Kyoto Sangyo Takes First-Ever Biwako University Ekiden Win

by Brett Larner

Thanks in part to a big run from 2010 national university 5000 m champion Hiroki Mitsuoka on the 15.1 km Seventh Stage, Kyoto Sangyo University took its first-ever win Nov. 20 in the Biwako University Ekiden, western Japan's counterpart to January's Hakone Ekiden. Kyoto Sangyo defeated perpetual winner Ritsumeikan University by over 2 1/2 minutes, joining Bukkyo University's women's team in ending the Ritsumeikan stranglehold on western Japan men's and women's distance running.

2010 Biwako University Ekiden - Top Results
click here for complete results
Stage Best Performances
First Stage (11.1 km) - Tetsuya Kimura (Osaka Keizai Univ.) - 33:12
Second Stage (7.3 km) - Kenji Nakamura (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 21:48
Third Stage (11.0 km) - Jackson Kwarai (Tanzania/Nara Sangyo Univ.) - 33:11
Fourth Stage (9.6 km) - Kiragu Njuguna (Kenya/Daiichi Kogyo Univ.) - 27:50
Fifth Stage (9.0 km) - Daiki Maruno (Daiichi Kogyo Univ.) - 27:50
Sixth Stage (12.8 km) - Hiroyuki Tanaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 38:27
Seventh Stage (15.1 km) - Hiroki Mitsuoka (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) - 44:55
Eighth Stage (7.7 km) - Kenro Muranishi (Nagoya Univ.) - 23:56

Top Team Performances - 83.6 km
1. Kyoto Sangyo Univ. - 4:13:54
2. Ritsumeikan Univ. - 4:16:35
3. Daiichi Kogyo Univ. - 4:18:25
4. Osaka Keizai Univ. - 4:20:22
5. Nara Sangyo Univ. - 4:20:28

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
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