Floyd's Zariel Macchia qualifies for cross country national championships

The sidelines.

It was a rare place to see Zariel Macchia, but there she was. Then a seventh grader who had just completed her first impressive season on the Suffolk cross country scene, Macchia went to watch the Foot Locker National Championships in San Diego while visiting family in California.

It was two years ago and the scene was electric. Maybe – just maybe – she’d be running the race herself someday. Junior or senior year, she thought.

"It was exciting to watch," Macchia said. "I hadn’t really watched many big races in person before, so it was a cool experience."

But watching and waiting hasn’t been something Macchia’s had to do in this sport, and the national meet is no different. Now a freshman, the Floyd runner qualified for the big event – now known as the Eastbay Cross Country National Championships - by placing second in 17 minutes, 42.7 seconds on the 5-kilometer course at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx at the Eastbay Northeast Regional last weekend. Angelina Perez of New Jersey won in 17:21.5.

The national race is scheduled for Dec. 11 at Balboa Park in San Diego.

Her regional time was the fastest ever run by a Suffolk County girl on Van Cortlandt’s 5K course, according to Floyd coach John Ryan.

"The race started pretty fast," Macchia said. "I kind of got tripped up a bit (in the beginning). But, I ended up working my way up to 11th (place) by the time we finished the first mile. Even though it started fast, I still felt pretty good. I knew the faster it started, the better chance I would have at qualifying."

Macchia said she ran the first mile in 5:13, the fastest time she’s even come through that distance.

Once Macchia reached the back hills, she said she began to catch up with the chase pack. By the time the hills were nearly done, she had caught the front group.

"We hit another nice downhill and the other girls hadn’t opened up as much," Macchia said. "So, I figured I might as well keep going since I still felt good. Once I ended up passing all of those girls and getting into second place, it was just too good to slow down. I just wanted to keep going because it was so cool. It was such a great race at that point. I had to finish it out."

While she previously thought that the bid was years away from reality, Macchia said she became more confident in her chances after placing second in the championship race at the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in October.

"I kind of started thinking that if I ran really well (at qualifiers), I could have a chance at qualifying," Macchia said. "My parents, coaches, and people who have seen me run were telling me I could make it. But, it was kind of hard to believe that I could actually make it. There were so many good girls trying to qualify."

Macchia continued: "At Manhattan, I ran the back hills really well. They’re very tough. So, that made me realize that I had a shot."

Last weekend, Macchia beat Cornwall’s Karrie Baloga, who won the state federation championship two weeks ago, Emily Toth-Ratazzi of Rome Free Academy, who finished eighth in Class A at the public school state championships three weeks ago (one spot above Macchia), and Maryland’s Juliette Whittaker, who ran the 800 meters at the Olympic Trials this summer.

"The main thing was, whatever year I qualified, I wanted to make it a memorable race and a really hard, meaningful effort, which I definitely did on Saturday," Macchia said.

It’s been a memorable fall for Macchia. She ran the ninth fastest time in the state, regardless of class, at the public school state championships and ran the fastest time in Suffolk at the state qualifiers and the division championships.

Now, as the calendar moves away from cross country season, Macchia is the lone Long Islander standing. Only this time, it won’t be on the sideline.