Skip to main content

Omwamba Takes Kanto Regionals 1500 m and 10000 m Wins in Collegiate Debut

by Brett Larner

scroll down to results for video of all races



The first university to bring Kenyans to run in Japan, Yamanashi Gakuin University debuted its newest find, first-year Enock Omwamba, on the first weekend of Japan's biggest and best university meet, the Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships, May 12-13 in Tokyo's National Stadium.  Omwamba got the weekend started by taking down rival Nihon University's Kenyan first-year Daniel Kitonyi in the 1500 m, winning the final in 3:45.92.

 Returning the next day in the 10000 m, Omwamba stayed at the rear of the lead pack throughout the race as Nihon University senior Benjamin Gandu battled with Hakone Ekiden winner Toyo University's ace twins Keita Shitara and Yuta Shitara.  The Shitara twins worked together to crack Gandu and other at the front of the race, alternating the lead and pushing the pace until they were alone.  Omwamba came on strong in the final 2000 m, gaining contact with the twins, passing Yuta, then moving into the lead and surging away over the final lap to take the win in a new best of 28:18.93.  Keita, who ran his best of 28:15.90 just a few weeks ago, held off his brother for 2nd in 28:28.61 with Yuta two seconds back in his first time breaking 29 minutes, just ahead of past champions Tsubasa Hayakawa (Tokai Univ.) and Gandu.

The Division 2 men's 10000 m was a strange and fascinating race of surges, somewhat slower than the main race but no less interesting.  A lead quartet made up of 5000 m national collegiate champion Kenta Murayama (Komazawa Univ.), teammate Shogo Nakamura (Komazawa Univ.), Keisuke Fujii (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) and Kenyan Duncan Muthee (Takushoku Univ.) all took turns dropping repeated surges throughout the race, then backing off and letting the pace slacken.  National university half marathon champion Toshikatsu Ebina (Teikyo Univ.) struggled to stay with them, opting for a more even pace that saw him repeatedly gain contact with the quartet and then fall back.  In the end Murayama proved the strongest, holding off Fujii over the last lap for the win in 28:58.20.

The women's 10000 m also featured frontrunning teamwork from a pair of twins, Tsukuba University first-years Haruka Kyuma and Moe Kyuma in their 10000 m debuts.  Both Kyumas sat back in the pack through the slow first half before Haruka went to the front at 5000 m.  Moe moved up to join her and the two worked together to lead until Moe abruptly dropped back at 9000 m.  In the final kilometer Haruka paid for her frontrunning, dropping to 6th as defending champion Mai Shinozuka (Chuo Univ.) and Eri Tayama (Daito Bunka Univ.) went to the line in a virtual photo-finish.  Shinozuka took the title in 34:08.45, Tayama clocking 34:08.56.

The Kanto Regional University Track & Field Championships continue next weekend with both men's and women's 5000 m and the men's half-marathon, always one of the highlights of the meet.  Look for Shinozuka and others to add further titles to this year's haul.

2012 Kanto Regional University Track & Field Championships Part One
National Stadium, Tokyo, 5/12-13/12
click event for video

1. Enock Omwamba (Kenya/Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 28:18.93
2. Keita Shitara (Toyo Univ.) - 28:28.61
3. Yuta Shitara (Toyo Univ.) - 28:30.68
4. Tsubasa Hayakawa (Tokai Univ.) - 28:32.63
5. Benjamin Gandu (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) - 28:45.83
6. Shota Hiraga (Waseda Univ.) - 28:46.16
7. Hideyuki Tanaka (Juntendo Univ.) - 28:51.06
8. Keigo Yano (Nittai Univ.) - 28:53.25
9. Takumi Honda (Nittai Univ.) - 28:54.64
10. Hirotaka Tamura (Nihon Univ.) - 29:06.60

1. Kenta Murayama (Komazawa Univ.) - 28:58.20
2. Keisuke Fujii (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 28:59.13
3. Duncan Muthee (Kenya/Takushoku Univ.) - 29:00.85
4. Shogo Nakamura (Komazawa Univ.) - 29:02.70
5. Toshikatsu Ebina (Teikyo Univ.) - 29:08.25
6. Wataru Ueno (Komazawa Univ.) - 29:22.07
7. Taiki Yoshimura (Ryutsu Keizai Univ.) - 29:27.28
8. Sora Tsukada (Heisei Kokusai Univ.) - 29:28.13
9. Masaya Kakihara (Kanagawa Univ.) - 29:34.87
10. Kazuma Ito (Waseda Grad School) - 29:39.91

