Pleasantville’s Gabriel Moronta continued his hot summer of racing by winning the 400 this weekend at the Felix Sanchez Classic at Pista de Atletismo Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Moronta, now competing for the Dominican Republic, won the 400 in 44.70, just 3-100ths of a second off his PR of 44.67 from June in a meet in Medellin, Columbia.
He’s now run sub 44.80 five times this summer, including two 44.70s, a 44.73 and a 44.79 in addition to his 44.67, which is 3rd on the all-time Dominican Republic list and 56-100ths of a second off the national-record 44.11 set in 2015 by Luguelin Santos in Beijing.
In Santo Domingo, Moronta won easily over former Arizona State All-America Justin Robinson of the U.S., who was 2nd in 45.08.
Moronta anchored South Florida’s winning 1,600-meter relay team at the 2025 NCAA Championships in Hayward Field in Eugene.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 