Two National Records, Five Meet Records and More - National High School Championships Highlights

by Brett Larner
video by Ekiden News

The 2016 Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships wrapped up yesterday, highlighted by new high school national records in the girls' 4x400 m relay and boys' pole vault and meet records in those events and the boys' 5000 m race walk, boys' 4x400 m relay and boys' octathlon. 18 events saw athletes break into the all-time Japanese junior and high school top ten lists, a sign of the all-around high level of competition this year.

The boys' 5000 mRW was unusually action-packed, with 12 boys breaking the meet record. Girls' middle and long distance were also strong, with 7 girls under 2:08 in the 800 m, 9 under 4:20 in the 1500 m and 9 under 9:10 in the 3000 m. In these and other events the top times were even good enough to get into and in some cases top the U.S.A. high school top ten lists for the year. Below is a list of records and all-time top ten Japanese junior and high school marks set at this year's High School Nationals. Click any event for more detailed results and video.

69th National High School Track and Field Championships Highlights
City Light Stadium, Okayama, July 29-Aug. 2, 2016
click here for complete results
* athlete was already in all-time top ten with better mark

Girls' 200 m

Ami Saito* (Kurashiki Chuo H.S.) - 23.60 - all-time #3 JPN Jr., #3 JPN H.S.

Girls' 800 m - top 7 under 2:08

Shoko Fukuda (Matsue Kita H.S.) - 2:04.29 - all-time #4 JPN Jr., #2 JPN H.S.
Airi Ikezaki (Funairi H.S.) - 2:04.85 - all-tiime #10 JPN Jr., #5 JPN H.S.
Ayaka Kawata (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.) - 2:05.03 - all-time #6 JPN H.S., fastest-ever by JPN H.S. 2nd-year
Ayano Shiomi (Kyoto Bunkyo Gakuen H.S.) - 2:05.36 - all-time #10 JPN H.S.

Girls' 1500 m - top 9 under 4:20

Hina Takahashi (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 4:15.82 - all-time #7 JPN Jr., #4 JPN H.S.
Nozomi Tanaka* (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 4:15.95 - all-time #8 JPN Jr., #5 JPN H.S.
Yume Goto (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 4:16.69 - all-time #9 JPN H.S.

Girls' 3000 m - top 9 under 9:10

Helen Ekarare (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 8:55.06 - all-time #4 int'l H.S. student
Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu (Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 8:58.86 - all-time #4 JPN Jr., #3 JPN H.S.
Nozomi Tanaka* (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 9:01.40 - all-time #10 JPN Jr., #9 JPN H.S.
Ririka Hironaka (Nagasaki Shogyo H.S.) - 9:03.51 - fastest-ever by JPN H.S. 1st-year
Shuri Ogasawara (Yamanashi Gakuin Prep H.S.) - 9:05.15 - all-time #2 JPN H.S. 1st-year

Girls' 100 m Hurdles

Yumi Tanaka* (Kansai Prep Daiichi H.S.) - 13.50 +1.5 m/s - all-time #8 JPN Jr., #7 JPN H.S.

Boys' 110 m Hurdles

Takuma Kato (Shibata H.S.) - 13.98 +1.2 m/s - all-time #8 JPN Jr., #3 JPN H.S.

Boys' 3000 m Steeplechase

Joel Mwaura (Kurashiki H.S.) - 8:46.89 - all-time #4 int'l H.S. student

Boys' 5000 m Race Walk

Shinjiro Yamamoto (Toyama Shogyo H.S.) - 20:14.63 - meet record
11 other athletes also broke meet record

Girls' 4x100 m Relay

Kurashiki Chuo H.S. - 45.49 - all-time #3 JPN H.S.

Girls' 4x400 m Relay

Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S. - 3:37.67 - high school national record, meet record

Boys' 4x400 m Relay

Rakunan H.S. - 3:08.57 - all-time #2 JPN H.S., meet record
Soyo H.S. - 3:08.91 - all-time #3 JPN H.S., also under meet record

Girls' High Jump

Sakura Asai (Okazaki Josai Prep H.S.) - 1.81 m - all-time #6 JPN H.S.

Boys' Pole Vault

Masaki Ejima (Eda H.S.) - 5.43 m - high school national record, meet record

Boys' Long Jump

Yuki Hashioka (Hachioji H.S.) - 7.75 m -1.6 m/s - all-time #7 JPN H.S.

Boys' Hammer Throw

Masanobu Hattori* (Amagasaki Municipal H.S.) - 64.57 m - all-time #10 JPN H.S.

Girls' Javelin Throw

Mahiro Osa (Wakayama Kita H.S.) - 56.48 m - all-time #6 JPN Jr., #6 JPN H.S.

Girls' Heptathlon

Maya Shurester* (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.) - 5299 - all-time #4 JPN H.S.

Boys' Octathlon

Yuma Maruyama (Shinoda H.S.) - 6085 - all-time #2 JPN H.S., meet record
Wilson Takashi Koha (Shibata H.S.) - 6024 - all-time #4 JPN H.S., also under meet record

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