Kamimura Gakuen and Kyocera Win Kitakyushu Women’s Invitational Ekiden – Brett Larner – Japan Running News

The key play came on the 3.8 km Fourth Stage, where 3rd-year Rina Kurogami ran aggressively after starting 11 seconds behind Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. „I didn’t push too hard on the climbs and just built up momentum on the downhills,“ she said. Just past 2 km into the stage she passed Ritsumeikan Uji for the lead, going on take 8 seconds off the CR she had set on the same stage 2 years ago.

2nd-year Rin Setoguchi had responsibility for the longest stage of the race, the 5.9 km Fifth Stage. „I just told myself that I could make up the 21 seconds to the corporate division leader, and ran like that,“ she said. After a fast start she closed gradually, moving into 1st overall just before the handoff to anchor Hina Ogura.

At December’s National High School Ekiden Kamimura Gakuen finished only 5th, falling short of its attempt at taking the national title 2 years in a row and missing the top 3 for the first time in 7 years. Several athletes who raced there were not feeling well, and coach Arikawa called for them to improve their lifestyle habits and attitude toward the race. „We made sure that they were paying attention to basic things like washing hands, gargling, and how they greet people.“

All 6 team members finished top 5 on their stage, and out of those 4 were 1st or 2nd-year students who will form the core of a strong team next year. Named captain for next season, Setoguchi is already aiming for better. „Next year we’ll win again and go for the high school division CR of 1:27:54,“ she said.

In the corporate league division, Kyocera won for the first time in 22 years, making up for the disappointment of having lost the lead on the anchor stage and finishing 2nd last year. Kyocera anchor Mio Kuroda, 23, started 18 seconds behind leader Sekisui Kagaku. Kuroda was quickly overtaken by Kamimura Gakuen’s Ogura and fell to 3rd overall, but she used the high schooler’s momentum to close the gap to Sekisui Kagaku.

Kuroda figured that the last downhill about 2 km before the finish would be where the race was decided. Just as she thought, that was exactly where she ran down Sekisui Kagaku’s Yuna Arai, surging past her and rolling on to break the finish tape. It was only Kyocera’s 2nd win in the event’s 36-year history.

Heach coach Makoto Wakamatsu praised Kuroda’s performance, saying, „She showed the skills that experience brings.“ Although Kyocera’s goal was to win, many of its athletes are still in their 1st or 2nd year with the team and still developing. They more than lived up to Wakamatsu’s expectations. „Winning was an experience they needed,“ he said.

1. Kamimura Gakuen H.S. – 1:28:15

2. Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. – 1:28:51

3. Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. – 1:28:53

4. Kyocera – 1:28:54

5. Sysmex – 1:29:09

6. Sekisui Kagaku – 1:29:18

7. Higo Ginko – 1:29:57

8. Iwatani Sangyo – 1:30:31

9. Denso – 1:30:47

10. Kagoshima H.S. – 1:31:43

First Stage (5.3 km) – Mei Hakiyama (Yamada H.S.) – 16:59

Second Stage (3.8 km) – Agnes Mwikali (Kyocera) – 11:22 – CR

Third Stage (3.9 km) – Nodoka Ashi (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) – 12:35 – CR

Fourth Stage (3.8 km) – Rina Sasaki (Sekisui Kagaku) – 11:33 – CR

Fifth Stage (5.9 km, H.S.) – Momoka Onishi (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) – 19:35

Fifth Stage (10.4 km, corp.) – Hikari Ozaki (Sysmex) – 34:31

Sixth Stage (4.5 km, H.S.) – Yuika Tsuzurabara (Osaka K.J.G. H.S.) – 14:38

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