Pleasantville’s Gabriel Moronta won his first national title representing the Dominican Republic, placing 1st in the 400 at the Dominican Championships at Estadio La Barranquita in Santiago de los Caballeros.
Moronta, 23, ran 45.13, winning by three meters over Olympic silver medalist Lidio Andres Feliz, who was 2nd in 45.47. Feliz ran on the Dominican Republic’s gold medal mixed 4-by-4 at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene and was on the silver medal-winning mixed 4-by-4 at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
Moronta ran 1-100th of a second off his season-best 45.12 from Clermont, Fla., last month and 12-100ths of a second off his PR 45.01 from May of 2025 in Jacksonville. That ranks 8th in Dominican history.
This indoor season, Moronta set a DR national record at 600 meters when he ran 1:15.66 at Ocean Breeze.
Moronta graduated last year from Central Florida, where he anchored the national championship 4-by-4 that ran 3:00.42.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 