Skip to main content

Ndirangu and Wainaina Win Japanese National High School Championships

by Brett Larner

The 2011 National High School Track and Field Championships took place this weekend in Iwate prefecture, an area hard-hit by March's earthquake and tsunami.  Kenyan student at Japanese high schools swept the distance events, taking the top three spots in the boys' 5000 m and the top two in the girls' 3000 m.  Following the trail set by the talented Bitan Karoki (Kenya/Sera H.S.), Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Sera H.S.) proved once again that Sera has top-notch scouts as he ignored the heat to win the 5000 m final in 13:40.99 by a margin of more than 15 seconds over Titus Waroru (Kenya/Chinzai H.S.).  Murgi Wainaina (Kenya/Toyokawa H.S.) had a narrower win over Ndirangu's teammate Susan Wylim (Kenya/Sera H.S.) in the girls' 3000 m final, winning by less than four seconds in 9:04.55.  Tomoka Kimura (Chikushi Joshi Gakuen H.S.) went for the 1500 m - 5000 m double after finishing 3rd in the 3000 m, but was outleaned in the 1500 m by first-year Yui Fukuda (Suma Gakuen H.S.), a teammate of 2011 national 1500 m champion Mika Kobayashi (Suma Gakuen H.S.).  Fukuda took the win in 4:17.15 with Kimura straight behind in 9:17.22.

2011 National High School T&F Championships
Iwate, Aug. 4-7, 2011
click here for complete results
Boys' 5000 m Final
1. Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Sera H.S.) - 13:40.99
2. Titus Waroru (Kenya/Chinzai H.S.) - 13:56.64
3. Jeremiah Karemi (Kenya/Toyokawa H.S.) - 14:05.45
4. Ken Yokote (Sakushin Gakuin H.S.) - 14:06.02
5. Yuma Hattori (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 14:06.42
6. Kazuma Kubota (Kyushu Gakuin H.S.) - 14:12.82
7. Yuta Oyama (Toyokawa Kogyo H.S.) - 14:18.15
8. Yuta Katsumata (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 14:18.91
9. Kenya Sonota (Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 14:20.86
10. Tadashi Isshiki (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 14:22.21

Girls' 3000 m Final
1. Murgi Wainaina (Kenya/Toyokawa H.S.) - 9:04.55
2. Susan Wylim (Kenya/Sera H.S.) - 9:08.14
3. Tomoka Kimura (Chikushi Joshi Gakuen H.S.) - 9:10.19
4. Miyuki Oka (Kojokan H.S.) - 9:10.62
5. Yuriko Kosaki (Narita H.S.) - 9:15.52
6. Miki Sakakibara (Hamakita Nishi H.S.) - 9:15.80
7. Eri Makikawa (Seiryo H.S.) - 9:16.64
8. Katsuki Suga (Kojokan H.S.) - 9:18.08
9. Miyuki Uehara (Kagoshima Joshi H.S.) - 9:23.58
10. Ayano Ikeuchi (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 9:24.58

Boys' 1500 m Final
1. Masaki Toda (Tokyo Nogyo Prep H.S. #2) - 3:47.36
2. Yusuke Uchikoshi (Kugayama H.S.) - 3:47.48
3. Yudai Yamamoto (Suma Gakuen H.S.) - 3:48.41

Girls' 1500 m Final
1. Yui Fukuda (Suma Gakuen H.S.) - 4:17.15
2. Tomoka Kimura (Chikushi Joshi Gakuen H.S.) - 4:17.22
3. Shiho Takeda (Tokiwa H.S.) - 4:17.86

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Bruce said…
I have input fairly complete results for 1500, 3000, 5000, and 3000m steeple. I focus on strong middle distance schools, which results in somewhat spotty coverage of the 800 (and also a few sprints). Of note is how the boys 1500m marks, led by 2 Kanto runners, take 5 of the top 6 places and 16 of the top 23 in the combined USA/Canada/Japan rankings. The Japanese high school girls take 5 of the top 8 and 16 of the top 23 in the same rankings. The ladies of Nippon also take 90 of the top 100 slots in the 3000m.
2011 InterHigh Results: http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=138357#35218
USA/Canada?/JapanRankings: http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Division/Event.aspx?DivID=28139&Gender=M&Event=52
August 9, 2011 at 1:36 AM
Brett Larner said…
Thanks, Bruce, that's some great work you've done in putting these stats together.
August 10, 2011 at 12:19 AM
Bruce said…
Hope others find it interesting. Started out of my involvement with Tokyo area international schools in track and cross country. None of us had any knowledge of Japanese high school track and ekiden. Thanks to your site, I began slowly finding out what is going on and where to find data. Still takes a long time to find published results and to guess at name spellings.
August 10, 2011 at 1:18 AM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
3 comments
Read more