Skip to main content

Bukkyo Over Ritsumeikan at Kansai University Women's Ekiden

by Brett Larner

The women's ekiden season kicked off with a matchup between the two top university teams in the country, Kyoto's dynamic pair Bukkyo University and Ritsumeikan University.  Ritsumeikan, missing aces Michi Numata and Hanae Tanaka, dominated the first half by winning the first three stages, including new records on the First and Third Stages by members Mutsumi Ikeda and Risa Takenaka.  Down 50 seconds at the start of the Fourth Stage, 2010 national champion Bukkyo's fortunes turned around thanks to a stage record run by ace Hikari Yoshimoto, and thanks to stage win by anchor Shiho Takechi and the absence of Ritsumeikan's Numata and Tanaka Bukkyo pulled away to a comfortable win nearly a minute and a half up on their rivals.

Bukkyo and Ritsumeikan are both so far ahead of any other school that their B-teams beat the next-strongest school, Kyoto Sangyo University.  Ritsumeikan's B-squad Fifth Stage runner Ikumi Natsuhara actually won her stage by nearly 20 seconds.  The two schools will meet again next month at the National University Women's Ekiden where Ritsumeikan will seek to regain the title it lost to Bukkyo last year.  With Natsuhara in place on the A-team, if Numata and Tanaka be back in action Bukkyo and Ritsumeikan should be a very even match.

2011 Kansai University Women's Ekiden
Kobe, 9/24/11
click here for complete results

Individual Stage Winners
First Stage (3.9 km) - Mutsumi Ikeda (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 12:20 - CR
Second Stage (3.3 km) - Akane Yabushita (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 10:09
Third Stage (6.5 km) - Risa Takenaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 20:52 - CR
Fourth Stage (6.5 km) - Hikari Yoshimoto (Bukkyo Univ.) - 20:52 - CR
Fifth Stage (3.3 km) - Ikumi Natsuhara (Ritsumeikan Univ. B) - 10:22
Sixth Stage (6.5 km) - Shiho Takechi (Bukkyo Univ.) - 21:47

Top Team Results - Six Stages, 30.0 km
1. Bukkyo Univ. A - 1:37:31
2. Ritsumeikan Univ. A - 1:38:59
3. Ritsumeikan Univ. B - 1:39:28
4. Bukkyo Univ. B - 1:39:37
5. Kyoto Sangyo Univ. - 1:39:45
6. Osaka Gakuin Univ. A - 1:41:36
7. Bukkyo Univ. C - 1:43:21
8. Kansai Univ. - 1:43:53
9. Kobe Gakuin Univ. - 1:45:16
10. Nara Sangyo Univ. - 1:45:34

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Goshima and Kasai Win 10000 m National Titles, Maeda Breaks U20 Asian Record

Rino Goshima and Jun Kasai stepped up with PBs to win the 2024 National Championships 10000 m titles Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium. In the women's race, Goshima, 4th in last December's 2023 National Championships 10000 m, went out front from the start with Kenyan teammate Judy Jepngetich pacing and 2023 3rd-placer Haruka Kokai in tow. Things were never on track to hit the 30:40.00 Paris Olympics standard, but except for a brief dip to 3:08 at 7000 m Goshima held steady at 3:05 to 3:06/km even as Kokai and Jepngetich fell off. With blood dripping from her left knee after getting spiked by Jepngetich, Goshima closed in 3:03 to take 5 seconds off her best from December's Nationals and win in 30:53.31, moving up to all-time Japanese #6. Jepngetich also PBd at 31:09.42 without counting in the standings, with Kokai 2nd in 31:10.53 and Kazuna Kanetomo 3rd in a PB 31:59.29. The runner-up last time, Yuka Takashima was last in 33:33.27. The men's race went out in a
1 comment
Read more

Ichiyama 8th at Copenhagen Marathon

Currently the #10-ranked Japanese man in the marathon with the fastest-ever domestic time at the elite Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx) made his international debut at Sunday's Copenhagen Marathon , literally an international debut as it was his first time outside the country. Ichiyama hoped to be in contention to break the 2:08:23 CR and go for the win, and with cool and breezy conditions ran easy in the lead group through 30 km. But something ate away at almost everyone as time went by, several people in the lead men's and women's groups saying humidity, and past 30 km Ichiyama fell off. Falling as low as 9th, he rallied after 40 km to finish 8th in 2:13:07. "It was different than in Japanese races," he said. "I'm used to bigger packs and more even pacing, but this was a kind of racing I hadn't done before. There's a lot to think about. I didn't feel like I was sweating a lot, but I got really thirsty and started sk
Post a Comment
Read more

Golden Games in Nobeoka Top Results

  For everyone not running yesterday's 10000 m National Championships , where the Asahi Kasei corporate team dominated the men's race with four out of four men sub-28 including winner Jun Kasai , 27:17.46, the grand dame of Japan's long distance time trial circuit was happening on AK's home ground in Miyazaki at the Golden Games in Nobeoka . Not including kids' races, a total of 74 women and 227 men ran in 14 heats of 5000 m, with a packed-in crowd of fans lining the track beating on metal sponsor boards with batons. It's a pretty awesome meet, and memorable performances included: National champion Kamimura Gakuen H.S. standout Caroline Kariba continued to kill it in the second month of her corporate league career, winning the 5000 m A-heat in 15:00.95 in a race where 3 out of the top 4 including her ran PBs. National champion Meijo University seemed flat at this point in the season, with none of its people under 16 minutes and star Nanase Tanimoto leading
1 comment
Read more