Meijo Wins Fifth-Straight National Title, 18-Year-Old Fuwa Sets Sendai on Fire at National University Women's Ekiden
Meijo University led almost start-to-finish at Sunday's National University Women's Ekiden, taking five of the six individual stage bests to become only the second school to win five-straight national titles. Opening runner Yuma Yamamoto waited until the last km of her 6.6 km stage to turn it on, opening a 7-second lead to win it in 21:48. Second runner Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu overcame a bad season to break the record for her stage, running 12:01 for 3.9 km and building Meijo's lead to 23 seconds. Third runner Yuna Wada added another 56 seconds to the lead with a 21:51 win on her 6.9 km stage, and fourth runner Nanase Tanimoto turned in a 15:37 stage record for 4.8 km to chalk up another 14 seconds. 10000 m collegiate record holder Narumi Kobayashi was the weakest link, finishing only 3rd on the 9.2 km Fifth Stage on individual time but still stretching out Meijo's lead to 2:07. Anchor Yuka Masubuchi had more than enough to work with with onl...