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Koyama Sweeps Girls' and Boys' Titles at National Junior High School Ekiden


The Kyoyama J.H.S. girls and boys won Sunday's National Junior High School Ekiden in Shiga's Kibogaoka Bunka Park, becoming only the second school in the event's 31-year history to sweep both titles. In the five-stage, 12.0 km girls' race, Kyoyama's Haruka Higuchi was 9th on the 3.0 km opening leg. Running 2.0 km each, Wakana Minami and Mei Iwasaki moved up through the field into 2nd, and with a stage-winning run Mayu Ishihara put them into the lead.

Anchoring the Kyoyama girls was National Junior High School Championships 1500 m winner Rikka Kuroda. Kuroda comes from a strong running family, with her father Masayoshi Kuroda having run the Hakone Ekiden for Hosei University, her oldest brother Asahi Kuroda having won his stage at this year's Izumo Ekiden for Aoyama Gakuin University, and her middle brother Zen Kuroda of Tamano Konan H.S. having placed 2nd in the 3000 mSC at this year's National High School Championships.

Kuroda dropped 2nd-place Osawano J.H.S. to break the finish time, where her teammates waited to celebrate the win with her. "Everyone wanted me to run anchor, and I really wanted to run anchor too," she said post-race. "Mayu had opened a lead on 2nd when she handed off to me, and I was determined to keep 1st and win."

In the six-stage, 18.0 km boys' race, Kyoyama's lead runner Ayato Tamagawa got off to a rough start in 24th. But second runner Shu Shinohara passed 13 people and third runner Takeru Tsurufuji another nine to put Kyoyama into 2nd. Fourth runner Kota Kawamoto held onto that position, and fifth runner Shoma Takei picked up one more place to put anchor Takeru Nagahara into position for the win.

On the final stage, Nagahara ran head-to-head with Kokufu J.H.S. anchor Yuto Sasaki. Entering the track for the last lap to the finish Sasaki surged and got a gap on Nagahara. But on the final corner Nagahara came back to pass Sasaki in the home straight, pulling off the win by just 1 second, a thrilling duel that gave Kyoyama the national title.

Asked about the head-to-head sprint finish post-race, Nagahara said, "I told myself that I had to win it here, this was the only chance to win. I put everything I had from the last three years into it." Head coach Takeshi Hirokawa commented, "I want to say congratulations to them from the bottom of my heart. He had me going there for a minute at the end, but Nagahara ran like the captain that he is. You could feel the captain's spirit in him."

After the Kyoyama boys won they celebrated and high fived with their girls' national champion teammates, sharing in the joy of achieving a rare double national title.

31st National Junior High School Ekiden

Kibogaoka Bunka Park, Shiga, 17 Dec. 2023
girls: 5 stages, 12.0 km
boys: 6 stages, 18.0 km

Girls Top Team Results
1. Kyoyama J.H.S. (Okayama) - 42:16
2. Osawano J.H.S. (Toyama) - 43:05
3. Kamimura Gakuen J.H.S. (Kagoshima) - 43:23
4. Minami Joyo J.H.S. (Kyoto) - 43:49
5. Arato J.H.S. (Gunma) - 43:50
6. Ako J.H.S. (Nagano) - 43:51
7. Takuma J.H.S. (Kumamoto) - 43:51
8. Takagawa Gakuen J.H.S. (Yamaguchi) - 44:00

Girls Stage Best Performances
First Stage (3.0 km) - Madoka Inai (Arato J.H.S.) - 10:18
Second Stage (2.0 km) - Kirari Takeda (Kamimura Gakuen J.H.S.) - 6:56
Third Stage (2.0 km) - Shiho Kurokawa (Osawano J.H.S.) - 6:53
Fourth Stage (2.0 km) - Mayu Ishihara (Kyoyama J.H.S.) - 6:50
Fifth Stage (3.0 km) - Margaret Muthoni (Kamimura Gakuen J.H.S.) - 9:52

Boys Top Team Results
1. Kyoyama J.H.S. (Okayama) - 58:03
2. Kokufu J.H.S. (Yamaguchi) - 58:04
3. Nakanoto J.H.S. (Ishikawa) - 58:24
4. Ibaraki AC J.H.S. (Osaka) - 58:37
5. Mishima J.H.S. (Tochigi) - 58:41
6. Kobayashi J.H.S. (Miyazaki) - 58:42
7. Takada J.H.S. (Oita) - 58:44
8. Sone J.H.S. (Fukuoka) - 58:58

Boys Stage Best Performances
First Stage (3.0 km) - Shusuke Kobayashi (Arato J.H.S.) - 9:19
Second Stage (3.0 km) - Rei Otoshi (Koyo J.H.S.) - 9:22
Third Stage (3.0 km) - Koki Momota (Nishi Isahaya J.H.S.) - 9:27
Fourth Stage (3.0 km) - Ado Takenoshita (Minami Joyo J.H.S.) - 9:22
Fifth Stage (3.0 km) - Taiga Tokunaga (Yasuhiro J.H.S.) - 9:32
Sixth Stage (3.0 km) - Hakuga Deguchi (Senju Sakura Tsutsumi J.H.S.) - 9:17


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