Full D.R. Championship Results

TAMPA - Junior Pedro Carela of the University of South Florida cross country team won the 5,000-meter title at the 25th annual Dominican Republic Track and Field National Championships a week ago, taking home the top honor in the men's race.

Carela ran 15:31.95 to win the event by more than eight seconds over the second-place finisher and among a field of 15 competitors all-together. The Championships were held April 29-May 2 in the Estadio Olimpico Vegano in La Vega, Dominican Republic, with the 5,000 taking place on Saturday, May 1.

More than 600 athletes competed at the Championships, which also included athletes from Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Carela competed unattached during the 2010 track season but was a member of USF's 2009 cross country squad, finishing as the top runner for the Bulls on one occasion and among the top 2 runners for USF four times during the season, including the NCAA South Regional in November.

One of USF's best cross country runners since he began competing in 2007, Carela has been the top runner for the Bulls seven times during his career, including the 2008 NCAA South Regional. He was named the team's Most Outstanding Cross Country Runner for the 2007-08 season.

Carela also ran track in 2008 and '09, competing in the 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 meters for the Bulls.

A Wharton High School graduate, Carela was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico on Feb. 16, 1989 before immigrating to the U.S. when he was nine years old. Carela's parents married in the Dominican Republic before moving to Puerto Rico, which means Carela can compete internationally for either the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico or the United States.