Cazal Arnett was not always this good.

Before his days of breaking record after record during his freshman track and field campaign at Binghamton University, he was just another sprinter on a high school varsity team.

“I wish I could say I was some sort of a genius for finding him,” says Binghamton track and field head coach Mike Thompson. “But he contacted us.”

In his first season at Binghamton, Arnett already holds school records in both the 200-meter (21.74 seconds) and 400-meter (47.80) indoor races. His time of 47.04 in the outdoor 400-meter race set an America East Conference record. That time was also good enough to qualify him for the IC4A’s, which he competed in during the indoor season, as well as the NCAA regional championships.

Arnett has also been an essential part of BU’s 1600-meter relay team, leading the team to a thrilling victory at the America East championships this season.

“He came from 15 meters back. I’m thinking, ‘oh, he’s too tired to catch him today,’” Thompson recalls. “And all of the sudden he just started going and he caught [the runner from Albany who was ahead of the pack] with literally about 1 foot left in the race … the Albany guy knew he was coming, the crowd was going … And he did the same thing in the 200 indoors. He was way back with about 50 meters left and he won with about a foot left in the race … it’s almost like he knows exactly how hard he has to run to just win the race. For a freshman he’s got such great composure, and he’s so calm and confident in stressful situations.”

Nobody expected this much from Arnett, this early. How could they have? Arnett came from Christ the King High School in Queens, a school known for its powerhouse basketball program, not its track and field program. His best 400 time at Christ the King was good, but not great, 49.50 seconds — over two seconds slower than his current best.

Although Arnett entered his first year at BU with a goal of running the 400 in 47 seconds flat by the end of this season, even he thought that would be a stretch.

“I didn’t think that I’d get my time down enough to be able to go [to this year’s outdoor NCAA regional championships],” Arnett said.

The outdoor NCAA regional championship has a qualifying time of 47.20 seconds. The event also gives automatic bids to conference tournament winners, so Cazal qualified both ways, by winning the conference tournament and clocking in at 47.04 seconds — .16 seconds faster than the qualifying time.

Although Arnett was not a dominant runner in high school, his training at the collegiate level has contributed to his drastic and rapid improvement.

“I think in high school his training was geared more towards middle distance, so he got a really good base,” Thompson explained. “When he started doing sprint specific stuff, he got a lot better in a short period of time.”

Arnett’s genes may have something to do with it as well. His father was a sprinter, his mother a distance runner. However, a solid work ethic must accompany natural talent to maximize potential, something Arnett partially credits to his strong sense of religion.

“Having God a part of my life is definitely important to me,” he says.

“Every practice [Arnett] works hard,” says 1600-meter relay teammate Christian Smith, a fellow freshman who set a school record of his own in the indoor 500-meter race. “[He] conducts himself with a quiet leadership quality that I’m sure will make him a captain someday.”

After narrowing down a self-made list of schools, the under-recruited Arnett ultimately chose Binghamton over Fordham University because it matched the idea that he had, growing up, of what college should be like.

“I always wanted to go away to school and live on a campus, kind of like the TV perspective of what a college should be.”

Growing up in Jamaica, Queens and going to school in the Bronx at Fordham would have been too close to home.

Arnett was also drawn to Binghamton for its strong academic reputation, as well as its up-and-coming track and field program that had a strong incoming freshman class around him. The other talented freshmen, who have had strong seasons themselves, speak highly of Arnett.

“[He’s] a wonder … the fastest I have ever run with,” Smith says. “Every practice he works hard and conducts himself with a quiet leadership quality that I’m sure will make him a captain someday.”

“Cazal is one of the nicest guys I know,” says freshman sprinter Andrew Haupt. “He is a great teammate and is always cheering for everyone during their race.”

“Cazal is extremely talented and in my opinion has only scratched the surface of what he can do,” said freshman sprinter Andy Silva. “I think will be the No. 1 guy in the conference until he graduates.”

Now that Arnett has already almost reached his goal that he set at the beginning of the season of running the 400 in 47 seconds flat, he has set the bar a bit higher.

“For the end of this season, I want to run a 46.7,” he says. That time would shatter the school and conference record he set earlier this season.

However, Arnett, who Smith also describes as, “very modest and unassuming … [even] with all of his success,” is not yet willing to look too far ahead.

“I’m not sure exactly what the future holds,” Arnett says. “I do want to set goals, and there are times I’d like to run, but for now I’d rather just play it by ear.”

“Before a race, I’m just thinking, ‘spring as fast as you can.’”