Special feature: 56 University of Japan Ekiden
4 years. The Editorial Department
2024/11/01
(Latest update: 2024/11/01)
Tokai University ace Toshiya Hanaoka fought back tears at the Hakone qualifying round as he entered the second ward (Photo by Misa Fujii)
The 56th Ekiden University of Japan will be held on November 3rd. 16 players per team were registered on 9 October, and the number was reduced to “8 competitors and 5 representatives” by the deadline for member entries on 31 October. This article introduces the members of the seven recommended schools in the Kanto region that were announced on November 1st.
Same-day changes, which will be made on the morning of the race, will be limited to a maximum of three people. Already placed runners cannot change their sections, and the final runners will be determined at this time.
Kanto region selection committee 1st place Tokai University
Ace Toshiya Hanaoka was placed in the 2nd ward and will compete against speed runners from other schools, although Hanaoka’s rival, Judah Hyodo, was not included. Takanobu Igarashi, who helped the team pass the Kanto region selection, captain Yuto Kajitani, and former captain Yota Koshi will be their substitutes. Since they missed to participate in the Hakone Ekiden main tournament, they want to win the seeding here and show their enthusiasm.
Ward 1: Yasutaka Kusakari (3rd year, Tokai University Sagami)
Ward 2 Hisaya Hanaoka (3rd year, Ueda Nishi)
District 3 Hirai Rikong (1st year, first year extension)
Ward 4 Guest Higaki (year 1, Kurashiki)
Ward 5 Mizuno Ryuushi (4th year, Kobayashi)
Ward 6 Rikuto Nakai (3rd year, Kurashiki)
Ward 7 Minamisaka Yuta (2nd year, Kurashiki)
Ward 8 Takekarima (3rd year, Kyushu Academy)
Representative Takanobu Igarashi (4th year, Mito Kogyo)
Yuto Kajitani (4th year, Shiga Gakuen)
Yue Yangtai (4 years, Sajyu Changsheng)
Yuki Kani (3rd year, Tokai University Sagami)
Suzuta Sano (1st year, Toyokawa)
Kanto region selection 2nd place Toyo University
Not a single fourth-year student at Toyo University ran in the Izumo Ekiden in October. All Japan had Ryota Kobayashi in the 1st ward, captain Ren Umezaki in the 3rd ward, and Kosuke Ishida in the 6th ward, creating a well-balanced regimen. Geonjin and Hamanakason, who had experienced Izumo, entered the 2nd and 4th wards, respectively. Izumo Road runners such as Kago Amimoto and Shinshu Nishimura will also be representatives.
Ward 1 Ryota Kobayashi (4th year, Toyokawa)
District 2 welcomes people (1st year, first year of freshman year)
Ward 3 Umezaki Ren (4th year, East Uwajima)
Ward 4 Hamaka-son (2nd year, Seibutai Chiba)
Ward 5 Ryugetsu Kubota (2nd year, Saitama Sakae)
District 6 Kosuke Ishida (4th year, sophomore at Dongnong University)
Ward 7 Mio Ogata (3rd year, Funabashi City)
Ward 8 Ryotaro Kishimoto (3rd year, Kochi Agriculture)
Representative Shu Yoshida (4th year, Hiroshima International Academy)
Kago Amimoto (3rd year, Matsuura)
Mashu Nishimura (3rd year, Jiyugaoka)
Hakone Taiga (2nd year, studying Ishikawa)
Hayao Fujimoto (2nd year, Akita Industrial)</
Toyo University captain Ren Umezaki joined the 3rd ward (Photo by Shota Inoue)
Kanto region selection committee 3rd place Waseda University
Junpei Maseda has won the 1st ward for three consecutive years. Will the last spurt known as the “Mase Dash” be decided again this year? They did not hide their main strengths by registering speed runner Tomoki Yamaguchi in the 2nd ward, the captain Taishi Ito in the 4th ward, and Yoji Ishizuka, who is 27 minutes over 10,000m, in the 5th ward. Yota Ifuku, who was appointed anchor in the final competition but did not achieve the seeding rights, is in the 6th ward. Is it an insult?
