Long Island's cross country state champs ran to glory

Zariel Macchia, Floyd

By winning both her second public school state championship and her second consecutive state Federation championship, Floyd senior Zariel Macchia has removed any room for debate on whether or not she's the most dominant runner in the state. 

Macchia’s four career cross country state championships (two public school, two Federation) have cemented her legacy as one of the greatest high school runners in state history. This year, her 18 minute, 9.9 second finish on the 5-kilometer course at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls — one of the toughest tracks in New York — was 10.5 seconds slower than her winning time from last year. Even in a "down performance", Macchia still won in a laugher, 13 seconds ahead of the field. 

Looking back on where she started, even Macchia is impressed by her own success.

“It’s pretty crazy to think about,” Macchia said. “When I first started running, I had fun doing it. I had never intended to become as good as I have, if that makes sense. The girls I ran against in my freshman year, I was hoping that, maybe by senior year, I could be that good. So, to be able to have won multiple state championships and qualified for [a national championship race] four years in a row — I’m the third girl from the Northeast to ever do that — it’s way more than I could’ve ever imagined achieving.”

Sophia McInnes, Bayport-Blue Point

In mid-November at Queensbury High School, Bayport-Blue Point senior Sophia McInnes completed a postseason of struggle with her second consecutive public school state championship. But, it wasn't her performance she was struggling with, it was her health.

McInnes battled COVID-19 for three weeks, beginning in the middle of October. Her return to action came on Nov. 6 at the strenuous Sunken Meadow State Park course, where she won the Suffolk Class B championship, despite battling the lingering cough and congestion. Just 10 days later, while still in recovery, McInnes ran a 17 minute, 45.5 second 5K  to win the Class B state championship.

That time was 15 seconds faster than her championship-winning performance in 2023. Her physical struggles with the virus’ effects were on full display after winning in Queensbury, as she fell to the ground and required some attention from others for several minutes before finally being able to stand up and walk on her own.

“I didn’t really expect it to affect me the way that it did,” McInnes said. “At practices, I would pretty much gaslight myself into thinking I was totally fine, but in reality, it affected my lungs. But I just pushed through it. [Winning was] definitely was a great milestone.”

Manhasset boys 

After winning its 12th Nassau Division II title since 2003, Manhasset decided to stop settling for local championships.

Amongst the 11 teams involved in the Class B team competition at Queensbury High School, Manhasset placed five of the first 18 runners to score 44 points and win the title running away. It was the first state championship victory by a Nassau team since Wantagh in 1984, and the first in school history.

“It’s a lot of emotion,” coach Steve Steiner said. “I just really feel immensely proud of them. I know how hard they worked … It’s just really gratifying to see that their hard work paid off. This is my 22nd trip to states with either a team or individuals, and it’s the only time we’ve ever come out on top.”

Leading the charge was junior Blake Sealy, who went from being a basketball player to one of the top runners on Long Island within two years. He finished seventh overall on the 5K course in 15 minutes, 43 seconds flat. It was the fastest time among runners in the team competition.  

After Sealy, sophomore Nicolas Katsoulis finished 15th in 16:01.9. Seniors Stije Huinink (32nd, 16:31.4), Alexander Armendariz (34th, 16:34.5), Ryan Boldi (46th, 16:49.2) and John Hogan (49th, 16:53.1) helped seal the win. Junior Braeden Jackelow ran a 17:12.7 to round out the champions’ day.

Port Jefferson boys

After dropping from Class C to Class D, Port Jefferson was given a golden opportunity to snap its 48-year state championship drought.

Once the realignment was announced, former long-time head coach and then-assistant Rod Cawley predicted that 2024 would be the year the Royals broke through. Cawley, who died on Oct. 5, did not get to see his prophecy come to fruition. But Port Jefferson made sure to get the job done in his honor. They wrote “Cawley” on their arms before each race to carry on his memory, while hoping to bring some more good to his name.

After recording a perfect score in the county championship meet, the Royals advanced to the public school state championship and won Class D with 53 points.  

“We were ready to go, and I’m glad we pulled this out for him,” coach Andy Cosci said after the race. “We were thinking about this feeling, but you just never know; you have to perform. They came here, and the boys did awesome today. I’m just happy they’re going to have this memory for the rest of their lives.”

Senior Colin Veit finished 10th overall and fifth amongst the 70 runners in the team competition with a 16 minute, 33.5 second finish on the 5K course. After Veit was senior Max Joyner, who finished 18th in 16:48.9. Sophomore Sean Grossman placed 31st in 17:12.1. Juniors Christopher Nam (37th, 17:17.2), Sviatoslav Zalizniak (46th, 17:35.6), Chase Davis (56th, 17:56.2) and Lucas Sweeney (70th, 18:21.8) rounded out the championship-winning effort.