2010 Chiba International Cross-Country

2010 Chiba International Cross-Country - Results

by Brett Larner

Together with the Fukuoka International Cross Country Meet at the end of the month, the Chiba International Cross Country Meet makes up part of the selection process for the Japanese national teams for March's World Cross Country Championships in Poland. Cross country has never been a significant part of Japanese distance running, and this year many of the biggest names on the entry lists gave the meet a miss.

In the senior men's race, high schooler Bitan Karoki (Kenya/Sera H.S.) returned to take the win over a field of university and pro runners. Defending women's champion Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Kagaku) likewise returned but finished only 17th.

Below are the top finishers in each of the meet's main divisions. The top two domestic runners in each category stand a good chance of being selected for the Worlds team, while those in 3rd and below will have to wait to see what happens in Fukuoka.

2010 Chiba International Cross Country Meet - Top Finishers
click here for complete results
Senior Men - 12 km
1. Bitan Karoki (Kenya/Sera H.S.) - 34:51
2. Martin Mukule (Kenya/Team Toyota) - 35:22
3. Charles Dirango (Kenya/Sera H.S.) - 35:23
4. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Meiji Univ.) - 35:31
5. Takuya Noguchi (Nittai Univ.) - 35:34
6. Kazuya Deguchi (Nittai Univ.) - 35:36
-----
12. Hiroyuki Ono (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 36:04
18. Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 36:14

Senior Men 4 km
1. Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Team Suzuki) - 11:14
2. Yasunori Murakami (Team Fujitsu) - 11:42
3. Ryotaro Nitta (Team Konica Minolta) - 11:42
4. Aoi Matsumoto (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 11:46
5. Hidehito Takamine (Team JAL Ground Service) - 11:47

Junior Men 8 km
1. Kazuto Nishiike (Suma Gakuen H.S.) - 23:29
2. Sugeru Osako (Saku Chosei H.S.) - 23:34
3. Steven Karno (Kenya/Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 23:36
4. Shun Morozumi (Saku Chosei H.S.) - 23:39
5. Takumi Honda (Kyushu Gakuin H.S.) - 23:41

Senior Women 6 km
1. Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 19:39
2. Hitomi Niiya (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 19:42
3. Risa Takenaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 19:50
4. Nanako Hayashi (Team Yamada Denki) - 19:58
5. Kazue Kojima (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 19:59
-----
17. Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 20:22
34. Seika Nishikawa (Meijo Univ.) - 20:49

Junior Women 5 km
1. Nanaka Izawa (Toyokawa H.S.) - 16:24
2. Chihiro Tanabe (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 16:31
3. Akane Sueyoshi (Isahaya H.S.) - 16:32
4. Yuki Hidaka (Kitakyushu Civic H.S.) - 16:34
5. Yuka Ando (Toyokawa H.S.) - 16:34

Update: For more detailed coverage of the Chiba results check Ken Nakamura's report for the IAAF.

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

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