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Kuraoka and Maeda Take 1500 m Titles on Second Day of National High School Track and Field Championships

by Brett Larner

The second day of the 2014 National High School Track and Field Championships brought even hotter temperatures than the first, 36 degrees at the time of the girls' and boys' mid-afternoon 1500 m finals.  The girls' race started with a mishap as #1-ranked Japanese runner Karin Yasumoto (Suma Gakuen H.S.) was tripped in the first 50 m as the field crowded together, landing flat on her face and ultimately ending up second-to-last.  #1-seeded Kenyan Monica Margaret (Aomori Yamada H.S.) shot to the front and opened a lead of over 50 m by halfway, with the two slowest qualifiers for the final, Nana Kuraoka (Kagoshima Joshi H.S.) and Azusa Sumi (Toyokawa H.S.) breaking from the chase pack early in pursuit.

By 800 m Margaret had started come back, and both Kuraoka and Sumi went by her with 200 m to go.  Kuraoka continued her momentum and dropped Sumi on the curve to take the win in 4:20.82.  Behind her the pack caught Margaret and made contact with Sumi in the home straight.  #3-seeded Mina Kato (Hakuho Joshi H.S.) fought her way past into 2nd in 4:23.35, Sumi hanging on to the podium in 4:23.93.  Margaret, still a first-year, paid for her early frontrunning as she dropped to 9th in 4:30.72.

In the boys' race #3-ranked Haruki Nishimura (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) led the first lap in 61 seconds with the rest of the field lined out behind him.  Slowing over the next 300 m, he was overtaken by #2-ranked Renya Maeda (Funabashi Civic H.S.) at 700 m.  Maeda maintained the lead for the next lap, but despite a challenge at the bell he stayed ahead through the final lap, outkicking #1-ranked Masahide Saito (Waseda Prep Jitsugyo H.S.) for the win in 3:51.47, Saito just behind in 3:51.84.  In post-race interviews Maeda was one of many winners of the day to state his hope of making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics team.

In other events, Tokyo High School athletes won both the women's and men's 100 m finals.  Buffeted by a 2.4 m/s headwind, Tokyo's Edoba Iyoba took down the hopes of yesterday's 400 m winner Seika Aoyama (Matsue Shogyo H.S.) of a double, winning in 12.06 to Aoyama's 12.12.  Iyoba's teammate Kenta Oshima, 4th last year as a first-year, had no trouble dealing with a 2.0 m/s headwind after winning the South Kanto regional qualifier against a headwind of over 6.0 m/s, taking the national title in 10.64 off a 10.37 in the semi-finals.  Sayori Matsumoto (Nara Ikuei H.S.) gritted out a win in the girls' 5000 m race walk, her 23:24.68 a quality mark given the heat.  Shingo Sawa (Taisha H.S.) cleared 5.25 m to win the boys' pole vault, while Haruka Nakano (Nakamura Gakuen Joshi H.S.) took the girls' high jump in 1.78 m.  In the day's lone throw final, Haruka Kitaguchi (Asahikawa Higashi H.S.) threw 52.16 m to win the girls' javelin.  Shun Taue of Rakunan H.S., the alma mater of World Junior Championships double medalist Yoshihide Kiryu, won the boys' octathlon comfortably in 5758 with a margin of over 100 points.

The 2014 National High School Track and Field Championships continue through Sunday, Aug. 3.

2014 National High School Track and Field Championships Day Two
Kofu, Yamanashi, July 31
click here for complete results
click here for comprehensive results in English 


Girls' 1500 m Final
1. Nana Kuraoka (Kagoshima Joshi H.S.) - 4:20.82
2. Mina Kato (Hakuho Joshi H.S.) - 4:23.35
3. Azusa Sumi (Toyokawa H.S.) - 4:23.93
4. Yuka Kobayashi (Tokiwa H.S.) - 4:24.44
5. Kanako Yahagi (Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 4:24.54
6. Ayaka Nakagawa (Shohei Gakuen H.S.) - 4:25.41
7. Yuki Kometani (Tokiwa H.S.) - 4:25.54
8. Wakana Kabasawa (Tokiwa H.S.) - 4:27.65
9. Monica Margaret (Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 4:30.72
10. Arisa Yamamoto (Tottori Chuo Ikuei H.S.) - 4:31.21

