Vidal Macchia is the ace of William Floyd High School.
The towering 10th grader and little brother of BYU runner and Olympic hopeful Zariel Macchia has carved out his own lane to success, not only on the track, but on the tennis court as well.
“I love both sports a lot — especially tennis because it’s much more of a chess match,” he told The Post at tennis practice Wednesday.
“I like running because it’s all about pushing yourself as hard as you can.”
Macchia is 4-1 with a racket this spring. While he only runs scholastically in the fall and winter, the 6-foot-1, 17-year-old will also be competing independently at the New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia this June.
Steeplechase is his strongest event, as the humble star posted the nation’s best time at the 2024 Nike Outdoor Nationals as an eighth grader — 6:19.79 over 2000 meters — and again recently qualified nationally with a 6:06.9 finish.
All love
It’s no surprise where he gets his penchant for both sports, as running was a family legacy even a generation before Zariel, who graduated from Floyd last year after setting several Long Island and local records.
Their mom and dad, Peter and Alex, met while on Columbia University’s track team, and Peter also introduced Vidal to tennis at an early age, which he quickly fell for.
Regarding track, that was all his big sis, who needed a training partner as she found her stride in the sport when Vidal was a middle schooler.
She proudly pushed Vidal beyond his limits, all under the guise that it would make her a better athlete.
“As any older sister would probably do, it was fun to mess with him every once in a while,” Zariel confessed with a laugh.
Her dad tells it slightly differently, however, saying, “She wanted to run him into the ground and thought it was hilarious.”
What started as a light joke and a friendly sibling rivalry actually awakened the beast inside Vidal, and made everyone around him realize he was also the real deal.
“He’s probably the toughest runner that I’ve run with,” she said, adding that Vidal “would be toast for weeks” after rising to the occasion time and time again.
“He’s the most innocent and wholehearted person, and I don’t know if he realizes that,” added Zariel, who likened her little brother to the caliber of partners she has as a Division-I athlete.
The two have become inseparable and constantly check in on one another’s successes, from Suffolk County to Utah.
“It’s always fun to talk to her,” Vidal said. “She’s always excited about whatever I’m doing, and it’s pretty cool to hear what she’s doing in college now.”
Vidal was also inspired by how much fun Zariel had with cross-country in high school and was excited about his own opportunity to travel around the nation for different events.
It was a key reason he opted out of playing quarterback despite making the JV football team as an eighth grader.
“My dad would also always take us to cool places to train and run, like the beach at Sunken Meadow Park,” he said.
“All of that really made me want to race.”
Deuces wild
Along with preparing for track nationals — Vidal gets in a good run just about daily — he’s also volleying for a personal first on the tennis court this spring.
“I want to make the state tournament this year,” he said. “There are a lot of good players there.”
Vidal was eliminated at the county level in 2025, but has been putting in the work to grow toward another championship-level achievement.
He’s even starting to hit the ball with little brother Peter to show the mini-Macchia the ins and outs of the game — minus the conditioning torture Zariel exposed him to in running, that is.
“I’m trying to play a decent amount with him and give as much advice as I can,” said Vidal.
“He’s having fun.”
When it comes time for college, Vidal is unsure which sport he most wants to pursue — or whether he will need to choose one over the other since he may get to do both.
One idea he does enjoy is joining Zariel at BYU.
“I think that would be pretty cool,” Vidal said.
She agrees.
“If we were able to be college teammates, that would be one of the most amazing experiences ever,” Zariel said.
Read the full article here
