Skip to main content

Daito Bunka University Wins Hakone Ekiden Qualifier Half Marathon, Wanjiku Takes 2nd-Straight Individual Title


#3-ranked Daito Bunka University outran favorites Meiji University and Tokai University to take the top spot Saturday at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai, the half marathon that acts as the official qualifying race for the 11th-20th ranked teams at January's Hakone Ekiden. Led by 2nd-year Peter Wanjiru's 1:02:16 for 5th, DBU had five men inside the top 50 and the fastest combined time in the field for its first ten finishers, 10:40:39, to take the overall win and secure a return trip to Hakone.

Meiji was next in 10:41:41, 4th-year Shumpei Tomita 10th in 1:02:39 and 3rd-year Masaki Kodama 11th in 1:02:43. Coached by former college teammates Seiji Kushibe and Katsuhiko Hanada, Josai University and Waseda University both performed well above expectations, 3rd and 4th in 10:42:09 and 10:42:29. 5th and 6th placers Nittai University and Rikkyo University came in right around pre-race rankings, Rikkyo qualifying for Hakone for the first time in 55 years in only head coach Yuichiro Ueno's fourth season. He was pretty emotional about it.

7th-place Yamanashi Gakuin University and 9th-place Tokai both made the cut but were weaker than expected, especially Tokai which on paper had been in contention for the team title. Ranked 16th and 13th respectively, Senshu University and Kokushikan University both had excellent days to break into the top ten, Senshu 8th and Kokushikan taking 10th.

That bumped #5-ranked Kanagawa University and #9-ranked Chuo Gakuin University out of the Hakone qualifying range, Kanagawa the unlucky 11th-placer in 10:49:29, 34 seconds or just 3.4 seconds per runner over the half marathon distance, behind Kokushikan. CGU was 12th in 10:51:25, with top ten contender Nihon University 13th in 10:52:02.

In individual results, 2021 overall winner Charles Kamau Wanjiku (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) did it again, breaking away after 10 km to solo a 1:00:58 for the win. 2020 winner Joseph Razini (Takushoku Univ.) was 2nd in 1:01:50, with newcomer Nelson Mandela Mbithi (Obirin Univ.) 3rd in 1:02:03 in his half marathon debut. Akihito Kimura (Senshu Univ.) was the top Japanese finisher at 8th in 1:02:32, just edging out Waseda's Ryuto Igawa and Meiji's Tomita.

Depth overall was down from peak years but still solid. Out of a field of 505 starters:

sub-61: 1
sub-62: 2
sub-63: 13
sub-64: 47
sub-65: 126
sub-66: 197
sub-67: 266

Four runners failed to finish, and for two of them that meant their teams, Hitotsubashi University and Saitama University, didn't have enough finishers to score in the results.

Top-placing individuals from teams that didn't make the top ten will still have the chance to run Hakone as part of the Kanto Region Student Select Team, a Hakone feature intended to give the maximum number of top-level students from the widest range of universities the chance to experience Hakone. But even though they're students at universities in the Kanto Region just like everyone else, Wanjiku, Razini, Mandela and other non-Japanese citizens are excluded from consideration for the Select Team, because it's Japan.

99th Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai Half Marathon

Tachikawa, Tokyo, 15 Oct. 2022

Top Team Results
teams scored on total time of first 10 finishers
top 10 teams qualify for 2023 Hakone Ekiden

1. Daito Bunka University - 10:40:39
2. Meiji University - 10:41:41
3. Josai University - 10:42:09
4. Waseda University - 10:42:29
5. Nittai University - 10:43:34
6. Rikkyo University - 10:46:18
7. Yamanashi Gakuin University - 10:46:55
8. Senshu University - 10:46:56
9. Tokai University - 10:47:03
10. Kokushikan University - 10:48:55
-----
11. Kanagawa University - 10:49:29
12. Chuo Gakuin University - 10:51:25
13. Nihon University - 10:52:02
14. Reitaku University - 10:52:40
15. Tsukuba University - 10:53:50

