Skip to main content

Omwamba Runs 3:35.69 National Collegiate Record for 4th-Straight Kanto Regionals 1500 m Title

by Brett Larner
video by naoki620



Senior Enock Omwamba (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) brought the biggest news of the second day of the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships at Yokohama's Nissan Stadium, winning his fourth-straight D1 Kanto 1500 m title in a national collegiate record 3:35.69.  Omwamba simply outclassed the field, runner-up Patrick Wambui (Nihon Univ.) more than 5 seconds back in 3:41.13 and top Japanese finisher Mitsutaka Tomita (Tokai Univ.) 3rd in 3:47.20.  The fastest time by a Japanese runner actually came in the D2 1500 m final, where Hiroya Inoue (Jobu Univ.) took 0.1 off marathon great Daniel Njenga's meet record with his 3:45.47 win.

Alongside Omwamba, Sakurako Fukuuchi (Daito Bunka Univ.) likewise pulled off a successful title defense in the women's 10000 m, winning for the second year in a row in 33:32.94 by almost 4 seconds over teammate Fuyuka Kimura.  Another Daito Bunka runner, Rina Koeda, won the women's 1500 m in 4:17.54, less than 1 second off the 18-year-old meet record of 4:16.64.  With both Fukuuchi and Koeda entered in the 5000 m where they are seeded 1-2 and Fukuuchi is the two-time defending champion, and DBU third-year Soyoka Segawa seeded #1 in the 3000 mSC the chances are good for a Daito Bunka sweep of the women's distance events.

Omwamba and Inoue were not the only new records set on the meet's second day.  New records also came in the men's D1 110 mH, D2 4x100 m relay, men's D1 long jump and the men's D3 decathlon.  The day's other main event, the men's D1 100 m final, came up short of a new record with the withdrawal of wunderkind Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) with twinges in his left hamstrings after running well in the heats and semi-final.  In his absence Asuka Cambridge (Nihon Univ.) took the win in 10.33 +1.0, with Toyo's 4x100 m team a DNF in the D1 final.

94th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships Day Two
Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 5/15/15
click here for complete results

Women's 10000 m
1. Sakurako Fukuuchi (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 33:32.94
2. Fuyuka Kimura (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 33:36.73
3. Saki Fukui (Josai Univ.) - 33:37.40
4. Yuri Karasawa (Nittai Univ.) - 34:16.35
5. Sayaka Sato (Toyo Univ.) - 34:17.11

Men's D1 1500 m Final
1. Enock Omwamba (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 3:35.69 - NUR
2. Patrick Wambui (Nihon Univ.) - 3:41.13
3. Mitsutaka Tomita (Tokai Univ.) - 3:47.20
4. Yuki Muta (Meiji Univ.) - 3:47.43
5. Shogo Hata (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 3:47.62

Men's D2 1500 m Final
1. Hiroya Inoue (Jobu Univ.) - 3:45.47 - MR
2. Shota Motegi (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 3:48.31
3. Ryusei Yoshinaga (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 3:48.40
4. Ryuya Kajitani (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 3:48.90
5. Sho Sakuma (Asia Univ.) - 3:49.30

Women's 1500 m Final
1. Rina Koeda (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 4:17.54
2. Mina Ueda (Josai Univ.) - 4:18.16
3. Maki Izumida (Rikkyo Univ.) - 4:18.83
4. Chinatsu Uchiyama (Tamagawa Univ.) - 4:19.26
5. Maya Iino (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 4:20.30

Men's D1 100 m Final +1.0 m/s
1. Asuka Cambridge (Nihon Univ.) - 10.33
2. Takuya Nagata (Hosei Univ.) - 10.35
3. Akiyuki Hashimoto (Waseda Univ.) - 10.38
4. Tatsuro Suwa (Chuo Univ.) - 10.41
5. Kazuma Oseto (Hosei Univ.) - 10.44
6. Soshi Watanabe (Tokai Univ.) - 10.48
7. Yusaku Koike (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.59
DNS - Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.)

Men's D1 110mH Final +1.0 m/s
1. Genta Masuno (Kokusai Budo Univ.) - 13.64 - MR
2. Hiroki Fudaba (Kokusai Budo Univ.) - 13.81
3. Takumu Furuya (Waseda Univ.) - 13.87
4. Shunya Takayama (Meiji Univ.) - 13.97
5. Akihiro Ogata (Kokushikan Univ.) - 14.04
6. Takumi Takahata (Gakugei Univ.) - 14.26
7. Taio Kanai (Hosei Univ.) - 14.26
8. Kyohei Furuya (Juntendo Univ.) - 14.51

Men's D2 4x100 m Final
1. Daito Bunka Univ. - 39.81 - MR
2. Surugadai Univ. - 40.29
3. Tokyo Nogyo Univ. - 40.35

Men's D1 Long Jump
1. Tomoya Takamasa (Juntendo Univ.) - 8.03 m +1.9 - MR
2. Hiroyuki Fukasawa (Nihon Univ.) - 8.01 m +3.7
3. Kirii Matsuzoe (Hosei Univ.) - 7.74 m +0.9
4. Masamine Momiyama (Nittai Univ.) - 7.63 m +0.7
5. Sho Matsubara (Tokai Univ.) - 7.62 m +0.7

Men's D3 Decathlon
1. Kazuya Kawasaki (Juntendo Univ. Grad School) - 7644 - MR
2. Toshifumi Nakajima (Tokai Univ. Grad School) - 6886
3. Mizuki Mimura (Gakugei Univ. Grad School) - 6567

(c) 2015 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

  Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...
1 comment
Read more

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...
Post a Comment
Read more