Osako, Sato, Kinukawa, Niiya Headline Fukuoka International XC Meet

http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/other/athletic/headlines/20120214-00000014-kyodo_sp-spo.html

translated by Brett Larner

On Feb. 14 the Japanese federation released the elite fields for the Feb. 25 Fukuoka International Cross-Country Meet. At the top of the senior men's 10 km are 10000 m national champion Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) and past 1500 m and 5000 m national champion Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B). Also in the men's race are top-ranked university men Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.) and Akinobu Murasawa (Tokai Univ.). Topping the senior women's 6 km are last year's winner Hitomi Niiya (Sakura AC) and 5000 m national champion Megumi Kinukawa (Mizuno). The Fukuoka International Cross-Country Meet is the second selection race for March's Asian Cross-Country Championships in China and April's World University Cross-Country Championshiops in Poland.

Translator's note: Sato, Ueno, Osako and Murasawa all graduated from Nagano's Saku Chosei H.S., one of the few Japanese high schools to incorporate XC training as a staple of its program.

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