Of the 91 athletes on the 2012-13 track and field roster, only two women and three men are not from Washington or Oregon.

Head coach Stan Kerr explained that the limited number of athletes from places other than Washington and Oregon is due to team budget constraints.

Junior jumper Morena Mannucci was born in Rome. She gives all the credit to her older brother who encouraged her to start track and field and to come compete in America.

Her journey to EWU initially started by accident. When she was eight years old, she went with her brother to sign him up for rugby. Rather than doing that, they both started talking to the track and field coach.

“We ended up on the track by the rugby field talking to the coaches, and [we] started track and never quit,” Mannucci said.

Although both siblings competed in track and field, they opted for different events.

“My brother was a shot putter for University of Idaho, and he came [to the United States] two years before me. He really wanted to come here and get the same experience as me and be close to him,” Mannucci said.

When she started looking at schools, Mannucci was drawn to EWU. She did not want to go the exact same school as her brother, but she did want to be nearby. According to Mannucci, she was also drawn to Eastern’s programs. Mannucci is a marketing major.

This interest led her to email the jumping coach, who she kept contact with for a few months before fully making her decision. Mannucci said she was hesitant to move away from home, but now she is certain she made the right decision.

“It was scary,” Mannucci said. “I wasn’t sure that’s what I wanted, but I did it because of [my brother], and I’m thankful everyday for that.”

According to Mannucci, moving so far away from home was not an initially easy transition, and she admitted that the past two years have been very hard for her. Although she is now more comfortable and adjusted to living in Washington, she still misses certain aspects of Italy.

“The biggest difference is the food. I love my grandma’s food, and I miss it,” Mannucci said. “I love my family, and I miss them very much. Whenever I have a bad day, I always complain to my teammates about wanting to go home.”

In contrast, junior distance runner Jordan Curnutt had a much different recruiting experience. He is originally from Spokane and attended Mead High School. One of his major requirements for a college was that it would be close to his home.

Therefore, his choice was between Washington State University, EWU and Gonzaga. Curnutt knew that he wanted to attend EWU after his first recruiting trip.

“My recruiting trip at Eastern went really well,” Curnutt said. “I had already visited some other schools, but after my recruiting trip at EWU, I immediately knew it was where I wanted to go.”

Curnutt was also influenced by his high school coach, Steve Kiesel, who ran for EWU and was teammates with current head coach at Eastern Stan Kerr. Both Curnutt and Kiesel run the 800 meter, and Kiesel still holds the school record for that event.

Kerr explained the recruiting process for track and field as one that is based on aspects other than scores in competition.

“Mental toughness is something we have to deal with because college track is hard and division one is hard. We also look for good personalities, and academics is at the top of the list,” Kerr said.