Suffolk State Qualifier at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood this week.

Macchia has run events from the 400 meters to the 6K, including being the anchor leg of the record-setting William Floyd 4 x 800-meter relay team, since her state Cross Country season ended in November with a championship.

Ryan stated that "training to run the 400 is much different than the training required to run a 6K."

“Zariel has handled her training, like everything else in her life, perfectly this year," he stated. "She is running the best that she has ever run and is coming off of the best performance of her young career at the USATF U20 Cross Country National Championships."

"Her positive attitude, dedication to excellence, and humility make her unlike any student I’ve had the pleasure of teaching over the past 30-plus years," he stated. 'I’m often asked what I think the future has in store for Zariel; the better question would be, ‘What does Zariel have in store for the future?’ Whatever the answer, I'm sure it will be amazing.”