As another week passes by, William Floyd’s All-American Superstar distance runner Zariel Macchia has posted another massive victory as she pulled away from the pack at the very end of the race to claim victory.
The Junior distance runner made the trip out to the Cross Country capital of America in Terre Haute, Indiana to compete in a 5000 meter race under the lights in a night time race at the historic Laverne Gibson Cross Country Course.
The William Floyd representee did not disappoint the Long Island running community back home as she got out to a solid start and put herself in prime position for victory with less than a mile to go.
“The race got out really quick,” said Macchia during a post meet interview with the popular high school running website Milesplit. “I have never raced any girls from around here and it’s great to race new people.”
Macchia has absolutely dominated the New York scene when it comes to distance running as she has been the girl to beat since she made her varsity debut. From state championships, All-American Honors, and the opportunity to represent the United States of America in competition, she has done it all and adding a victory like this shows that she can compete with anyone in the country.
“The girls out here obviously love cross country,” said Macchia. “I feel like there were a lot of girls who were fighting for the win and that was a lot of fun.”
Despite the strong field of girls fighting for the win, the William Floyd High Superstar was determined to win and she had a feeling she was going to put the competition to bed with a mile left in the 5000 meter cross country race.
“(I think) I knew I was going to win with about a Mile to go.” Macchia told the reporters from Milesplit, “I put in a surge once we (the pack of runners) came over the hill and I was pretty confident I could break away from the rest of the pack but they still hung on and pushed me to the end of the race. I wasn’t too sure until the end but I hung on to win anyways.”
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Zariel Macchia Last Season after qualifying for Team USA
WIlliam Floyid High School
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“It was very cool to run here (the course in Indiana) under the lights,” said Macchia. “I love running under the lights or at night, the atmosphere here was awesome.”
Macchia had some time to soak in the late September victory at a historic course, but she is now focusing on what's ahead of her as she prepares for yet another historic season that could best her performance from 2022-23.
“The next meet I will be looking forward to is the Manhattan Invitational,” said Macchia. “I will also be looking forward to the Foot Locker Nationals Qualifier again and hopefully place well at Nationals once again before I attempt to make the World Cross (Country) Team once again.”