Sofia Condron edges Zariel Macchia in 800 meters at Suffolk state qualifier
Sofia Condron of Elwood/Glenn wins the girls 800-meter run in a time of 2:10.94 during the rain shortened Day 1 of the Suffolk boys and girls track and field championships and state qualifiers in Port Jefferson Station on Thursday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
On her 18th birthday, Sofia Condron won one of the top Long Island distance duels of the entire school year. The Glenn senior topped Floyd freshman Zariel Macchia in two minutes, 10.94 seconds in the 800 meters on the first day of the Suffolk track and field state qualifier at Comsewogue High School in Port Jefferson Station.
Condron outstepped Macchia in the final five meters, beating the best overall distance runner on Long Island by inches. Macchia finished second in the 800 in 2:11.02 and later won the 3,000 in 10:04.02.
“My coach told me ‘Hit your splits, hit your splits, hit your splits,” said Condron, who is committed to Rutgers. “I didn’t want to burn out in the end. I wanted to use my kick and as much as I had left. I just put it all out there. I was just trying to push my legs and swing my arms as fast as I could.”
At the line, the race was so close that Condron wasn’t completely certain she had won.
“I saw my foot go a little bit before hers, but that’s about it,” Condron said.
The runners both qualified for the state championships, scheduled for June 10-11 at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. It will be the first outdoor state championships since 2019. The pandemic canceled both the 2020 and 2021 editions.
Macchia took the race out fast, leading for much of the first lap-and-a-quarter before the field moved up and made it a step-for-step fight to the finish.
“She definitely put it out fast,” Condron said. “I just stayed (within) myself, knowing that she would go out fast because she’s a very fast runner, and then I stayed with her at the end and just pushed it.”
Condron beat the Glenn school record of 2:12, a number she said she’s had her sights on since seventh grade.
“I just wanted to get first in (Division II), but winning the whole thing is definitely a lot better,” Condron said,
The boys 800 also featured a close finish, with Ward Melville’s Julian Smith (1:55.65) outpacing Southampton’s William Malone (1:56.06) and Northport’s Wyeth Semo (1:56.30) in the final 30 meters. Deer Park’s Aidan Neilson broke in from another heat and finished second overall in 1:55.88.
“I felt them on me, and I remember thinking ‘I want to go to states so badly,’” Smith said. “I just dug deep and I figured, I’m going to be hurting anyway, might as well be proud of it.”
