The 58th All-Japan Collegiate Ekiden Championships (sponsored by Asahi Shimbun and others, with special support from Haseko Group) was held on the 1st, with Waseda University winning for the sixth time in 16 years with a time of 5 hours, 3 minutes and 31 seconds, a new tournament record. (Records are preliminary figures)
Ranking up to 8th place (within seeding range for next year's tournament)
1st place Waseda University
2nd place Kokugakuin University
3rd place Soka University
4th place Aoyama Gakuin University
5th place Chuo University
6th place Komazawa University
7th place Daito Bunka University
8th place Teikyo University
Next year's participation slot
Based on the results of this tournament, it is expected that there will be 15 spots for next year's 59th tournament, 15 from the Kanto region, 4 from the Kansai region, and 1 each from the Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokushinetsu, Tokai, Chugoku-Shikoku, and Kyushu regions.
The 25 participating schools will be determined by three types: ``seed spots'' given to the top 8 schools, ``basic spots'' given to each of the 8 districts nationwide, and ``achievements spots'' given to districts ranked 9th to 17th.
In this tournament, all of the top 15 places were taken by Kanto teams, so if you include the basic spots, there will be 16 Kanto teams. However, since the maximum number of participants per district is set at 15, the extra slot is expected to be given to the Kansai region, which is home to Ritsumeikan University, which placed 18th in this tournament.
Kwansei Gakuin University was in 16th place and Osaka Keizai University was in 17th place, so the Kansai region will have 4 slots, including the basic slot and the performance slot.
■Final 8th ward → Goal
In the final 8th section, Shinsaku Kudo (4th year) of Waseda University maintained his lead with an impressive run and crossed the finish line. With a new tournament record of 5 hours, 3 minutes and 31 seconds overall, Waseda University won for the first time in 16 tournaments and for the sixth time.
Although they did not win for the first time in two tournaments, Kokugakuin University maintained their second place thanks to the solid performance of Itsuki Takaishi (second year). Soka University, which received the sash in fifth place, moved up two places to Shōki Yamaguchi (3rd year), reaching a record high of 3rd place.
Aoyama Gakuin University dropped one place to finish in 4th place. Chuo University came in 5th place. Last year's tournament champion Komazawa University finished in 6th place. 7th place is Daito Bunka University, 8th place is Teikyo University. Juntendo University, in 9th place, lost its seeding rights.
■7th Relay Station (7th Ward → 8th Ward)
In the 7th ward, Waseda University maintained its large lead and ran comfortably in the lead. Shunpei Yamaguchi (3rd year), who has a record of 10,000 meters in the 27 minute range, widened the gap to 2nd place to 2 minutes 34 seconds and passed the sash to Shinsaku Kudo (4th year) in the final 8th race.
For second-place Kokugakuin University, captain Tsunetoru Nonaka (fourth year), who coach Yasuhiro Maeda called a ``game changer,'' chased the lead, but was unable to close the gap. Aoyama Gakuin University maintained its 3rd place, and Komazawa University held its 4th place.
For Soka University, Mucini (4th year) showed a good run, pushing his ranking from 8th to 5th.
The competition for seeding, which is given to 8th place and above, has become more intense. Teikyo University came in 7th place, Daito Bunka University in 8th place, and Juntendo University in 9th place.
■6th relay station (6th ward → 7th ward)
Waseda University's Shota Horino (2nd year), who ran in the 6th ward, also did well, taking the lead and moving on to the 7th ward with a 2 minute 25 second difference over second place. For Kokugakuin University, Kuranosuke Yoshida (4th year) showed a new performance in the section and maintained his second place. Aoyama Gakuin University moved up to third place after a fierce battle with Komazawa University. Teikyo University moved up two places to fifth place. Chuo University, which received the sash in 10th place, moved up to 6th place, within the seeding range.
■5th Relay Station (5th Ward → 6th Ward)
In the 5th ward, Waseda University, which was in the lead, widened its gap further. Ace player Rui Suzuki (2nd year), who coach Katsuhiko Hanada said was ``the cornerstone of the team,'' lived up to expectations by hitting the new section.
Kokugakuin University's Yuto Hananogi (3rd year) maintained second place, but the gap between him and the leader had widened to 2 minutes and 39 seconds. Komazawa University's Reiji Uesaka (4th year) made a late move and came in 3rd place, while Aoyama Gakuin University's Haru Ogawara (3rd year) ran into the relay station in 4th place.
