Moreno believes mental approach is key to successful season

Jesse Moreno has put in the long runs and hard work.
 
More than physical discipline, though, what separates Moreno from many other distance runners is a finely tuned mental approach.
 
A fifth-year senior, Moreno is unquestionably the leader of a Morehead State men's team that will open the cross country season Sept. 2 with the Eagle Opener at the former Sunnybrook Golf Course.
 
"This sport, cross country, is all about will," Moreno said. "It's all about just breaking the people around you in a race. I think by me just having the confidence to push right through and let my opponent believe that I'm actually feeling better than I am, then they can't run with me anymore."
 
MSU's captain missed last season due to an IT (iliotibial) band injury in his left knee. His knee became so inflamed that it would not fully bend. He had trouble walking, let alone running.
 
Now, he's back.
 
His goals include a top-two finish for MSU in the Ohio Valley Conference Championships. He wants to be a top-five individual in the OVC, then place among the top 25 in the NCAA Regional meet.
 
He'd also like to post school records for 8,000- and 10,000-meter cross country races. He comes in with the second-best times at those distances – 24:24.69 for 8K and 31:00.2 for 10K. The school records are held by Ron Duncan (24:15 in 2007) and Zachariah Elliott (30:37 in 2013).
 
Moreno already holds MSU track records at 3,000 (8:22.95), 5,000 (14:27.93) and 10,000 meters (30:29.59), as well as in the 4-by-1,500 relay (15:52.52).
 
Setting high goals serves as his motivation.
 
"When I come to practice, it's like 'look, if I said I wanted to do all these things and I said I wanted to win OVC, I'm going to have to step in and wake up every day, be the best I can be every day," he said. "Be the best today so I'm not disappointed tomorrow."
 
Moreno came to MSU from Riverside, Ohio, near Dayton.
 
In middle school, he had visions of being the next Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. But size – he weighs 132 pounds now – dashed his football hopes. It was his mother, Jennifer, who encouraged him to jump into a middle-school three-mile race.
 
With no training, and in a field of about 300 runners, Moreno placed third. He knew he had found his sport.
 
He posted a 5,000-meter personal best of 15:19 in cross country at Stebbins High School. Then, he started looking at colleges. He visited Ohio State. Then, Grand Valley State.
 
"I went to a lot of good schools, but I didn't really get the feeling that I belonged there until I came to Morehead," Moreno said. "I hung out with the team. I saw how personable they were. They weren't your typical running team. They were from all over. They were very diverse. They seemed like they all got along. It was like a family away from home."
 
That family connection was the clincher because Moreno knew his family soon would be moving to who-knows-where.
 
His father, also named Jesse, is a major in the Air Force and has since been relocated to Florida. The MSU Jesse's younger sister, Julia, is a freshman at the University of Florida.
 
Parents draw the credit for making MSU's top runner the leader that he is.
 
"I kind of take things from both of them," he said. "My mom is so confident in me and my competitiveness. And my dad had the work ethic. You blend those two together and I just try to be the best human being possible because of them."
 
Stephen Picucci, coach of the Eagles, says Moreno leads both by example and by word of mouth.
 
"He's extremely dedicated, he works extremely hard," Picucci said. "But, also, if he sees somebody stepping out of line, he doesn't hesitate; he just takes care of it. He's very encouraging at the same time, so he does a very good job of kind of doing both roles with 'hey, I'm going to do everything I can to be as successful on the cross country course and in the classroom.' He kind of leads by example that way, but he also is very good at making sure if somebody's struggling a little bit to build them up."
 
A business management major with a minor in marketing, Moreno is on course to graduate in May. He envisions becoming a marketing associate for "some kind of sport-oriented thing."
 
Having practiced jujitsu for eight years, he says he would love to land a job on the promotional side of a combat sport.
 
When he first arrived at Morehead, Moreno found that the school record for 5,000 meters was roughly 30 seconds faster than his PR (personal record). His sophomore season, he broke the MSU record by nearly 20 seconds.
 
He says his improvement is due to commitment, hard work and confidence. Also, he says, credit his teammates for their dedication to the sport and what that does to motivate him.
 
That team connection is why, when forced to choose, he says he prefers cross country over track.
 
"Your team is stepping on the line. You're all in one box," Moreno said. "You're like 'I'm doing this not just for myself, but for everybody.' There's someone else relying on you. And every moment that you think about conceding to your opponent, you have to think about those other people out there who are hurting just as bad as you are that rely on you to do well."
 
Improvement seemed to come easily in Moreno's first six years of competitive running, setting PR's each season. Then came his knee injury, during the 2014 cross country season.
 
He wondered if he would ever be able to compete at the same level again. He had to dedicate himself to rehabilitation, working in the weight room and, finally, to training again. He says he took inspiration from NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose, both of whom overcame severe injuries.
 
Moreno is back to 100 percent now. He trains about 80 miles each week, which includes a long run of 16 miles.
 
And he's leading his team. Not just by running fast, but by encouraging his teammates to stay in a close pack and compile the best team score possible.
 
"It's all on how your five (runners) do, so you've got to keep everybody together, and he does a really good job of that," Picucci said. "But, at the same time, our guys know that there's going to be a certain point of the race where every spot, every person you can get individually will help us as a team. He does a very good job."
 
Morehead State, picked fifth in a preseason poll of OVC coaches, will play host to four teams in the Sept. 2 season opener: Eastern Kentucky, Marshall, Campbellsville and Charleston (W.Va.). Racing begins at 6:30 p.m., and admission is free.