Staten Island, NY | The College of Staten Island Men's Cross-Country and Track & Field team welcomed in a host of new recruits in 2020, and among them is freshman Daniel Wronski, a Macaulay Honors College student who chose CSI after a tremendous high school career. Wronski's choice was a clear one as he was very familiar with the CSI campus and the climate it offered him athletically and academically.
"I chose CSI because of the great opportunities offered by the Macaulay Honors College," he said. "I took courses at CSI during high school and found that the professors taught well and the laboratories were sophisticated. This experience was one of the reasons why I chose to pursue my studies in science at CSI. I know I will succeed in the elevated athletic program, and I look forward to challenging myself here."
A heavily-touted recruit from Susan E. Wagner High School, Wronski was high on Head Coach
Andrew Gangemi's list of targets. Ultimately, Wronski made the decision to attend CSI and be a part of their NCAA Division II program, over CSI's Staten Island neighbor of Wagner College. Gangemi was in awe of Wronski's talents on nature's cross-country courses and the track circuit, but was even more impressed with the academic acumen Wronski brings with him. A future Biochemistry major, Wronski will be seeking a career in the medical industry as either a doctor or a researcher. after graduation. Upon graduation from SWHS, he was awarded the school's Achievement Award for Excellence in Mathematics, Leadership Award, Perfect Attendance Award, and was awarded "Summa Cum Laude" Honors on the National Latin Exam.
As if the exploits in the classroom weren't enough, Wronski boasts a 4:28 mile (CSI's record is 4:40), and posted a career-best 16:54 5K time, a time that would be four seconds faster than CSI's all-time cross-country record. He has also posted a 2:01 time in the 800-meter Run in track & field, a time equal to CSI's current all-time record. With his best racing still ahead of him, the sky is the limit for the mark he can leave behind, according to his new coach. The former Cross-Country Freshman Coach's Award winner, he was recently named a New Era Pinstripe Bowl Most Valuable Player Scholar-Athlete.
"Daniel is a great example of what a student-athlete should be," noted Gangemi. "As an athlete he is a huge asset for us as one of the best distance runners in the city. To get someone of that caliber to join our program will do a lot for us. Then academically, he just raises the bar of the caliber of student-athlete we are trying to bring in and someone that can be a model to all of our student-athletes at CSI. We're excited to have him here."
Wronski is eager to impress. A winner of the Peter F. Vallone Scholarship and the Spectrum News NY1 Scholar-Athlete Award, he hopes to provide a positive impact on the program, and to grow alongside it in the NCAA Division II landscape. "I feel that when someone has a positive mindset, others will follow, and I hope to contribute my winning mindset to the team," he said. According to Wronski, that mindset extends beyond the practice and competitive field. "I joined the CSI Pre-Med club and look forward to sharing my knowledge and studious attitude to a group that aspires to go on to study medicine," he said. "I am very excited to be a part of it all at CSI."
As eager as he is, Wronski is off to a naturally fast start in his remote classes, but is aware the pace will be slower athletically. Due to COVID, the team hasn't been able to hold organized practices and competitions, but Wronski is still getting acclimated thanks to the efforts of his coaches and built-in leaders on the team. "The coaches have been organized, and I feel included in the group," he noted. "My teammates have made a group chat for us, and some of us meet up on our own to run and workout, especially on days when I don't have classes."
Of course, the COVID pause has been frustrating for the coaches, and one of the reasons why Gangemi is chomping at the bit to get started is for the chance to work with some of his younger pupils, like Wronski, who he hopes will contribute to the culture and competitive rise of the program.
"It's extremely frustrating," noted the head coach, who begins his second year at CSI in 2020-21. "We have a team built of competitive personalities and not being able to see them run, see their fitness levels, and watch them compete this semester has been tough on us all. I think that our new recruits are coming in with such a great competitive attitude and mindset, and we are going to look to cultivate that so that we prepare and carry ourselves as a championship program. I think athletes like Daniel help define that by leading by example."
That said, and because CSI's program is so new to Division II, and Track & Field in itself is a very new program at CSI, Wronski knows there will be some degree of pressure on him to help build that quality foundation at CSI. He is one of many who should have the ability to help CSI compete for ECC Championships once CSI's provisional status is lifted.
"It's going to be great balancing the rigors of high-level sports as well as honors-level courses," he noted. "I'm hoping I can contribute to this growing program and help it succeed in any way I can."
For now, Wronski knows the best he can do is power through his intro courses within the Macaulay program while setting his sights on his competitive debut. "I'm working around class times to run, do core exercises, and lift weights whenever I have the time," he stated. "Having the chance to meet up with teammates to train together has been great, and we can't wait to get started as a team."
Born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Wronski moved to Staten Island in the second grade and currently lives in Great Kills with his parents, Meryl & Frank. His outstanding high school career featured a two-time Staten Island Boys' First-Team Cross-Country All-Star citation, the school's Varsity Club Award and the Cross-Country Varsity Coaches Award.
Whenever CSI gets on the cross-country and track & field circuits, look for Daniel Wronski to be a difference-maker. Like many, he chose CSI, and the Dolphins will be better for it.
