Bradford Area High School graduate Logan Caruso was destined to be a college athlete as well as a St. Bonaventure Bonnie.
In high school, the former Owl was running the same workouts as the Bonnies program was, which allowed him to understand what it would take to become a college runner, and a runner at the Division I level. He is now the fourth generation of his family to attend St. Bonaventure.
Caruso began his running career in 6th grade when he competed in a 5K race with his uncle. He began to realize that he was good at running and he also enjoyed the sport.
“Initially, I ran to stay in shape for basketball season.” Caruso explained. “However, I really started getting serious about the sport in high school and decided to focus on running exclusively early in high school.”
The decision to run cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track was one that allowed him to focus all his attention and training on running at the collegiate level. While it seemed like going to St. Bonaventure was almost a no-brainer for Caruso, he was actually torn between it and Slippery Rock for a long while.
“Slippery Rock and St Bonaventure are both great schools, but competing at the Division I level close to home while obtaining a great degree was an opportunity I could not pass up,” he said.
During his high school career, Caruso won three District 9 team titles in cross country and two D9 team titles in track and field with the Owls. Caruso was also a two-time district champion winning the 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs, and holds four school records in running.
There was little doubt coming out of high school that Caruso could perform at the college level, and it took little time for Logan to prove his worth and value for the Bonnies as he was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week twice in cross country during his first collegiate cross country season.
Caruso carried over his great start as a college athlete to track and field as he set the Bonnies program record in the 5000 meter run.
“I am grateful and thankful for what I have accomplished, but I realize that I need to keep getting better to help each of my teams the best I can,” he said. “I know when my college career ends that I will gain more appreciation for the times I ran and for the records and accolades I racked up. For now, I am focusing on becoming the best runner I possibly can for my team.”
Caruso’s career at St. Bonaventure, and running, nearly ended before it could really get going.
During high school, Caruso suffered a serious injury to his spine that cost him most of his sophomore year of track and the injury lingered and bothered him into his junior cross country season.
“It is an injury that will cause me some pain periodically through my life, but I am glad to have overcome that to finish my high school career strong,” he said.
At St. Bonaventure, Caruso chose one of the more challenging majors in accounting and hopes to someday work for a big four accounting firm.
“I chose accounting because I had an excellent business teacher in high school, Mr. Dave Fuhrman,” he explained. “I took a lot of business classes with him and did well in them. Accounting was one I was best at and enjoyed most. I decided that this was a field I could see myself in and I also plan on getting my CPA and staying at Bonaventure for a 5th year.”
Caruso was able to reach the Division-I level with a lot of hard work and determination, but he also had great help and support from several key people in his life, including Bradford track coaches Larry Stillman and Tom Tessena.
Additionally, he credited his parents for fueling his interest in running and for always making it to his races through high school and now in college.
Finally, he mentioned the teammates he had through the years at Bradford and the ones he has at Bonaventure for being so supportive and encouraging him to become a better runner.
When talking about what it is like to run with many D9 runners at St Bonaventure, Logan said “It helps our team grow closer quicker because we have a common area of interest. From there, our team gels pretty naturally and makes for an exciting two teams to be a part of.
Outside of running, Logan enjoys e-sports and video games and volunteers at the ASPCA as well as the soup kitchen near St Bonaventure. He also volunteers on the business scholarship committee for students and spends a good amount of his time outside or running with his team.
