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Distance Highlights From 75th National High School Track and Field Championships


The 75th edition of Japan's National High School Track and Field Championships took place last Wednesday through Sunday at Pocari Sweat Field in Naruto, Tokushima. Kenyan Caroline Kariba (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) was the star of the meet on the girls' side, winning all four races she started over the course of the week. On the first day of the meet Kariba ran the fastest time in the four 1500 m qualifying heats, 4:20.08. The next day she was back to win the final in a PB 4:08.72, almost 3 seconds head of runner-up Janet Nyiva (Kurashiki H.S.) and nearly 9 seconds ahead of 3rd-placer Kana Mizumoto (Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.).

After a day off racing on Friday, Kariba was back Saturday to lead 3000 m qualification in 9:12.17, the fastest time in the 3 heats. Sunday she took the final, just missing the meet record in 8:52.04. Nyiva was 2nd again in 8:56.20, just holding off Lucy Nduda (Aomori Yamada H.S.) who took 3rd in 8:56.91. Mizumoto was the top Japanese woman again at 4th in 9:10.22.

Kenyan boys were absent from the 1500 m, where Kiyoto Ono (Akita Kogyo H.S.) won Heat 4 in 3:50.58 and then the final in 3:44.93. Heat 3 winner Haruto Matsuo (Saku Chosei H.S.) was 2nd in 3:45.69, with 3rd-placer Ryoto Aoki (Omuta H.S.) running 3:46.31 to just improve on his Heat 1-winning 3:46.43. The top 11 were all under 3:50, another sign that Japanese middle distance continues to inch forward.

The boys' 5000 m was dominated by Kenyans, with Johnson Mogeni (Yugakkan H.S.), Emmanuel Kipchirchir (Kurashiki H.S.) and Daniel Ndiritu (Oita Tomei H.S.) winning the three qualifying heats. Mogeni ran 13:58.71, Kipchirchir 13:59.13 and Ndiritu 14:13.18, with only one other runner, Kazuma Maeda (Hotoku H.S.) going sub-14 in qualification, 2nd to Kipchirchir in 13:59.33. In the final the three heat winners went in reverse order of the their qualifying times, Ndiritu taking the national title in 13:50.54, Kipchirchir a close 2nd in 13:50.79 and Mogeni 3rd in 13:54.85. Impressively, Maeda pulled out another sub-14 for 4th, running 13:58.01 to beat Kenyan Duncan Maina (Senshu Tamana H.S.), 5th in 13:59.84.


There was no girls' 3000 m steeplechase, but in the boys' race Sora Saito (Rifu H.S.) duplicated Ndiritu's feat, running the slowest heat-winning time of 9:15.92 in Heat 4 and then winning the final in 9:04.39 in a close race over Heat 1 winner Soma Nagahara (Saku Chosei H.S.), 2nd in 9:04.75, Heat 4 runner-up So Honma (Koku Gakuin Kugayama H.S.), 3rd in 9:04.98, and Heat 3 winner Ryusei Hayashi (Osaka H.S.), 4th in 9:05.10.

75th National High School Track and Field Championships

Pocari Sweat Field, Naruto, Tokushima, 3-7 Aug. 2022

Girls' 1500 m Final 
1. Caroline Kariba (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 4:08.72
2. Janet Nyiva (Kurashiki H.S.) - 4:11.58 
3. Kana Mizumoto (Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 4:17.28 
4. Airi Tashima (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 4:17.49 
5. Kana Mizogami (Luther Gakuin H.S.) - 4:19.24 
6. Kurea Watanabe (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 4:20.05 
7. Akari Matsumoto (Chikushi Joshi Gakuen H.S.) - 4:20.57 
8. Kanako Nawa (Nagano Higashi H.S.) - 4:23.70 
9. Imari Suzuki (Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 4:23.71 
10. Aoi Yamaguchi (Sabae H.S.) - 4:24.77

Girls' 3000 m Final
1. Caroline Kariba (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 8:52.04 
2. Janet Nyiva (Kurashiki H.S.) - 8:56.20 
3. Lucy Nduda (Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 8:56.91 
4. Kana Mizumoto (Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuen H.S.) - 9:10.22 
5. Kokone Sugimori (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 9:10.97 
6. Sarah Wanjiru (Teikyo Nagaoka H.S.) - 9:13.31 
7. Ngadogo Chebotibin (Kojokan H.S.) - 9:14.33 
8. Susan Kamon (Oita Tomei H.S.) - 9:16.66 
9. Kana Mizogami (Luther Gakuin H.S.) - 9:19.96 
10. Riho Yoshida (Toyokawa H.S.) - 9:25.78

Boys' 1500 m Final
1. Kiyoto Ono (Akita Kogyo H.S.) - 3:44.93 
2. Haruto Matsuo (Saku Chosei H.S.) - 3:45.69 
3. Ryoto Aoki (Omuta H.S.) - 3:46.31 
4. Sonata Nagashima (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 3:46.40 
5. Koshiro Tanimoto (Omuta H.S.) - 3:46.72 
6. Rui Suzuki (Yachiyo Shoin H.S.) - 3:46.82 
7. Hikaru Ogawara (Yachiyo Shoin H.S.) - 3:47.17 
8. Shoei Narusawa (Yamanashi Gakuin H.S.) - 3:47.35 
9. Takumi Nakagawa (Mashita Seifu H.S.) - 3:48.52 
10. Kanta Kotagiri (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) - 3:48.74

Boys' 5000 m Final
1. Daniel Ndiritu (Oita Tomei H.S.) - 13:50.54 
2. Emmanuel Kipchirchir (Kurashiki H.S.) - 13:50.79 
3. Johnson Mogeni (Yogakkan H.S.) - 13:54.85 
4. Kazuma Maeda (Hotoku H.S.) - 13:58.01 
5. Duncan Maina (Senshu Tamana H.S.) - 13:59.84 
6. Sonata Nagashima (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 14:04.92 
7. Kazuki Abe (Yachiyo Shoin H.S.) - 14:05.06 
8. Yuta Minamisaka (Kurashiki H.S.) - 14:14.14 
9. Yoshihiro Kusuoka (Keisei H.S.) - 14:18.82 
10. Shinsaku Kudo (Yachiyo Shoin H.S.) - 14:20.44  

Boys' 3000 m Steeplechase Final
1. Sora Saito (Rifu H.S.) - 9:04.39 
2. Soma Nagahara (Saku Chosei H.S.) - 9:04.75 
3. So Honma (Koku Gakuin Kugayama H.S.) - 9:04.98 
4. Ryusei Hayashi (Osaka H.S.) - 9:05.10 
5. Oju Tsujimoto (Hamamatsu Kaiseikan H.S.) - 9:07.25 
6. Hayate Honma (Saitama Sakae H.S.) - 9:10.84 
7. Tensei Egami (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 9:11.70 
8. Hinata Yuda (Kansai Hokuyo H.S.) - 9:11.98 
9. Takeho Fujio (Koku Gakuin Kugayama H.S.) - 9:13.57 
10. Maharo Nishizawa (Rakunan H.S.) - 9:16.26

© 2022 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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