Skip to main content

Gakuho Ishikawa Boys 2:00:36 CR to Win First National High School Ekiden Title

Like girls' race winner Nagano Higashi H.S., Fukushima's Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. boys took the lead on the first leg of the National High School Ekiden and held it the rest of the way, taking 24 seconds off the CR to win their first-ever national title in an incredible 2:00:36 for 42.195 km in 7 legs.

Yota Mashiko led off by slicing 23 seconds off the fastest-ever time by a Japanese-born athlete on the 10.0 km opening stage, outrunning main rival Haruki Niizuma of Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. by 20 seconds to take the stage title in 28:20. Second runner Hirotaka Wakata lost 5 seconds, but a stage win on the Third Stage from Ryo Kurimura put Gakuho Ishikawa up to 54 seconds ahead of its toughest competition, Sendai Ikuei H.S.

Its next two runners Shunto Sato and Ikumi Sueda took 3rd on their stages, losing some ground to Sendai Ikuei but raising the prospect of something that hadn't been seriously considered before. When Sueda handed off to 6th runner Mahiro Hoashi Gakuho Ishikawa was at 1:31:43 for 32.195 km, 2:00:13 pace for the full 42.195 km course. It was pretty clear the 2:01:00 CR was going to go, but were they going to break 2 hours?

Hoashi and anchor Osuke Misawa weren't up to it, but Misawa still broke the tape in 2:00:36, 24 seconds under the older record with an all-Japanese lineup. And with that, a sub-2 by a high school was in sight. Gakuho Ishikawa's 2nd runner Wakata was 9 seconds slower than the fastest Japanese runner on his stage, and 1st-year Misawa on anchor was 26 seconds slower. That's 35 seconds, theoretically bringing their time down to 2:00:01 if everything went 100% perfectly. It's on the horizon, and not that far away.

Sendai Ikuei also got under the old CR, even if just by 1 second, finishing in 2:00:59. And they did it without a Kenyan either, fielding Taiwanese 1500 m NR holder Chien Tzu-Chieh on the Second Stage where he ran a very solid 8:04 for 3.0 km, taking 4th against a field including 7 Kenyans and beating top Japanese Haruto Morita of Toyokawa H.S. by 6 seconds. CR holder Felix Muthiani of Yamanashi Gakuin H.S. dominated that stage, taking 5 seconds off his own record in 7:40.

Kurashiki H.S. was 3rd in 2:01:41 and Tottori Johoku H.S. 4th in 2:02:11, with a gap back to the rest of the 8-deep podium. That was filled by Yachioyo Shoin H.S., Nishiwaki Kogyo, Takushoku Daiichi H.S. and Toyokawa H.S. all finishing between 2:03:22 and 2:03:36. 2023 and 2024 national champ Saku Chosei H.S. was only 10th in 2:03:45, starting off rockily in 19th and clawing its way up to 8th on the Sixth Stage thanks in part to a stage win by 5th runner Haruki Sato but dropping off the podium on the anchor stage.

76th National High School Boys' Ekiden

Kyoto, 21 Dec. 2025
58 teams, 7 stages, 42.195 km

Top Individual Stage Results
First Stage (10.0 km)
1. Yota Mashiko (3rd yr., Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) - 28:20 - JPN CR
2. Haruki Niizuma (3rd yr., Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 28:40
3. Ojiro Honda (3rd yr., Tottori Johoku H.S.) - 28:52

Second Stage (3.0 km)
1. Felix Muthiani (3rd yr., Yamanashi Gakuin H.S.) - 7:40 - CR
2. Bilith Boi (1st yr., Sapporo Yamanote H.S.) - 7:45 (CR)
3. James Karuri (3rd yr., Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 7:54

Third Stage (8.1075 km)
1. Ryo Kurimura (3rd yr., Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) - 23:13
2. Junsei Murakami (3rd yr., Tottori Johoku H.S.) - 23:33
3. Hiroto Suzuki (3rd yr., Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 23:35

Fourth Stage (8.0875 km)
1. Ryo Omi (3rd yr., Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 23:02
2. Yudai Fujii (2nd yr., Miyazaki Nichidai H.S.) - 23:06
3. Shuto Sato (3rd yr., Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) - 23:12

Fifth Stage (3.0 km)
1. Hayate Takasawa (3rd yr., Yachiyo Shoin H.S.) - 8:36
1. Haruki Sato (3rd yr., Saku Chosei H.S.) - 8:36
3. Ikumi Sueda (3rd yr., Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) - 8:39

Sixth Stage (5.0 km)
1. Ren Kitamura (2nd yr., Kurashiki H.S.)
2. Mahiro Hoashi (3rd yr., Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) - 14:24
3. Kento Sato (3rd yr., Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 14:26

Seventh Stage (5.0 km)
1. Tsukasa Wakabayashi (3rd yr., Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 14:03
2. Shunto Kuwata (3rd yr., Kurashiki H.S.) - 14:12
3. Shunki Nagashima (2nd yr., Toyokawa H.S.) - 14:19

Top Team Results
1. Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. - 2:00:36 - CR
2. Sendai Ikuei H.S. - 2:00:59 (CR)
3. Kurashiki H.S. - 2:01:41
4. Tohoku Johoku H.S. - 2:02:11
5. Yachiyo Shoin H.S. - 2:03:22
6. Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. - 2:03:24
7. Takushoku Daiichi H.S. - 2:03:34
8. Toyokawa H.S. - 2:03:36
9. Tosu Kogyo H.S. - 2:03:38
10. Saku Chosei H.S. - 2:03:45

© 2025 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...
1 comment
Read more

Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon

On Apr. 9 the Kinki Region Bureau of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Division arrested Matthew Inglis Fox , 38, an Australian business owner of no known fixed address, on charges of violating the importation regulations of the Narcotics Control Act by smuggling tablets containing marijuana elements from the United States. The suspect had entered Japan in February to run in the Osaka Marathon . The suspect was arrested on suspicion of smuggling approximately 12 pills containing marijuana by sending them from a U.S. airport to Osaka's Kansai Airport using an international courier service on Feb. 19. The Osaka branch of the Customs Service discovered the tablets in arriving cargo and suspected them to be narcotics. Customs contacted the Narcotics Control Division, which then began its investigation of the case. According to the Narcotics Control Division, the suspect denies the charges.  Translator's note: Fox, who received a lifetime ban from the Ageo City Half Mara...
41 comments
Read more

Chisato Fukushima Selected as First Women`s 100 m Olympian in 56 Years

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080706-00000027-yom-spo http://www.47news.jp/CN/200807/CN2008070601000467.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On July 6 Rikuren announced that it has added women`s 100 m runner Chisato Fukushima (20, Hokkaido HiTec AC) to the Beijing Olympic team. Fukushima will become the first Japanese woman to compete in the Olympic 100 m since Ayako Yoshikawa ran in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Fukushima broke the Olympic B-standard of 11.42 with her national record-tying 11.36 mark at April`s Oda Memorial Meet. Although she won June`s National Track and Field Championships, Fukushima was not initially selected for the team as she did not meet the Olympic A-standard. In light of her victory at today`s Nambu Memorial Meet in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Rikuren reversed its decision and added her to the Olympic team lineup. Fukushima reacted to the news of her Beijing ticket by saying, "It hasn`t really hit me that it`s real yet. I would be honored to be the tri...
Post a Comment
Read more