Gabriel Moronta, a 2021 Pleasantville graduate, led all qualifiers into the final in the 400-meter dash Tuesday at the Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe – the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Moronta, competing for the host Dominican Republic, ran 44.79 in the 3rd of three semifinal races, qualifying for the final at 6:45 p.m. EST on Wednesday.
That 44.79 is his 3rd-fastest time ever.
The first two finishers in each of the three races advanced to the final automatically and the next two-fastest runners advanced as small-q qualifiers.
Moronta, 23, is ranked 36th in the world with his PR and season-best 44.67, making him the No. 2 seed in the competition.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 