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Ngatia Runs 5000 m WL at Kanaguri Memorial Meet

by Brett Larner
videos by Ekiden News



Kenyan Hiram Ngatia (Team Toyota) came up with a major PB at Saturday's Kanaguri Memorial Meet, beating Moscow World Championships 10000 m bronze medalist Paul Tanui (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) to win the 5000 m A-heat in a world-leading 13:13.66.  Running on his birthday, Yamanashi Gakuin University star Enock Omwamba (Kenya) likewise PBd in 13:28.41, with Keita Shitara (Team Konica Minolta) edging his twin brother Yuta Shitara (Team Honda) for top Japanese honors at 6th in 13:41.04.

The Shitara twins' former Toyo University teammate Takanori Ichikawa (Team Hitachi Butsuryu) came up with a PB almost identical to theirs to win the B-heat in 13:41.84 just ahead of top collegiate Hironori Tsuetaki (Chuo Gakuin Univ.).  After running last month's United Airline NYC Half with support from JRN, Takashi Ichida (Team Asahi Kasei) and his former Kagoshima Jitsugyo H.S. teammate Koki Takada (Waseda Univ.) both PBd in the B-heat, Ichida 4th in 13:43.38 and Takada 6th in 13:50.32.



In the men's 1500 m, Ronald Kwemoi (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) led James Mwangi (Kenya/Team NTN) and Kota Murayama (Team Asahi Kasei) under the old meet record, winning in a solid 3:38.04.  Murayama's twin Kenta Murayama (Team Asahi Kasei) was 13th in 3:48.22.  Results were not as deep in the women's races, but Sayaka Kuwahara (Team Sekisui Kagaku) unexpectedly outran one of last year's top Japanese women, Yuka Takashima (Team Denso) for the 5000 m win in a good early-season PB of 15:35.56.  Kyoka Nakagawa (Kumamoto Shinai H.S.) won the high school girls' 3000 m A-heat in a relatively conservative 9:33.03.



Further north in the suburbs of Tokyo the Setagaya Time Trials meet was unusually high level up against Kanaguri in its first edition of the year.  2015 Hakone Ekiden course record setter Aoyama Gakuin University showed up to race, three of its four core members turning up in the A-heat and all PBing along with second-year Yuki Nakamura and third-year Yuya Ando, who both broke 14 for the first time.  AGU junior Tadashi Isshiki, the 2015 National University Half Marathon champion, outkicked Ethiopian Kassa Mekashaw (Team Yachiyo Kogyo) for the win in a PB 13:44.96.  Seniors Kazuma Kubota and Yusuke Ogura took 3rd and 5th in PBs of 13:49.27 and 13:55.97, with Nakamura 9th in 13:57.40 and Ando 11th in 13:57.75.



2013's 5000 m national champion Sota Hoshi (Team Fujitsu) led a quality 3000 m A-heat that saw the top 8 all run sub-8:10 PBs, Hoshi getting the win in 8:06.58.  High schooler Kazuyoshi Tamogami (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) turned heads in the 1500 m A-heat, winning in 3:50.13 over pro Yoshihiro Wakamatsu (Team Nissin Shokuhin).  Another high schooler, Ryoji Tatezawa (Saitama Sakae H.S.), was 3rd in 3:51.38.

24th Kanaguri Memorial Meet
Kumamoto, 4/4/15
click here for complete results

Men's 5000 m Heat 5
1. Hiram Ngatia (Kenya/Toyota) - 13:13.66 - WL, PB
2. Paul Tanui (Kenya/Kyudenko) - 13:19.62
3. William Malel (Kenya/Honda) - 13:26.86
4. Enock Omwamba (Kenya/Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 13:28.41 - PB
5. Patrick Mwaka (Kenya/Aisan Kogyo) - 13:31.00
6. Keita Shitara (Konica Minolta) - 13:41.04
7. Joseph Onsarigo (Kenya/ND Software) - 13:41.09
8. Yuta Shitara (Honda) - 13:41.66 - PB
9. Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei) - 13:42.82 - PB
10. Yuki Sato (Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:47.02

