Skip to main content

National Cross Country Championships Results


The favorites took the top spots in most of the races at Sunday's National Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka. The front end of the U20 women's 6 km was like a replay of the 6.0 km First Stage at December's National High School Ekiden, and it couldn't have been closer. Both Kanoko Nawa, leadoff runner for ekiden winner Nagano Higashi H.S., and Akari Matsumoto, the first runner from 7th-place Chikushi Joshi Gakuen H.S., clocked 20:20 with Nawa getting the win in the photo finish. Narumi Okumoto, first runner from ekiden 8th-placer Kojokan H.S., was 3rd in 20:23, and Aya Kotajima, first runner from 5th-place Hakuho Joshi H.S., was 4th in 20:28.

Soma Nagahara, the first runner from Saku Chosei H.S.' runner-up team at the National High School Ekiden, won the U20 men's 8 km in another photo finish, both he and Sota Yamasaki, first runner from 12th-place Yamaguchi Kenritsu Saikyo H.S., clocking 24:01. Sota Orita (Suma Gakuen H.S.) was a close 3rd in 24:06 as the only runner in the top 3 in either U20 race not to have run at the National High School Ekiden.

Yuna Wada, one of two runners from November's National Corporate Women's Ekiden 3rd-placer Japan Post, won the senior women's 8 km in 27:22, 2 seconds ahead of Yuka Sarumida (Universal) and another 2 up on Sakura Takehara (Daiso). Wada's teammate Chika Kosakai also made the podium, taking 6th in 27:30.

The senior men's 10 km was the only race that saw a blowout win. 2016 Olympic steepler Kazuya Shiojiri, 2nd on the 15.8 km Fifth Stage for 2nd-place Fujitsu at last month's New Year Ekiden, won by 13 seconds over steeplechase NR holder Ryuji Miura (Juntendo Univ.), 29:15 to 29:28. Itta Tameike, 5th on the First Stage for Hakone Ekiden runner-up Chuo University last month, was 2 seconds behind Miura in 3rd.

With the World Cross Country Championships already a wrap for 2023, the JAAF will choose one women and one man from among the top placers to run in the Mar. 7 Asian Cross Country Championships in Kathmandu, Nepal.

© 2023 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

RigaJags said…
Men senior race was fine, Shiojiri comes out of it being the only japanese runner who has beaten Miura in a non-ekiden race over the past 2 years. (he did it yesterday and in March last year)
He played perfectly and exploided Miura's growing weakness on distances over 5K.
He kept elevating the pace in the second half of the race and finally got to break the pack and finally Miura, the last man standing, with around 2,5 km to go.
Over the last couple of years Miura's times got worse on longer distances and it was the case here again (he won 2 years ago with 29.10 for comparison).

I was surprised to see Kamino Daichi fighting back for 4th. He looked really in trouble mid race, struggling to stay with the pack. He didn't reach the levels one could hope for but he fought hard yesterday.

Ishihara faded brutally after trying to hang on with Miura and Shiojiri.

After all it wasn't a super competitive NC especially compared to other years.
February 27, 2023 at 7:47 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Ngetich and Mutiso Take Down Tokyo Legacy Half CR

In its 5th edition the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon scored 2 new course records via Kenyans from the Ikaika agency, with 10 km WR holder Agnes Ngetich blasting 3 minutes off the old record to win by over 4 in 1:04:23, and Alexander Mutiso skimming just 1 second under the CR for the win by 5 seconds in 59:51. The 2 races played out completely differently, even if the paydays were the same for the winners. Surrounded by an envelope of male runners all the way to the final 100 m, Ngetich was out hard on the downhill in the first 5 km, hitting it on sub-64 pace in 15:08 before leveling out on the flat middle 10 km. Her next 2 splits projected to 1:04:09 and 1:04:17, and even with the uphill back to the stadium in the last 5 km she didn't fall far off from that, winning in 1:04:23. Runner-up Tabitha Njeri Kamau was nearly a mile back in 1:08:28, with Kamau's Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo teammate Kazuna Kanetomo dropping a 1:10:17 PB for 3rd. Now an independent, track Olympian Kaede Ha...
2 comments
Read more

Waseda Leads Top 7 Teams Under Izumo Ekiden CR, Ivy League Best-Ever 3rd (updated)

3rd last year, Waseda University scored its first Izumo Ekiden win since 2010, taking almost 2 minutes off the CR and leading the top 7 teams under the old record of 2:07:51 for the complete 6-stage, 45.1 km course. Waseda was 16 seconds back in 7th after the First Stage, but its 2nd runner Ojiro Honda made that up easily and put them 6 seconds out front. A massive 22:56 CR for the 8.5 km Third Stage by Shadrack Kipkemei (Nihon Univ.) dropped Waseda back to 2nd even though its runner Ryuki Suzuki broke the old CR too, but back-to-back CR on the next 2 stages by 1st-year Haruki Niizuma and Shunpei Yamaguchi put anchor Shinsaku Kudo out of reach of the rest of the field. Kudo duly won the 10.2 km anchor stage in 29:00, bypassing a 2:06 time entirely for a new 2:05:56 CR, just under 2:48/km average pace for the complete course. Defending champ Koku Gakuin University struggled a bit in the first half of the race but came on strong in the longer second half with 4th and 5th runners...
8 comments
Read more

Route Inn Hotels Win National Corporate Women's Ekiden Qualifier for First Time

After Saturday's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying race in Tokyo, 2nd-tier corporate women's teams were in Fukuoka for their own national championships qualifying race, the Princess Ekiden . With Queens Ekiden 19-placer Otsuka Seiyaku a DNS, 30 teams lined up for the 6-stage, 42.195 km race where the top 16 would go on to join the top 8 from last year's Queens Ekiden at next month's national race. Coming right in the middle of the international fall marathon season several teams had people still tired from Berlin and Chicago, with Daihatsu fielding Rika Kaseda and Natsuki Omori from Berlin, Tokyo Metro sending out its own Berlin duo of Mao Uesugi and Ayumi Morita , and Kraftia not playing its top member Yuka Akasaki after her solid run in Chicago last week. After a fast start from eventual 9th-placer Denso 's Rio Matsutani , Daihatsu took over on the Second Stage and held it until the Fifth, where a tired Omori dropped to 3rd. Mayuka Fujita from Route Inn H...
2 comments
Read more