Top Individual Results
1. Charles Kamau Wanjiku (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:58
2. Joseph Razini Lemeteki (Takushoku Univ.) - 1:01:50
3. Nelson Mandela Mbithi (Obirin Univ.) - 1:02:03
4. James Mutuku (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:15
5. Peter Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:02:16
6. Victor Kimutai (Josai Univ.) - 1:02:21
7. Noah Kiplimo (Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 1:02:29
8. Akihito Kimura (Senshu Univ.) - 1:02:32
9. Ryuto Igawa (Waseda Univ.) - 1:02:39
10. Shunpei Tomita (Meiji Univ.) - 1:02:39
11. Masaki Kodama (Meiji Univ.) - 1:02:43
12. Yoshiteru Takatsuki (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.)  1:02:46
13. Koya Suzuki (Reitaku Univ.)  1:02:48
14. Yusuke Arimura (Kanagawa Univ.) - 1:03:04
15. Sota Fukutani (Tsukuba Univ.) - 1:03:05
16. Koki Sato (Waseda Univ.) - 1:03:05
17. Soshi Suzuki (Waseda Univ.) - 1:03:07
18. Sunao Kitamura (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:07
19. Charles Ndungu (Nihon Univ.) - 1:03:09
20. Haruto Ono (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:03:12
21. Hiroto Kuniyasu (Rikkyo Univ.) - 1:03:13
22. Peter Kamau (Kokushikan Univ.) - 1:03:14
23. Duncan Kisaisa (Senshu Univ.) - 1:03:14
24. Toru Kubota (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:03:15
25. David Shunq'eye Neiyiai (Reitaku Univ.) - 1:03:15
-----
50. Kodai Murakami (Jobu Univ.) - 1:04:02
75. Shuma Yamanaka (Josai Univ.) - 1:04:26
100. Hiroaki Furukawa (Tokyo Univ. Grad School) - 1:04:42
125. Waku Morotomi (Waseda Univ.) - 1:04:58
150. Takeru Furukawa (Aisa Univ.) - 1:05:20
175. Riku Onishi (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:05:41
200. Shinya Suzuki (Kokushikan Univ.) - 1:06:00
225. Kenta Muraki (Meiji Gakuin Univ.) - 1:06:25
250. Ikuya Kudo (Reitaku Univ.) - 1:06:46
-----
DNF - Katsumi Higuchi (Teikyo Heisei Univ.) 
DNF - Yuta Todaka (Hitotsubashi Univ.)
DNF - Shun Kurihara (Meiji Gakuin Univ.)
DNF - Naoyuki Takeda (Saitama Univ.)

99th Hakone Ekiden Field

2-3 Jan., 2023

Aoyama Gakuin University
Juntendo University
Komazawa University
Toyo University
Tokyo Kokusai University
Chuo University
Soka University
Koku Gakuin University
Teikyo University
Hosei University
Daito Bunka University
Meiji University
Josai University
Waseda University
Nittai University
Rikkyo University
Yamanashi Gakuin University
Senshu University
Tokai University
Kokushikan University
Kanto Region Student Alliance Select Team

© 2022 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Justin said…
Senshu has outdone their ranking 3 years in a row, I doubt people thought they would be inside the top 15 any of those years, and Kimura was injured and didn't run last years yosenkai and they still made it.
October 15, 2022 at 6:40 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Asian Games Preview - Entries, Timetable and Live Results

Back in Japan for the first time in 32 years and representing 60% of the world's population, with more athletes competing across all sports than at the Olympics, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are already underway. Athletics competition starts tomorrow and runs through Tuesday the 29th. Some of the biggest names on the entry list include: Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (SRI) - men's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships gold and 2026 Diamond League champion Haruka Kitaguchi (JPN) - women's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships and 2024 Paris Olympics gold Birhanu Balew (BRN) - men's 5000 m/10000 m - 2026 Diamond League 5000 m champion Sanghyeok Woo (KOR) - men's high jump - 2025 Tokyo World Championships silver Hayato Katsuki (JPN) - men's marathon race walk - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Abderrahman Samba (QAT) - men's 400 mH - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Jiale Zhang (CHN) - women's hammer throw - 2025 Tokyo W...
Post a Comment
Read more

Asian Games Competition Schedule

The daily athletics event schedule for September's Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games . Wednesday, Sept. 23 7:30 - Women's / Men's Half Marathon Race Walk Final Thursday, Sept. 24 10:00 - Women's Heptathlon 100 mH 10:20 - Mixed 4x400 m Relay Heats 10:30 - Men's Triple Jump Heats 10:40 - Women's Heptathlon High Jump 19:05 - Men's High Jump Heats 19:13 - Women's Heptathlon Shot Put 19:33 - Women's 100 m Heats 19:44 - Women's Triple Jump Final 20:08 - Men's 100 m Heats 20:55 - Men's Discus Throw Final 21:00 - Women's Heptathlon 200 m 21:25 - Women's 10000 m Final 22:15 - Mixed 4x400 m Relay Final Friday, Sept. 25 10:00 - Women's Heptathlon Long Jump 10:30 - Men's 400 m Heats 11:25 - Women's Heptathlon Javelin Throw 19:05 - Women's Shot Put Final 19:13 - Women's 100 m Semifinal 19:33 - Men's 100 m Semifinal 20:03 - Women's Pole Vault Final 20:11 - Women's Heptathlon 800 m 20:32 - Men's 10000 m Final 20:40 - M...
Post a Comment
Read more

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...
Post a Comment
Read more