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

19-Yr-Old Munakata Breaks Miura's U20 NR to Win Ageo City Half Marathon

The Ageo City Half Marathon is always big, the main race that the coaches of Hakone Ekiden-bound university men's teams use for firming up their entry rosters for the big show. That makes what's basically an idyllic small town race into one of the world's great road races, with depth unmatched anywhere. One of the top-tier people on the start list at 1:02:07, Kodai Miyaoka (Hosei Univ.) took the race out fast, but the entire pack was keying off the fastest man in the race, Reishi Yoshida (Chuo Gakuin Univ.), 1:00:31. Yoshida reeled Miyaoka in before 5 km and kept things steady in the low-1:01 range, wearing down the lead group to around 10 including his CGU teammate Taisei Ichikawa , a quartet from Izumo and National University Ekiden runner-up Komazawa University , 2 runners from local Daito Bunka University , 2:07:54 marathoner Atsumi Ashiwa (Honda), and Australian Ed Goddard . Right after 15 km Komazawa went into action, Yudai Kiyama , Hibiki Murakami and Haru Tanin
Post a Comment
Read more

Ageo City Half Marathon Preview and Streaming

This weekend's big race is the Ageo City Half Marathon , the next stop on the collegiate men's circuit. Most of the universities bound for the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden use Ageo to thin down the list of contenders for their final Hakone rosters, and with JRN's development program that sends the first two Japanese collegiate finishers in Ageo to the United Airlines NYC Half every year a lot of coaches put in some of their A-listers too. That gives Ageo legendary depth and fast front-end speed, with a 1:00:47 course record last year from Kenyan corporate leaguer Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon) and the top 26 all clearing 63 minutes. Since a lot of programs just enter everybody on their rosters you never really know who on the entry list is actually going to show up, but if even a quarter of the people at the top end of this year's list run it'll be a great race, even if conditions are looking likely to be a bit warmer than ideal. Chuo Gakuin University 's Reishi Yoshi
Post a Comment
Read more

10000 m NR Attempt In the Works Saturday at Hachioji Long Distance - Streaming and Preview

There are a bunch of other time trial meets this weekend and next, but Saturday's Hachioji Long Distance is the last big meet for Japanese men, 8 heats of Wavelight-paced 10000 m finely graded from target times of 28:50 down to 26:59 for the fastest heat. Heat 6 at 17:55 local time is effectively the B-race, with 35 Japan-based Kenyans targeting 27:10 at the front end, and in a lot of cases a spot on their teams at the New Year Ekiden national championship on Jan. 1. Corporate teams are only allowed to field one non-Japanese athlete in the New Year Ekiden, and only on its shortest stage, and getting to that has a big impact on African athletes' contracts and renewal prospects. Toyota Boshoku , Yasukawa Denki , Chugoku Denryoku , Aisan Kogyo , JR Higashi Nihon , Subaru and 2024 national champion Toyota are all fielding two Kenyans, and Aichi Seiko three. For people like Toyota's Felix Korir and Samuel Kibathi , getting as close to the 27:10 target time as they can and
Post a Comment
Read more