Zariel Macchia has had quite the week! At the Suffolk Cross Country Championships and State Qualifiers at Sunken Meadow Park held on Wednesday, November 6, Zariel captured her fourth consecutive Class A crown with a time of 18:49.7 in the 5K. With this performance, she has qualified for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Cross Country Championships this Saturday, November 16, at Queensbury High School in Queensbury, NY (second place in 2023). She will follow up that competition at the NY Federation Championships at Bowdoin Park in Wappinger Falls on November 23 (first place in 2023).
Zariel was also named for the 35th USATF (United States Association of Track and Field) Athlete of the Week award winner for 2024 by winning her third consecutive USATF National Youth 5K championship in the kick off to NYC Marathon weekend! She won the girls’ title by eight seconds with a 17:27, repeating last year’s victory and matching her 2023 time. Click here to read the full announcement!
John Ryan, head coach of the girls’ cross-country team had great praise for all that Zariel has accomplished in her career.
Coach Ryan said, “What an amazing kid – truly one of a kind. I cannot thank her enough for all the incredibly positive recognition that she has brought to the William Floyd School District. She has single-handedly placed William Floyd in the national limelight. There are an estimated 47 million avid track and field fans in the United States and Zariel and William Floyd are household names to all of them. Her accomplishments thus far, including being a two-time Gatorade New York State Runner of the Year, are virtually endless. I wish her the best of luck the rest of this year as her storied high school career comes to an end. She will be heading off to BYU next fall as the best XC/TF (cross country/track and field) athlete Long Island has ever seen…and she is William Floyd through and through.”
Congratulations, Zariel! Great job and good luck at States!