1. Mai Shinozuka (Chuo Univ.) - 34:08.45
2. Eri Tayama (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 34:08.56
3. Megumi Amako (Waseda Univ.) - 34:12.79
4. Mayumi Watanabe (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 34:13.10
5. Narumi Shirataki (Nihon Univ.) - 34:13.11
6. Haruka Kyuma (Tsukuba Univ.) - 34:14.66
7. Azusa Kurusu (Juntendo Univ.) - 34:19.53
8. Moe Kyuma (Tsukuba Univ.) - 34:28.79
9. Akane Kaai (Tamagawa Univ.) - 34:31.55
10. Rika Saito (Chuo Univ.) - 34:43.66

1. Enock Omwamba (Kenya/Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 3:45.92
2. Daniel Kitonyi (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) - 3:47.13
3. Yudai Yamamoto (Josai Univ.) - 3:52.41
4. Genki Yagisawa (Meiji Univ.) - 3:53.46
5. Keisuke Hirata (Josai Univ.) - 3:54.76

1. Masaki Toda (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 3:50.95
2. Yuki Kawasaki (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 3:51.94
3. Ryotaro Otani (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 3:52.08
4. Harry Mulenga (Kenya/Soka Univ.) - 3:52.09
5. Mitsunori Asaoka (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 3:53.09

1. Chikako Mori (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 4:25.83
2. Miho Shimizu (Hakuoh Univ.) - 4:27.52
3. Yukina Tanimoto (Tsukuba Univ.) - 4:27.60
4. Izumi Minemura (Chuo Univ.) - 4:28.09
5. Shiori Fujinoki (Rikkyo Univ.) - 4:30.43

(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thanks for the videos, much appreciated!

Most-Read This Week

Ninja Runner Yuka Ando Leads Japanese Women's Marathon Team in London: "I Want to Go For It"

Her form has been dubbed "ninja running." Both arms held straight down with almost no movement. That idiosyncratic style carried Yuka Ando , 23, to the fastest-ever marathon debut by a Japanese woman, 2:21:36, at March's Nagoya Women's Marathon to land at #4 on the all-time Japanese lists. All at once Ando found herself catapulted to the top level of women's marathoning, a candidate for Japan's next great marathoner. When she was younger Ando ran moving her arms like other runners, but she had a bad habit of moving robotically, her upper body and lower body not working in sync. The turning point came in 2014 when she joined Suzuki Hamamatsu AC . Working there with coach Masayuki Satouchi to eliminate the faults in her form, the pair arrived at the ninja running style that let her run relaxed. "Other people keep asking me, "Isn't it hard to run like that?" but for me it's comfortable," she said. The efficient form helped her mai

Yamaguchi 10th at United Airlines NYC Half - Weekend Overseas Results

2024 national cross-country champion Tomonori Yamaguchi was the top Japanese finisher in the men's race at the United Airlines NYC Half , taking 10th in 1:04:36. A 2nd-year at Waseda University , Yamaguchi was one of three collegiate runners running New York in the 11th year of JRN's development program collaboration between the Ageo City Half Marathon and the New York Road Runners, a program that has seen people like future half marathon and marathon NR breaker Yuta Shitara and Paris Olympic team member Akira Akasaki make their international debuts. Yamaguchi's Waseda teammate Taishi Ito started fast, going with the leaders through 5 km in 14:29 before losing touch. Hosei University senior Rei Matsunaga went through in 14:42 in his last race before joining the JR Higashi Nihon corporate team in April. Yamaguchi, who caught COVID after winning last month's National Cross-Country Championships, started more conservatively with a 15:11 first 5km. But where both Ito

Rui Aoki Wins National University Men's Half Marathon - Weekend Results

Yuka Ando 's win at the Nagoya Women's Marathon was the big news of the weekend, but there were other high-level races happening, even in Nagoya. Held in parallel with the marathon, the Nagoya City Half Marathon saw Australians Natalie Rule and Ed Goddard take easy wins by about 2.5 minutes each, Rule in 1:13:57 and Goddard in 1:04:01. The new Biwako Marathon also had a non-Japanese winner, China's Yousheng Guan scoring 1st in 2:14:58 with Japan's Hirohito Sugai next in 2:16:40. Mikiko Ota won the women's race in 2:50:44. The Shizuoka Marathon returned for its first running in five years, with club runner Shumpei Oda leading the top 7 men under 2:20 in 2:15:36. Women's winner Remi Tanaka ran 2:41:23, beating runner-up Ayumi Sano by exactly 7 minutes. And in Tokyo, Rui Aoki continued what has been a great season so far for Koku Gakuin University with a win at the National University Men's Half Marathon . Aoki and Hiro Konda of Chuo Gakuin Unive