Pleasantville’s Gabriel Moronta won his semifinal and easily advanced to the 400 final at the NCAA Championships with the 2nd-fastest qualifying time.
Moronta, a South Florida senior, ran 45.10 to win the 2nd of three semifinals Wednesday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The top two finishers in each of three semis ane the next three-fastest times advanced to Friday’s final.
Moronta, who PR’d with 45.01 at the East Prelims late last month in Jacksonville, will race for an NCAA title at 6:02 p.m. on Friday.
Only three New Jersey quarter-milers have ever broken 45 seconds – Manchester Township’s Andrew Valmon ran 44.28 in 1983, Willingboro’s Lamont Smith ran 44.30 in 1996 and Najee Glass of St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City ran 44.79 in 2015. Moronta is the 2nd-fastest 400 runner ever from South Jersey and the fastest from South Jersey since Smith nearly three decades ago.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 