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Eight Rio Olympians to Line Up at National University Track and Field Championships - Entry List Highlights

by Brett Larner

Led by men'x 4x100 m relay silver medalist Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.), eight members of Japan's Rio de Janeiro Olympic team top the entry lists at this weekend's 85th National University Track and Field Championships in Kumagaya, Saitama.  Kiryu is entered in both the 100 m and 200 m. The men's 400 m features his Toyo University teammate Julian Walsh and Walsh's Rio 4x400 m partners Nobuya Kato (Waseda Univ.) and Takamasa Kitagawa (Juntendo Univ.).  Another Toyo Olympian, Daisuke Matsunaga, leads the men's 10000 m race walk, while Juntendo University's Kazuya Shiojiri, a last-minute add to the Rio team in the men's 3000 m steeplechase, is entered in the 5000 m and 10000 m along with the steeple.  Going for a triple of his own is Kohei Yamashita (Tsukuba Univ.) in the men's triple jump.  The only female collegiate Rio Olympian in athletics, Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) is set to add the 2016 national collegiate title to her resume alongside June's National Championships win.

In the distance events, Shiojiri and Takamizawa are the favorites in the steeple.  Defending men's 5000 m champion Hazuma Hattori (Toyo Univ.) is absent, leaving Patrick Wambui (Nihon Univ.) the favorite against sub-13:40 fourth-years Keisuke Nakatani (Komazawa Univ.), Kazuma Taira (Waseda Univ.) and Tadashi Isshiki (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.).  Wambui is also ranked #1 in the 10000 m with a 27:54.98 best, his only competition coming from 27:56.47 man Dominic Nyairo (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.).  The men's 1500 m is closely-matched, with the top five entrants all within 0.7 seconds of the 3:43.47 best of #1-ranked Nanami Arai (Tokai Univ.).

The women's 1500 m has its top three within less than a second of each other, talented first-year Chika Mukai (Meijo Univ.) leading the way in 4:16.76.  Fourth-year Natsuki Omori (Ritsumeikan Univ.) is the probably favorite in the women's 5000 m, the only woman in the field with a sub-15:30 best, but with a 15:33.95 best Natsuki Sekiya (Daito Bunka Univ.) could surprise.  Another first-year who made a stunning breakthrough earlier this summer with a 31:58.46 debut for 10000 m, Yuki Munehisa (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) is almost 40 seconds better than closest rival Ayumi Uehara (Matsuyama Univ.) on paper and, barring injury, should be the favorite.

85th National University Track and Field Championships
Entry List Distance Event Highlights
Kumagaya, Saitama, Sept. 2-4, 2016
click here for complete entry lists

Men's 1500 m
Nanami Arai (4th yr., Tokai Univ.) - 3:43.47
Tsukasa Anzai (4th yr., Juntendo Univ.) - 3:43.58
Ryohei Sakaguchi (1st yr., Tokai Univ.) - 3:43.88
Hiroya Inoue (3rd yr., Jobu Univ.) - 3:44.12
Ryunosuke Hayashi (4th yr., Tokai Univ.) - 3:44.17
Kazuyoshi Tamogami (1st yr., Chuo Univ.) - 3:44.70
Tenchi Kamitani (3rd yr., Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) - 3:44.72
Lazarus Motanya (3rd yr., Obirin Univ.) - 3:44.89
Naoki Nakamura (3rd yr., Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) - 3:44.91

Men's 5000 m
Patrick Wambui (2nd yr., Nihon Univ.) - 13:27.63
Keisuke Nakatani (4th yr., Komazawa Univ.) - 13:38.08
Kazuma Taira (4th yr., Waseda Univ.) - 13:38.65
Tadashi Isshiki (4th yr., Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:39.65
Shota Onizuka (1st yr., Tokai Univ.) - 13:43.61
Hiroyuki Sakaguchi (2nd yr., Meiji Univ.) - 13:45.73
Jinnosuke Matsumura (4th yr., Josai Univ.) - 13:46.23
Shiki Shinsako (1st yr., Waseda Univ.) - 13:47.97
Muiru Muthoni (1st yr., Soka Univ.) - 13:48.44
Ryoji Tatezawa (1st yr., Tokai Univ.) - 13:48.89

