Meijo University Wins Second-Straight National University Women's Ekiden

After an unexpected breakthrough last year to win its first national title in 12 years, Meijo University took full advantage of its new recruits to win the Morinomiyako Ekiden, the Japanese University Women's Ekiden Championships, for the second year in a row Sunday in Sendai.

First-year Yuna Wada, who set up Nozomi Tanaka for the gold medal in this year's U20 World Championships 3000 m, took it out hard for Meijo, winning the 6.4 km First Stage by two seconds over Naruha Sato of last year's 3rd-placer Ritsumeikan University. After a rocky start 2017 runner-up Daito Bunka University's Yuka Suzuki made up a 42-second deficit on the 5.6 km Second Stage, turning it into a 15-second lead over Ritsumeikan with Meijo dropping to 3rd.

Star Meijo first-year Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu got it back under control, just missing the CR on the 6.8 km Third Stage as she put Meijo back into the lad for good. DBU, Ritsumeikan and darkhorse Tokyo Nogyo University battled to close the gap, but despite a brilliant run from fourth-year Natsuki Sekiya on the 9.2 km Fifth Stage DBU only managed to come within 34 seconds of Meijo by the end, runner-up again just 1 second closer than it came last year. Ritsumeikan was 3rd again, majorly cutting its loss from 1:31 last year to just 38 seconds this year.

Tokyo Nogyo improved on its 6th-place finish last year to 4th this year thanks in large part to 2017 World University Games half marathon gold medalist Yuki Munehisa and her duel with Sekiya. 2016 national champion Matsuyama University was 5th, a return to form after placing 13th last year. Kyoto Sangyo University, Osaka Gakuin University and Osaka Geijutsu University rounded out the eight-deep seeded bracket, Osaka Geijutsu earning that honor for the first time. Toyo University was the one to miss out, taking 9th with a gap of 29 seconds to Osaka Geijutsu. Tamagawa University was another 10 seconds behind in 10th.

With the demise of the Nikko Irohazaka Women's Ekiden, the next main event on the calendar for university women is December's season-ending Mounti Fuji Women's Ekiden.

36th Morinomiyako Ekiden

National University Women's Ekiden Championships
Sendai, Miyagi, 10/28/18
26 teams, 6 stages, 38.0 km
complete results

Top Team Results - top 8 seeded for 2019
1. Meijo University - 2:05:26
2. Daito Bunka University - 2:06:00
3. Ristumeikan University - 2:06:04
4. Tokyo Nogyo University - 2:06:10
5. Matsuyama University - 2:07:50
6. Kyoto Sangyo University - 2:08:28
7. Osaka Gakuin University - 2:08:30
8. Osaka Geijutsu University - 2:09:35
-----
9. Toyo University - 2:10:04
10. Tamagawa University - 2:10:14

Top Individual Stage Results
First Stage - 6.4 km -Yuna Wada (Meijo Univ.) - 20:48
Second Stage - 5.6 km -Yuka Suzuki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 17:38
Third Stage - 6.8 km -Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu (Meijo Univ.) - 22:04
Fourth Stage - 4.8 km -Miyu Nakata (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 16:03
Fifth Stage - 9.2 km -Natsuki Sekiya (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 29:32
Sixth Stage - 5.2 km -Aki Manabe (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 17:24

text and photo © 2018 Brett Larner

Saku Chosei H.S. Makes It 2 In a Row - National High School Ekiden Boys' Race

While the girls' race was a blowout by 2022 champ Nagano Higashi H.S. , the boys' race at Sunday's National High School Ekiden was a tense battle of turnover that saw all of the final top four teams take a stab at leading. 2023 3rd-placer Yachiyo Shoin H.S. handled the first 2 of the 7 stages in the 42.195 km race, with lead runner Rui Suzuki delivering a bold run on the 10.0 km First Stage that produced the fastest-ever time by a Japanese runner on the stage, 28:43, and put Yachiyo Shoin 29 seconds out front. Last year's Fifth Stage CR breaker Tetsu Suzuki ran Yachiyo Shoin down to put 2023 champ Saku Chosei H.S. into 1st on the 8.1075 km Third Stage, but Genta Sugano of last year's 8th-placer Sendai Ikuei H.S. had other plans and took the lead on the 8.0875 km Fourth Stage. Smiling and fist pumping to the crowd almost the entire way, Taketo Tsukada of last year's 6th-placer Omuta H.S. moved up from 3rd to 1st by 2 seconds over Saku Chosei on the 3.0 k...

Japan Post Holds Off Sekisui Kagaku to Win Queens Ekiden National Title

Japan Post was back on top at the Queens Ekiden corporate women's national championships Sunday in Sendai, holding off last year's winner Sekisui Kagaku over the second half of a race that came as close as 1 second to take 1st with a final margin of victory of 27 seconds. Sekisui Kagaku was out fast with a win on the 7.0 km opening leg by Erika Tanoura and a new CR for the 12:56 second leg by Yuma Yamamoto , 17 seconds better than her own CR from last year. Last year's 4th-placer Shiseido briefly led on the 10.6 km third leg with an excellent 33:17 stage win from Rino Goshima , but behind her Japan Post's Ririka Hironaka returned from her latest injury problems to pass Sekisui Kagaku's Sayaka Sato and hand off 6 seconds ahead. New recruit Caroline Kariba ran Shiseido down on the 3.6 km fourth leg and put Japan Post 22 seconds ahead of Sekisui Kagaku, but a duel of marathoners between JP's Ayuko Suzuki and Sekisui's Hitomi Niiy...

Nagano Higashi Girls Lead Start to Finish to Win National High School Ekiden

2022 National High School Ekiden girls' champion Nagano Higashi H.S. was back in force after a 5th-place finish last year, leading start to finish to win this year's national title Sunday in Kyoto. Lead runner Airi Mashiba kicked it off with a 19:30 stage win on the 6.0 km opening leg, something that head coach Fumio Yokouchi said later that he hadn't been expecting. That ended up being Nagano Higashi's only individual stage win in the 5-leg, 21.0975 km race, but the rest of its team ran well enough to hold a lead that was never less than 11 seconds but never more than 21. Last year's 4th-placer Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. spent most of the race in 2nd, but over the second half of the race Sendai Ikuei H.S. , 2nd last year by just 1 second, came from further back to run Kunei down on the anchor stage thanks in big part to a critical stage win on the 4th leg by Tsubomi Tezuka that put anchor Aoi Hosokawa in position to catch Kunei's Mizuki Oda . Nagano Higashi ...

japan running news

Search This Blog