“I was watching her run and I said to my assistant coach, ‘What high school does she go to?’” – Long Island High School Head coach John Ryan straight away knew he was looking at a future track and field star. At that time, she was just a sixth grader. And in that local 5K run, she beat the whole Long Island HS team and ended third overall among women. Everybody soon realized running was going to bring her medals and glory and fame. We guess controversy was feeling left out.

The Olympics prospect had her mind focused on some big races coming up, one of which is the New York state indoor meet. But legal technicalities ushered in, and her 2025 season was cut short. Then commenced the legal battle. But before we explore what happened and why at all was the HS athlete barred from racing, the biggest question is: who is at the center of this? Well, let’s find out, then.

The HS track and field star deemed to be breaking the rule

Zariel Macchia has already become a sensation in the track and field world. So much so that experts are keeping tabs on the developments related to this 18-year-old with huge potential. She is a 6-time state champion and was named Gatorade’s New York girls cross-country player of the year twice. The only question that she has evoked in people’s minds has been when people would see her in the Olympics. That is, until the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, NYSPHSAA, suddenly imposed an injunction on February 18 on her running season.

NYSPHSAA’s reason – that Zariel, being a high school individual, ran the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational with collegiate athletes. Rule 7 of the association’s rulebook said that high school athletes couldn’t “participate in practice or competition with or against any individual or team representing a college” during a sports season. It wouldn’t be a controversy if it were so straightforward. Zariel’s parents complained their daughter ran as an unattached athlete, just participating in a race.

Talking to the New York Post on March 5, Zariel’s father, Peter Macchia, said, “We were informed that if she’s unattached she should be fine. … It wasn’t really explained that there was a rule about it, but it was like, you can just avoid any issues of any kind if you just do it unattached and don’t wear the [William Floyd] uniform.”

The issue is that NYSPHSAA saw it a bit differently. For them, as soon as the college athletes participated in the Boston Invitational race representing their college, Zariel became liable to suspension because the ‘rule’ says ‘high school athletes couldn’t participate in practice or competition with or against any individual or team representing a college’. Basically, the governing body was applying from either end. Even the college athletes had to participate as unattached runners for Zariel to be ‘eligible as per NYSPHSAA’.

And this is when Peter Macchia decided to pursue legal options. For him, his daughter was being judged unfairly. Such an interpretation of the rule didn’t allow talented athletes like his daughter to test their abilities. No way each and every athlete coming from a college setting would participate in the Boston University Invitational as an unattached athlete. That means track and field talents like Zariel Macchia would never be able to judge what their true potential is. As he told The Post on February 21, “We believe Zariel should not be penalized for the decisions of other entrants.”

The Macchia family filed a lawsuit on February 4, requesting the courts to impose a temporary restraining order on NYSPHSAA’s Feb 18 ruling. That would allow the 18-year-old to compete in 3 events – 1000m, 3000m, and 1500m relay races. The lawsuit filed by the Macchias states that NYSPHSAA’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious”.

Do you think the courts will rule in favor of Zariel Macchia? The event for which she was fighting this legal battle is on March 8, today. Do you think she will be able to participate?

The court gives its ruling, all the parties voice their opinion

The lawsuit that Zariel filed also said if a temporary reprieve wasn’t provided, she would “suffer irreparable harm which cannot be remedied at a later date”. She needed to participate in the New York meet. After all, she is the defending champion in the 1000m distance. But she is at the mercy of the justice system. All she could do was argue her case and wait.

Eventually, Judge Christopher Modelewski of Suffolk County gave his verdict on March 5. The ruling? Zariel will run at the New York Meet at Staten Island. A huge win for the track and field community. A huge for the sports which wants merit to thrive unchallenged, unrestricted and with freedom.

It was the best result for Zariel: “I was relieved at first.”. True, most of the time, you expect the system to overpower the common man with its legal jargon and loopholes. But this time, it’s a win for the ordinary man. Well, not exactly ordinary. Zariel Macchia has the whole community’s hopes on her shoulders. She is being seen as the next best athlete to come out of the USA in the distance running. But she is prepared: “I’m definitely ready to run.”

She spoke about the overwhelming support she got from the people in her fight to earn the permit to race: “Just knowing that I have so many people who want to see me do well, it is definitely a lot of motivation to compete well on Saturday.” As for NYSPHSAA, they have also accepted the verdict wholeheartedly: “The NYSPHSAA acknowledges and respects the court’s decision.” Continuing, the executive director of NYSPHSAA said, “We remain committed to the development and enforcement of rules and regulations established by our member schools to support and enhance the participation of over 450,000 student-athletes.”

In the battle to secure his daughter’s right, Peter Macchia sees a bigger picture. He wants to set a precedent, so that another athlete doesn’t have to suffer like this. In his own words, “The biggest picture goal is not just creating awareness for Zariel but for change, maybe we can continue and directly make changes happen.”