Photo Credit: Submitted Photo
Turns out, Zariel Macchia wasn't finished with her cross country season just yet.
The standout freshman from William Floyd (NY) High School, a recently-minted All-American at the Eastbay Cross Country Championships in December, captured her biggest win to date on Saturday at the USATF U20 Cross Country Championship at Mission Bay Park in San Diego, California, winning the junior women's 6K field in 22:50.
Macchia, 15, was the only female in the field, which was comprised of college freshman and junior runners under the age of 20, to post a time under 23 minutes.
Oklahoma State University freshman Colleen Stegmann was second in 23:39 while Utah State's Kaybree Christensen was third in 23:51.
The junior women's field consisted of 18 runners, while the USATF Championship series held 13 races, which also featured masters, military, open and community races.
Macchia hit the 2K split at 7:21, three seconds ahead of Stegmann, and then extended it in the middle portion of the race, pushing through the 4K marker at 14:52, a full 22 seconds ahead of her competitor.
Macchia finished 12th overall at the Eastbay Cross Country Championships on Dec. 11. She ran a personal best time of 17:42.70 on Nov. 27 at the Eastbay Northeast Regional. Her final two 5K races were both under 18 minutes.
| place | name | residence | 6K Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zariel Macchia | Shirley NY | 22:50 |
| 2 | Colleen Stegmann | Oklahoma State University | 23:39 |
| 3 | Kaybree Christensen | Utah State University | 23:51 |
| 4 | Madison Eyman | University of Toledo | 23:53 |
| 5 | Nora Wollen | Loyola University Chicago | 24:10:00 |
| 6 | Aisha Ramone | Wings of America | 24:54:00 |
| 7 | Olivia Gang | University of Toledo | 25:06:00 |
| 8 | Emma Burgess | Lihue HI | 25:42:00 |
| 9 | Madeline Castillo | Alamosa CO | 25:54:00 |
| 10 | Lia Castillo | Alamosa CO | 25:59:00 |
Stevens Finishes Eighth:
In the junior men's race, Yerington (NV) High School senior Kutoven Stevens, running for Wings of America, finished the 8K race in eighth overall, clocking a time of 27:47.
Saturday's race was also Stevens' last of 2021-2022 after a breakout season that saw him win a Nevada Class 2A State Championship and clock a 5K PR of 15:25.80 at the Team Southwest Regional.
Stevens won six races across his final season as the lone runner on Yerington's cross country team.
| place | name | school | 8K time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabe Simonsen | Oklahoma State University | 25:42:00 |
| 2 | Chase Leach | Utah State University | 25:50:00 |
| 3 | Cael Grotenhuis | Northern Arizona University | 26:22:00 |
| 4 | Garrett Woodhoouse | Utah State University | 26:44:00 |
| 5 | William Dixon | Utah State University | 26:57:00 |
| 6 | Gabe Smit | Loyola University Chicago | 27:01:00 |
| 7 | Bahozhoni Church | Wings of America | 27:30:00 |
| 8 | Kutoven Stevens | Yerington NV | 27:47:00 |
| 9 | Joshua Galindo | Columbia MD | 28:01:00 |
| 10 | Micah Slivers | Ganado AZ | 28:45:00 |