Division 1 Junpei Maseta (3rd year, Tosu Kogyo)
District 2 Tomuki Yamaguchi (3rd year, studying Ishikawa)
District 3 Shinjiro Fujimoto (3rd year, Qingfeng)
District 4 Daishi Ito (4th year, Nagaei Saku)
Ward 5 Yoji Ishizuka (4th year, Waseda Jitsugyo)
Ward 6 Yota Ifuku (4th year, Rakunan)
Ward 7 Masaki Nagaya (2nd year, Chosei Saku)
Ward 8 Shinsaku Kudo (2nd year, Yachiyo Shoin)
Representative Yuta Kanno (4th year, Seibu Bunri)
Rinta Miyaoka (3rd year, Kamakura Gakuen)
Motosuke Sema (1st year, 2nd year of Tonong University)
Shupei Yamaguchi (1st year, Chosei Saku)
Naoki Yoshikura (1st year, Waseda Jitsugyo)
4th place in Nippon University of Sports Science Kanto region selection committee
The top three third-year students, Jo Yamazaki, Ryuto Hirashima, and Shunsuke Tajima, who were the top three on the team at the Hakone Ekiden preliminaries, secured the first half. All the students in the class are upperclassmen, including Takanori Bunsu and Ren Yamaguchi, two fourth-year students. Hirohi Takamura, the Japanese Intercollegiate Men’s 1500m Champion, is an alternate. All eyes will be on whether one of the best average runners of his generation will be running on race day.
Ward 1 Ryuto Hirashima (3rd year, Aiyo)
Ward 2 Jo Yamazaki (3rd year, Chuetsu)
Ward 3 Shunsuke Tajima (3rd year, Asahino)
4th Division Xu Zunji (4th year, sophomore at Dongnong University)
Ward 5 Shotaro Nimura (3rd year, Sendai Ikuei)
Ward 6 Ren Yamaguchi (4th year, Omuta)
Ward 7 Tominaga Ryuta (4th year, Hajime Hokoda)
Ward 8 Kazuki Urakami (3rd year, Kyushu Academy)
Replacement
Kouta Uematsu (age 4, Nagasei Saku)
Kuniya Sugimoto (4th year, Shimada)
Sota Sumihara (4th year, Toyokawa Kogyo)
Hirohi Takamura (4th year, Tsurugakehi)
Masashi Seto (2nd year, Kamiina Agriculture)
Kanto region selection committee 5th place Rikkyo University
Hiroto Kuniyasu and Toradaro Hayashi, who have experienced the Hakone Ekiden for two consecutive years, are in the 2nd and 3rd wards. This season’s captain, Keisuke Ando, who is also racing at the Hakone Road for the second year in a row, was the anchor. Kento Baba, who finished 3rd in the Japanese race at the Hakone Ekiden preliminaries on October 19, and Daisuke Inazuka, who came 5th in the Kanto Men’s Division 2 Half Marathon (3rd in Japan) in May, are acting as representatives at the moment and which will take place on the day of the race.
Ward 1 Yusuke Yoshiya (3rd year, Hiroshima International Academy)
Ward 2 Hiroto Kuniyasu (3rd year, Suma Gakuen)
District 3 Linhu Dalang (4 years, Omuta)
Ward 4 Sodai Harada (2nd year, Rakunan)
Ward 5 Fumiya Ogura (3rd year, Iga Hakuho)
Ward 6 Shiro Yamaguchi (4th year, Yokkaichi Kogyo)
Ward 7 Shun Nagai (3rd year, Kyushu Gakuin)
Ward 8 Keisuke Ando (4th year, Toyokawa)
Representative Daisuke Inazuka
Captain and ace Hiroo Yamanaka will be placed in the second ward and will compete against speed runners from other schools. On the other hand, this is proof that the team is not dependent on ace. Riku Hirota and Yoshihiro Kusuoka, both second year students, made their debut at the Izumo Ekiden, where they finished 8th, and Daisei Kobayashi, who has been on the Iseji route since his first year, will anchor the second year i. a row.