Boys' 1500 m Final
1. Renya Maeda (Funabashi Civic H.S.) - 3:51.47
2. Masahide Saito (Waseda Prep Jitsugyo H.S.) -  3:51.84
3. Motoki Nabeshima (Katsura H.S.) - 3:52.85
4. Taisei Hashizume (Wakayama Kita H.S.) - 3:53.54
5. Ko Kobayashi (Toyo Prep Ushiku H.S.) - 3:53.63
6. Kohei Arai (Urawa Jitsugyo H.S.) - 3:53.64
7. Takanori Hayashi (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) -  3:53.66
8. Yota Endo (Yamagata Minami H.S.) - 3:53.68
9. Ryuya Kajiya (Hakuo Prep Ashikaga H.S.) - 3:54.81
10. Kaito Yamamura (Kobayashi H.S.) - 3:55.16

Girls' 100 m Final - 2.4
1. Edoba Iyoba (Tokyo H.S.) - 12.06
2. Hinako Sato (Sakata Minami H.S.) - 12.07
3. Seika Aoyama (Matsue Shogyo H.S.) - 12.12
4. Kotomi Eguchi (Shohei Gakuen H.S.) - 12.13
5. Sayaka Adachi (Oita Oginodai H.S.) - 12.19
6. Risa Akita (Seiryo H.S.) - 12.21
7. Ichiko Iki (Kyoto Tachibana H.S.) - 12.26
8. Natsumi Asano (Mizuhashi H.S.) - 12.27

Boys' 100 m Final - 2.0
1. Kenta Oshima (Tokyo H.S.) - 10.64
2. Makoto Takiuchi (Kinki Prep Fuzoku H.S.) - 10.68
3. Akihisa Kondo (Aichi Kogyo Prep Meiden H.S.) - 10.71
4. Akiyoshi Ono (Toyo Prep Ashikaga H.S.) - 10.75
5. Shunto Nagata (Isahaya H.S.) - 10.75
6. Shuhei Tada (Osaka Toin H.S.) - 10.78
7. Takumi Masuda (Sakuyakonohana H.S.) - 10.80
8. Hirotaka Takamatsu (Hokkaido Sakae H.S.) - 10.85

Girls' 5000 m Race Walk
1. Sayori Matsumoto (Nara Ikuei H.S.) - 23:24.68
2. Mizuka Takayama (Toyama Shogyo H.S.) - 23:29.57
3. Yukiho Mizoguchi (Nagano Higashi H.S.) - 23:45.80
4. Nanoka Ueda (Amagasaki Civic H.S.) - 23:52.11
5. Riho Sugimoto (Shigakukan H.S.) - 23:55.86

Boys' Pole Vault
1. Shingo Sawa (Taisha H.S.) - 5.25 m
2. Kosaku Miyake (Kanonji H.S.) - 5.15 m
3. Takuma Arai (Kashiwa Nittai Prep H.S.) - 5.15 m
4. Kairi Uematsu (Hamamatsu Kita H.S.) - 5.10 m
5. Takumi Okamoto (Yokohama Seifu H.S.) - 5.05 m

Girls' High Jump
1. Haruka Nakano (Nakamura Gakuen Joshi H.S.) - 1.78 m
2. Satomi Teratani (Kurayoshi Higashi H.S.) - 1.75 m
3. Jeliah Tsuda (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.) - 1.75 m
4. Saki Matsui (Chukyo Prep Chukyo H.S.) - 1.75 m
5. Sayaka Shimizu (Yachiyo Shoin H.S.) - 1.72 m

Girls' Javelin Throw
1. Haruka Kitaguchi (Asahikawa Higashi H.S.) - 52.16 m
2. Minami Kajihara (Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 52.10 m
3. Raimu Tanaka (Kurashiki Chuo H.S.) - 51.70 m
4. Mikako Yamashita (Kyoto Kyoei Gakuen H.S.) - 49.15 m
5. Nagisa Mori (Meijo Prep Fuzoku H.S.) - 46.87 m

Boys' Octathlon
1. Shun Taue (Rakunan H.S.) - 5758
2. Kai Kawabata (Kinki Prep Kogyo H.S.) - 5655
3. Rei Yamashita (Sundai Kofu H.S.) - 5649
4. Yu Kishikawa (Nagasaki Nihon Prep H.S.) - 5645
5. Suguru Shiozaki (Takikawa Daini H.S.) - 5622

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Bruce said…
full English results being posted at http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=226407

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