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Hakone Ekiden 4th-Placer Toyo University Recruits Strong Incoming Class

4th overall at the 100th Hakone Ekiden on Jan. 2nd and 3rd, Toyo University has recruited a strong incoming class featuring the 2nd and 3rd-placers on the 10.0 km First Stage at December's National High School Ekiden, Kaito Matsui (Saitama Sakae H.S.) and Yu Miyazaki (Toyo Ushiku H.S.).

At the National High School Ekiden, Sota Orita (Suma Gakuen H.S.) ran 28:48 to tie the fastest-ever Japanese time on the stage set in 2019 by Yachiyo Shoin H.S. athlete Issei Sato, now a member of Aoyama Gakuin University's 2024 Hakone Ekiden champion team. Right with Orita until the very last straight, Matsui and Miyazaki ran excellent times of 28:54 and 28:57. Matsui and Miyazaki preceded that performance with a 1-2 on the 10.0 km First Stage at November's Kanto Region High School Ekiden, Matsui in 29:10 and Miyazaki in 29:16. Third on the same stage in that race, Yu Uchibori (Koma H.S.) is also Toyo-bound, a major recruiting coup for Toyo to pull in the top three.

At both Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. and at the Konica Minolta corporate team, JR Higashi Nihon assistant coach Tadakatsu Mukae, 47, was teammates with Toyo head coach Toshiyuki Sakai, 47. Having finished 8th on the Kanto Region High School Ekiden First Stage in 29:45, Mukae's son Haruto Mukae will also join the Toyo roster and can look forward to further growth under the leadership of his father's longtime friend. Other top recruits include Sendai Ikuei H.S. captain Sota Sugiura, 14:13.35 runner Angelo Baba (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.), and 2023 National High School Ekiden Second Stage 3rd-placer Shion Jinnai (Kobayashi H.S.) and Fourth Stage 6th-placer Yusuke Fujimoto (Kobayashi H.S.).

At the 100th Hakone Ekiden earlier this month Toyo University overcame low expectations with a great team performance that landed them 4th overall, Toyo's 19th-consecutive finish on the 10-deep podium. Returning members of that team include Second Stage 6th-placer Ren Umezaki (3rd yr.), Third Stage 6th-placer Ryota Kobayashi (3rd yr.), uphill Fifth Stage 10th-placer Renato Ogata (2nd yr.), Sixth Stage 8th-placer Mashu Nishimura (2nd yr.), Ninth Stage 2nd-placer Shu Yoshida (3rd yr.) and anchor stage winner Ryotaro Kishimoto (2nd yr.). Bolstered by the strong incoming 1st-year class, Toyo can be expected to be in contention for the top places at the 101st Hakone Ekiden next January.

source article:
translated by Brett Larner

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