Juntendo University moved up from 8th to 6th place, and Kanagawa University dropped from 6th to 9th place. Chuo University tied the sash in 10th place.
■4th relay station (4th ward → 5th ward)
Waseda University comfortably maintained its lead in the 4th ward. Kokugakuin University's Arata Iikuni (3rd year), who received the sash in 3rd place, caught Komazawa University's Rikuto Ikeya (1st year) at the 7km mark and moved up to 2nd place. Iikuni won the section award. Aoyama Gakuin University started in 8th place, and Kuroda Zen (3rd year) moved up four places to 4th place. Daito Sugazaki Daito (2nd year) of Daito Bunka University moved up from 6th to 5th place. Soka University tied the sash in 9th place and Chuo University in 11th place.
■Third relay station (3rd ward → 4th ward)
After 1km in the 3rd section, Waseda University's Ryoki Niizuma (1st year), who was the fastest in the 4th section of the Izumo Ekiden, began to widen the gap between him and Teikyo University's Hajime Matsui (3rd year), who started in 2nd place, 2 seconds apart.
Niizuma continued to fly well after that, gaining more than a minute's difference over second place. This improved the section record of 32 minutes 46 seconds set by Vincent (Tokyo International University) at the 53rd competition (2021) by one second.
Komazawa University started in 3rd place, and Rinta Muta (2nd year) moved up in the final stages to take 2nd place. For Kokugakuin University, which is aiming for its first victory in two tournaments, Teru Tsujihara (4th year) moved up from 5th to 3rd place. Aoyama Gakuin University, which started in 9th place, moved on to 8th place within the seeding rights.
■2nd relay station (2nd ward → 3rd ward)
Immediately after the start of the second section, Yoshihiro Kusuoka (4th year) of Teikyo University, who tied the section record in the previous race, joined the leading group.
After 7km, the battle for the lead became Yota Masuko (1st year), a notable rookie from Waseda University who was making his debut at the 3rd major relay race, Daito Suzuki (1st year) of Komazawa University, winner of the Izumo Ekiden 1st section section prize, and Kusuoka Kusuoka. Masuko jumped into the relay station at the top. Masuko is a new section.
Chuo University, aiming for its first Iseji victory, fell behind in 12th place.
■First relay station (1st ward → 2nd ward)
District 1 was slow from the start. Koto Nakamura (4th year) of Shigakukan University, who won the section prize in the 1st section of last year's competition, fell behind around 7km. With less than 1 kilometer remaining, it was a spurt of competition, and Aoyama Gakuin University's Kazuo Ebiyama (2nd year) outran Waseda University's Sakurajiro Honda (1st year) and tied the knot for the lead.
A total of 27 teams participated
In addition to the seeded schools that placed in the top eight in the previous tournament, a total of 27 teams will participate, including 17 schools that earned the right to participate in the eight regional selection sessions nationwide, the Japan Gakuren Selection, and the Tokai Gakuren Selection, which are open participants.
The All-Japan University Ekiden is one of the three major student ekidens, along with Izumo in October and Hakone on January 2nd and 3rd. Waseda University won the championship for the first time in 16 years in Izumo to begin this season, and Waseda University's ``double crown'' this season is on the line for All Japan.
In the past, five schools have achieved the "triple crown": Daito Bunka University in 1990, Juntendo University in 2000, Waseda University in 2010, Aoyama Gakuin University in 2016, and Komazawa University in 2022.
Player changes on the day
Before the race, there was a ``same-day change'' that allowed up to three athletes and substitutes to be replaced in each section.
Waseda University is aiming for a double title with the Izumo Ekiden, and ace Ryutane Suzuki (2nd year) entered the 5th ward. Ryomi Niizuma (1st year) will be appointed to the 3rd ward, and Waseda University will entrust the 1st to 3rd wards to rookies.
Kokugakuin University, ranked second in Izumo, placed captain Tsunetoru Nonaka (4th year) in the ace section, 7th ward, and mainstay Teru Tsujihara (4th year) in the first half's main section, 3rd ward.
Chuo University, aiming for its first All-Japan championship, will compete against Waseda University by placing Yuto Miyake (2nd year), who is highly anticipated by coach Masakazu Fujiwara, in the 5th ward and captain Daichi Fujita (4th year) in the final 8th ward.
