Pleasantville junior Gabriel Moronta opened his 2018-19 indoor season with an impressive second-place performance at the Bishop Loughlin Games in his first career 600-meter run.

Moronta won his section in 1:23.84 and finished second overall to Charlie Serrano of Matawan, who ran 1:23.03. There were 115 runners in 16 sections.

Moronta’s time is No. 8 in South Jersey history and No. 3 in Atlantic County history, behind two other Pleasantville middle-distance runners — Alan Laws in 2007 and Isaac Clark in 2012 (see list below).

Moronta, a medalist in the 800 at sectionals last year, was out in 26.1 and 56.0 and ran his last 200 in 27.9. Serrano, for the sake of comparison, was out in 52.5 but closed in 30.6, so if they were in the same section Moronta would have been closing fast at the end and the result could have been different.

Either way it’s an impressive result for Moronta, who ran 51.71 and 2:02.44 last year. He also ran on both Pleasantville’s 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relay teams, which placed third and fourth at states, helping P-ville win the state outdoor team title.

The 1:23 shows that Moronta in the right race on the right track is already in 1:57-1:58 shape for 800 meters.

All-Time South Jersey 600-Meter List
1:19.6h … Rob Novak [Bordentown], 2005
1:20.71 … Keith Griffith [Florence], 2010
1:21.13 … Shannon Sherrer [Vineland], 2003
1:21.20 … Isaac Clark [Pleasantville], 2012
1:21.76 … Alan Laws [Pleasantville], 2007
1:23.34 … Marcus Phillips [Cherry Hill East], 2011
1:23.56 … Tyler Davidson [Willingboro], 2016
1:23.83 … Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville], 2019

Burlington Township’s Jalen Jones had a successful college 400-meter dash debut Saturday, winning the two-lapper at the Princeton New Year’s Invitational at Jadwin Gym.

Jones, a freshman at Monmouth, out-raced freshman La’Shan White of Rider, a Bloomfield graduate, who was second in 51.80.

Jones also joined Nadale Buntin, Naeem Green and Greg Stickle in easily winning the 1,600-meter relay in 3:22.12, finishing 30 meters ahead of second-place Rider.

Jones ran a PR 48.84 for the Falcons last spring when he placed third at the state Group 3 meet. He also ran 1:55 for the 800.

Kutztown’s Stanley Green closed in on the school record Saturday when he won the 60-meter dash at the Lehigh Fast Times Before Finals invite at Rauch Fieldhouse in Bethlehem.

Green, a graduate of Holy Cross, ran a personal-best 6.98 edging senior Patrick Monahan by 4-100ths of a second.

Green’s 6.98 leaves him only 6-100ths of a second off the school record of 6.92 set by Kareef Wallace in 2005.

Green led all qualifiers with a 7.02 in the prelims, and Monahan was second-fastest with a 7.03 in the same heat.

It looks like Green’s previous PR was a 7.17 in the prelims of the 2016 PSAC indoor championships in Edinboro, Pa.

Green was a state Parochial B runner-up in the high hurdles and long jump his senior year at Holy Cross and was third in both 2014 and 2015 in the 55-meter dash at indoor states.

Moorestown graduate Zion Howard, a sophomore at nearby Moravian College, placed third in the final in 7.03 after a 7.04 in the trials. Howard’s PR is 6.96 from a meet at NYU last February. Howard earned All-America honors as a freshman last spring when he placed fourth at NCAA Division 3 nationals in the 200 in 21.42 in to a 1.7-meters-per-second wind.

Rowan freshman Spencer Jarrett, a graduate of Salem, was sixth with a 7.19 after a PR 7.15 in the trials, giving South Jersey three of the top six finishers.

It appears Green did not race at all during the 2016-17 season, either indoors or outdoors, so this race was his first since the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference outdoor meet in the spring of 2016. He was fifth in the long jump that weekend but didn’t place in the 100.

On Saturday, Green also placed fifth in the long jump with a 22-1, which is a college indoor PR. His previous collegiate PR was 21-4 1/4. He has gone 22-9 outdoors in college, and he jumped 22-6 at Holy Cross. It appears he never competed in the long jump indoors in high school, so the 22-1 is an overall indoor PR.