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Mori Takes Two National Titles, Motanya Wins First at National University Individual Track and Field Championships

by Brett Larner

Kenyan newcomer Lazarus Motanya (Obirin Univ.), winner of the D2 1500 m title at last month's Kanto Regional Track and Field Championships, returned this weekend for his first national title, winning the 1500 m at the National University Individual Track and Field Championships in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa on Friday.  Despite having only the 7th-fastest PB in the final, Motanya had no trouble frontrunning his way to the win against the overly cautious Japanese competition in 3:51.72.  Runner-up Tatsuya Shimizu (Toyo Univ.) was almost three seconds back in 3:54.28 with Chiu-Chin Tseng (Taiwan/National Sports University), one of a number of Taiwanese collegiates joining this year's meet, rounding out the podium in 3:54.39.

Motanya was back again on Saturday for the 5000 m but could not match a field that included many of 2012 Izumo Ekiden winner Aoyama Gakuin University's A-squad.  AGU's Tadashi Isshiki, the course record-setter at February's Kanagawa Half Marathon, barely missed setting a meet record as he won in 14:00.72 with his teammates taking 3rd through 5th.  Challenging him for the win and the record in 14:00.92 and the only runner able to break through the AGU wall was Kentaro Hirai, a key member of the team that helped Kyoto University qualify two weeks ago for November's National University Ekiden Championships for the first time in 41 years.  Motanya was only 19th in 14:34.90.

With Daito Bunka University women having dominated Kanto Regionals last month it looked possible that they might also sweep the National Individual meet. DBU's Chikako Mori, who set a short-lived new university national record in the 3000 mSC at Kanto Regionals, got things off on the right foot with a 4:29.14 win in the 1500 m, but in the 5000 m her teammate Fuyuka Kimura fell victim to Kanaya Taiiku University's Rina Nabeshima who finished over 13 seconds ahead in 15:59.04.  Like AGU in the men's 5000 m, KTU dominated the women's race with its athletes also taking 3rd and 4th.  Mori returned on Sunday to win again in the steeple amid heavy rain, far off her Kanto Regionals mark in 10:14.31 but still ten seconds ahead of the competition.  The men's steeplechase, also on Sunday, saw Takumi Murashima (Juntendo Univ.) outrun Shuya Tsuda (Tsukuba Univ.) by less than a second to win in 8:53.57, just 0.05 off the meet record.

Strong winds resulted in some spectacular marks in some of the jumps and throws, but legit meet records did come in a few events.  Kazuma Oseto (Hosei Univ.) led the men's 200 m final with a meet record 20.64 (+1.8), with Kai Kobayashi (Waseda Univ.) joining him in the record books with a 40:31.36 meet record in the men's 10000 m walk.  Despite the wind Kanae Tatsuta (Mukogawa Joshi Univ.) cleared 4.01 m in the women's pole vault to set a new meet record by just 1 cm, while Orina Ushiro (Kokushikan Univ.) continued the forward trend in Japanese javelin with a 55.89 m women's meet record.

2014 National University Individual Track and Field Championships Highlights
Shonan BMW Stadium, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, June 20-22, 2014
click here for complete results

Women's 5000 m - June 21
1. Rina Nabeshima (Kanaya Taiiku Univ.) - 15:59.04
2. Fuyuka Kimura (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 16:12.05
3. Yuki Maekawa (Kanaya Taiiku Univ.) - 16:16.96
4. Rie Fujita (Kanaya Taiiku Univ.) - 16:21.71
5. Anna Matsuda (Matsuyama Univ.) - 16:29.66

Men's 5000 m - June 21
1. Tadashi Isshiki (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 14:00.72
2. Kentaro Hirai (Kyoto Univ.) - 14:00.92
3. Yuhi Akiyama (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 14:00.95
4. Yusuke Ogura (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 14:09.76
5. Kento Sato (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 14:15.29
-----
19. Lazarus Motanya (Kenya/Obirin Univ.) - 14:34.90

Women's 1500 m - final - June 20
1. Chikako Mori (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 4:29.14
2. Misaki Nakamura (Tsuru Bunka Univ.) - 4:29.40
3. Monami Ichimura (Chuo Univ.) - 4:29.92
4. Sakie Arai (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 4:33.48
5. Momoko Akiyama (Tsukuba Univ.) - 4:34.52

Men's 1500 m - final - June 20
1. Lazarus Motanya (Kenya/Obirin Univ.) - 3:51.72
2. Tatsuya Shimizu (Toyo Univ.) - 3:54.28
3. Chiu-Chin Tseng (Taiwan/National Sports University) - 3:54.39
4. Keisuke Morita (Tsukuba Univ.) - 3:54.40
5. Tenchi Kamitani (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) - 3:56.25

Men's 200 m - final (+1.8) - June 21
1. Kazuma Oseto (Hosei Univ.) - 20.64 - MR
2. Kazushi Kimura (International Pacific Univ.) - 21.04
3. Masaharu Mori (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 21.05
4. Shota Yabuuchi (Chuo Univ.) - 21.07
5. Shotaro Aikyo (Waseda Univ.) - 21.23

Women's 3000 mSC - June 22
1. Chikako Mori (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10:14.31
2. Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) - 10:24.87
3. Nanami Niwa (Chuo Univ.) - 10:25.70
4. Haruna Kaku (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 10:26.40
5. Emi Tsuji (Fukuoka Univ.) - 10:30.43

Men's 3000 mSC - June 22
1. Takumi Murashima (Juntendo Univ.) - 8:53.57
2. Shuya Tsuda (Tsukuba Univ.) - 8:53.96
3. Takuma Imai (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) - 8:56.46
4. Ting-Yin Chou (Taiwan/National Sports Univ.) - 8:58.29
5. Ryoya Nishikawa (Ryukoku Univ.) - 9:00.27

Men's 10000 m Walk - June 21
1. Kai Kobayashi (Waseda Univ.) - 40:31.36 - MR
2. Hotaka Ouchi (Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 41:33.30
3. Nobuyuki Harada (Toyo Univ.) - 41:51.07
4. Yuki Ito (Hokusho Univ.) - 42:04.90
5. Masaki Yamamoto (Ryukoku Univ.) - 42:17.72

Women's Pole Vault - June 20
1. Kanae Tatsuta (Mukogawa Joshi Univ.) - 4.01 m - MR
2. Yuko Inomoto (Tsukuba Univ.) - 3.80 m
3. Rina Mamiya (Chukyo Univ.) - 3.70 m
4. Remi Odajima (Seiwa Univ.) - 3.60 m
5. Rina Suzuki (Nittai Univ.) - 3.60 m

Women's Javelin Throw - June 20
1. Orina Ushiro (Kokushikan Univ.) - 55.89 m - MR
2. Yuka Sato (Higashi Osaka Univ.) - 53.70 m
3. Hiroko Takigawa (Higashi Osaka Univ.) - 53.68 m
4. Ai Yamauchi (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 52.76 m
5. Shiori Toma (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 50.84 m

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
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