Men's 10000 m
Patrick Wambui (2nd yr., Nihon Univ.) - 27:54.98
Dominic Nyairo (2nd yr., Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 27:56.47
Yuki Hirota (4th yr., Tokai Univ.) - 28:30.76
Kazuya Shiojiri (2nd yr., Juntendo Univ.) - 28:32.85
Taiga Machizawa (4th yr., Chuo Univ.) - 28:43.51
Soma Ishikawa (4th yr., Nihon Univ.) - 28:43.66
Kazuto Kawabata (3rd yr., Tokai Univ.) - 28:44.71
Haruki Minatoya (2nd yr., Tokai Univ.) - 28:46.59
Masaya Komachi (3rd yr., Nittai Univ.) - 28:48.75
Kenta Ueda (3rd yr., Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 28:48.92

Men's 3000 mSC
Kazuya Shiojiri (2nd yr., Juntendo Univ.) - 8:31.89
Yasutaka Ishibashi (4th yr., Tokai Univ.) - 8:48.72
Issei Miyagi (4th yr., Tokai Univ.) - 8:49.18
Tsubasa Komuro (1st yr., Toyo Univ.) - 8:49.52
Hikaru Nakano (4th yr., Daito Bunka Univ.) - 8:50.32
Yuki Fujioka (2nd yr., Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) - 8:50.68

Women's 1500 m
Chika Mukai (1st yr., Meijo Univ.) - 4:16.76
Mina Ueda (2nd yr., Josai Univ.) - 4:17.08
Rina Koeda (4th yr., Daito Bunka Univ.) - 4:17.54
Chinatsu Uchiyama (4th yr., Tamagawa Univ.) - 4:19.26
Karin Yasumoto (2nd yr., Nittai Univ.) - 4:21.81
Naruha Sato (1st yr., Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 4:22.85

Women's 5000 m
Natsuki Omori (4th yr., Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 15:28.32
Natsuki Sekiya (1st yr., Daito Bunka Univ.) - 15:33.95
Misuzu Nakahara (4th yr., Matsuyama Univ.) - 15:36.22
Sakie Arai (4th yr., Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 15:40.64
Kureha Seki (2nd yr., Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 15:42.36
Ami Hirose (4th yr., Kansai Univ.) - 15:43.69
Kanna Tamaki (2nd yr., Meijo Univ.) - 15:48.85
Yuki Munehisa (1st yr., Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 15:49.37
Mina Ueda (2nd yr., Josai Univ.) - 15:54.69
Moeno Shimizu (2nd yr., Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 15:55.91

Women's 10000 m
Yuki Munehisa (1st yr., Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 31:58.46
Ayumi Uehara (4th yr., Matsuyama Univ.) - 32:36.25
Yuri Karasawa (3rd yr., Nittai Univ.) - 32:40.81
Anna Matsuda (4th yr., Matsuyama Univ.) - 32:54.41
Nanako Kanon (4th yr., Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 32:55.97
Kanade Furuya (2nd yr., Matsuyama Univ.) - 32:56.78
Moeno Shimizu (2nd yr., Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 33:00.02
Sakie Arai (4th yr., Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 33:03.18
Maki Izumida (3rd yr., Rikkyo Univ.) - 33:15.18
Kotona Ota (3rd yr., Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 33:19.43

Women's 3000 mSC
Anju Takamizawa (3rd yr., Matsuyama Univ.) - 9:44.22
Soyoka Segawa (4th yr., Daito Bunka Univ.) - 9:58.81
Misaki Mishima (4th yr., Matsuyama Univ.) - 10:05.94
Moeno Shimizu (2nd yr., Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 10:06.37
Kanako Kitamoto (4th yr., Meijo Univ.) - 10:08.05
Yui Yabuta (3rd yr., Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) - 10:10.55
Mami Nishimura (4th yr., Chuo Univ.) - 10:12.38
Kako Okada (1st yr., Matsuyama Univ.) - 10:16.77
Chisato Sekine (4th yr., Chuo Univ.) - 10:19.78
Nanami Niwa (3rd yr., Chuo Univ.) - 10:22.86

© 2016 Brett Larner
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