District 1 Koki Shimada (3rd year, Takada)
Ward 2 Hiroo Yamanaka (4th year, Kusatsu East)
District 3 Ozaki Jinya (3rd year, Tokai Dai Fukuoka)
Ward 4 Riku Hirota (2nd year, Hokkaido Sakae)
Ward 5 Saki Kobayashi (year 1, Shutoku)
District 6 Nanoka Yuhiro (2nd year, Qingcheng)
District 7 Sho Fukuda (4th year, Sera)
Ward 8 Daisei Kobayashi (4th year, Chinzei Gakuin)
Representative Ozora Takashima (4th year, Ryutsu Keizai Okashiwa)
Hayashi Yedai (4th year, Shodoshima Chuo)
Shibato Ryota (3rd year, Oita Tomei)
Yudai Fujimoto (3rd year, Hokkaido Sakae)
Yuta Hara (2nd year, Osaka)
7th place in Kanagawa University Kanto region selection competition
Of the eight athletes who helped the team pass the seventh place at
the Kanto regional selection in June, five athletes were placed in this section: Ren Oiwa, Takenari Sakai, Haruka Miyamoto, Ryosuke Nakanishi, and Akashi Takimoto. Many athletes participated in the Hakone Ekiden qualifying round on October 19th, so it is interesting to see how much of the fatigue they felt at that time has passed. Under the guidance of coach Tsuyoshi Nakano, who is in his first year in office, he hopes to apply this experience to the Hakone Ekiden while also participating in the seeding battle.
Ward 1 Ren Oiwa (2nd year, Aichi)
Ward 2 Kensei Sakai (3rd year, Aichi)
District 3 Miyamoto Yoha (3rd year, January)
District 4 Daichi Kondo (2nd year, Central freshman)
Ward 5 Ryosuke Nakanishi (4th year, Kansai Hokuyo University)
Ward 6 Akashi Takimoto (2nd year, Chiben Gakuen Nara College)
Ward 7 Koya Nishizaka (3rd year, Sagamihara)
Ward 8 Takaki Shishoku (3rd year, Hirata)
Representative Ozora Shioda (3rd year, Nishiwaki Kogyo)
Soshin Nakano (3rd year, Miura Gakuen)
Reio Niizuma (2nd year, Nishiwaki Kogyo)
Hajime Hanai (2nd year, Toyokawa Institute of Technology)
Kodai Ueda (1st year, Nishiwaki Kogyo)
D a position in the Kanagawa University Kanto region selection competition, six are returning from last year’s team. The team demonstrated a notable sense of unity and experience, with multiple runners having participated in previous competitions. Among the returning athletes, Yuya Nishikawa from the 3rd year and notable first-year runner Sota Ogawa will be key players in the upcoming races.
Competitors:
– Ward 1: Yuya Nishikawa (3rd year, Kanagawa University)
– Ward 2: Kaito Asano (3rd year, Shonan Institute of Technology)
- Ward 3: Shun Kuroda (4th year, Yamato City)
– Ward 4: Sota Ogawa (1st year, Yokohama High School)
– Ward 5: Hayato Ishida (4th year, Kanto Gakuin)
– Ward 6: Riku Kida (2nd year, Koshigaya High School)
– Ward 7: Daiki Matsuda (3rd year, Hiratsuka)
– Ward 8: Kenji Yamashita (4th year, Atsugi)
The coaching staff emphasizes strategic planning as well as fostering individual strengths, particularly as they prepare for the intense competition ahead. The mixed experience among the competitors promises both excitement and challenges as they aim to improve on their previous results in the Ekiden race.
the upcoming All Japan University Ekiden Tournament will feature a variety of strong collegiate teams, showcasing a mix of seasoned runners and promising newcomers eager to make their mark. The event continues to be a platform for athletes to demonstrate their capabilities and further their running careers.