Men's 5000 m Heat 4
1. Takanori Ichikawa (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 13:41.84 - PB
2. Hironori Tsuetaki (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 13:42.16 - PB
3. Akihiko Tsumurai (Mazda) - 13:43.36 - PB
4. Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 13:43.38 - PB
5. Hiroki Matsueda (Juntendo Univ.) - 13:49.74
6. Koki Takada (Waseda Univ.) - 13:50.32 - PB
7. Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) - 13:52.12
8. Ryo Matsumoto (Toyota) - 13:52.89
9. Yuta Takahashi (DeNA) - 13:56.88
10. Lazarus Motanya (Kenya/Obirin Univ.) - 13:57.53

Women's 5000 m Heat 2
1. Sayaka Kuwahara (Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:35.56 - PB
2. Yuka Takashima (Denso) - 15:37.68
3. Eri Makikawa (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 15:54.58
4. Miki Sakakibara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 15:57.03
5. Yuki Mitsunobu (Denso) - 16:00.86

High School Girls' 3000 m Heat 4
1. Kyoka Nakagawa (Kumamoto Shinai H.S.) - 9:33.03
2. Yuki Shibata (Kitakyushu Municipal H.S.) - 9:34.88
3. Maho Jono (Oita Tomei H.S.) - 9:37.68
4. Yuki Udagawa (Kashiwa Nittai Prep H.S.) - 9:38.29
5. Rina Yamashita (Oita Tomei H.S.) - 9:43.38

Men's 1500 m Heat 2
1. Ronald Kwemoi (Kenya/Komori Corp.) - 3:38.04 - MR
2. James Mwangi (Kenya/NTN) - 3:40.04 (MR)
3. Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 3:41.16 (MR)
4. Masaki Toda (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 3:42.76 - PB
5. Daiki Hirose (Osaka Gas) - 3:43.78
-----
10. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 3:45.94
13. Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 3:48.22
15. Yuki Sato (Nissin Shokuhin) - 3:51.12

Women's 1500 m
1. Ayaka Nakagawa (Sekisui Kagaku) - 4:25.83
2. Maya Iino (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 4:26.90
3. Haruka Mochizuki (Kojima Press) - 4:28.46
4. Yurino Yokoyama (Meijo Univ.) - 4:29.08
5. Ayaka Yokose (Yamada Denki) - 4:29.58

Setagaya Time Trials
Setagaya, Tokyo, 4/4/15
click here for complete results

Men's 5000 m Heat 10
1. Tadashi Isshiki (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:44.96 - PB
2. Kassa Mekashaw (Ethiopia/Yachiyo Kogyo) - 13:45.17
3. Kazuma Kubota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:49.27 - PB
4. Kenta Matsubara (Toyota) - 13:55.52
5. Yusuke Ogura (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:55.97 - PB
6. Shota Kai (Yachiyo Kogyo) - 13:56.28 - PB
7. Keisuke Fujii (Toyota) - 13:56.35 - PB
8. Hayato Yamada (Toyota Boshoku) - 13:56.92 - PB
9. Yuki Nakamura (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:57.40 - PB
10. Tatsuya Hayashi (Toyota) - 13:57.57 - PB

Men's 3000 m Heat 8
1. Sota Hoshi (Fujitsu) - 8:06.58 - PB
2. Shota Shinjo (Honda) - 8:07.21 - PB
3. Yuki Munakata (Kanebo) - 8:07.77 - PB
4. Tsubasa Hayakawa (Toyota) - 8:07.88 - PB
5. Kazuto Kawabata (Tokai Univ.) - 8:08.48 - PB
6. Shuhei Shirota (Kanebo) - 8:08.96 - PB
7. Hiroyuki Fujii (Chuo Univ.) - 8:09.02 - PB
8. Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) - 8:09.06 - PB
9. Tomoyuki Morita (Kanebo) - 8:10.53
10. Keisuke Nakatani (Komazawa Univ.) - 8:11.01 - PB

Men's 1500 m Heat 6
1. Kazuyoshi Tamogami (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) - 3:50.13 - PB
2. Yoshihiro Wakamatsu (Nissin Shokuhin) - 3:50.48 - PB
3. Ryoji Tatezawa (Saitama Sakae H.S.) - 3:51.38 - PB
4. Keisuke Nakatani (Komazawa Univ.) - 3:51.64
5. Akihito Kobari (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) - 3:52.00
-----
8. Akinobu Murasawa (Nissin Shokuhin) - 3:55.53
10. Jordan Donnelly (U.S.A.) - 3:59.12

(c) 2015 Brett Larner
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