Cross country spotlight: Ward Melville, Chaminade boys have eyes on state dominance
Brian Guiheen of Chaminade is exhausted after winning the 3200 meter race during the CHSAA individual track and field championships at Icahn Stadium in Manhattan on May 24. Credit: Ed Murray
One month into the regular season, Long Island cross country runners are already forecasting a potentially historic mid-November.
Ward Melville's boys cross country team made waves for the second straight September, as it grabbed the No. 1 ranking in the state, according to Milesplit. This time around, it is hoping to make it stick.
Last year, Ward Melville was just trying to make the public school state championship meet. It claimed the state’s top ranking in mid-September, but that didn't last long. Still, the Patriots went on to become the best team in Suffolk and blew past that preseason goal, finishing fifth in the merged results at the championships at Queensbury High School.
Ward Melville has its eyes set on a title when the championships return to Queensbury Nov. 15. The program ran in the Queensbury Pre-States Invitational on Sept. 13 to gain extra familiarity with the course before the big day comes. The team was slotted into the Division III race and dominated a stacked field - scoring 79 points, 27 better than second-place Saratoga Springs, the No. 3 team in New York, and 82 points better than second-ranked Corning.
Junior Andrew Senf, who ranks third on Long Island in the 5,000 meter run, is Ward Melville’s No. 2 runner, behind senior Anthony Anatol and ahead of classmate Matteo Ritieni.
“It’s a privilege to be on such a great team with such amazing coaches,” Senf said. “We have a family dynamic. We’re not just fighting for ourselves, but for each other, too. We know we have to step up because everyone is working so hard.”
Similarly, Chaminade proved itself a Federation contender. The team ran in the Bowdoin Cross Country Classic at Bowdoin Park - the site of the annual state Federation championships - on Sept. 27 in Wappingers Falls. Chaminade placed second in the merged results behind Rhode Island’s Bishop Hendricken.
As the top New York finisher, Chaminade put the state on notice. Led by seniors Sean Loggie, Brian Guiheen and Daniel Hilton, the program has known for a while that this could be its year.
“We’re trying to win the state and qualify for nationals,” Loggie said. “We’ve known since freshman year that we’re a deep team, but as freshmen, we couldn’t be this competitive. This is really good for predicting how [the Federation meet] will go and we’re very happy with how well we did. We think we’ll be competitive there.”
Maeve Going of Sacred Heart after winning the 1500 meter race during the CHSAA individual track and field championships at Icahn Stadium in Manhattan on May 24. Credit: Ed Murray
On the girls side of the same meet, Sacred Heart senior Maeve Going solidified her candidacy for an individual Federation title. She placed second in 18 minutes, 38.5 seconds, trailing only Blair Bartlett of The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. Going, who already owned New York's best time at the strenuous Sunken Meadow State Park (18:37), now leads the state on its championship course by 11.5 seconds.
“I’m coming off a high from outdoor track; I feel like I’m just getting ready with cross country,” Going said. “It’s exciting to have this, and I think I have a lot more to come. I’ve never even placed at a state cross country meet, so right now, I just want to stay healthy and keep my name in the running.”
Macchia's strong college debut
Shirley-native and Floyd alumnus Zariel Macchia hasn't skipped a beat. A freshman running for Brigham Young University in Utah, she's helped the team attain the nation’s top ranking for three weeks. She placed 15th overall, and seventh on her team in the 6,000-meter run at the Cowboy Jamboree in Oklahoma on Sept. 26, securing a team victory.
Macchia is happy to be representing her home well.
“I always think about the people who helped me along the way,” Macchia said. “I’m just trying to represent Long Island to the best that I can while also contributing to BYU’s team; just showing others that it’s possible.”
Macchia’s siblings are carrying out her legacy. Her younger brother, Vidal, a sophomore, is running cross country for the first time at Floyd after switching over from football. His 16:57.6 at Sunken Meadow on Sept. 20 in the Bob Pratt Invitational ranks seventh in the state on that course. Her younger sister, Coral, is an eighth grader running for Floyd and helped it to a 2-1 start in duel meets.
“I’ve been calling them everyday,” Zariel Macchia said. “I’m really happy for them and excited to see them doing well. I know they’re having a lot of fun with it.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
