Skip to main content

Hemphill Sets Heptathlon Jr. National Record on Day Four of National High School Track and Field Championships

by Brett Larner
photo by Kazuyuki Sugimatsu
video by Ekiden News

After two meet records yesterday, the fourth day of this year's National High School Track and Field Championships saw the meet's first national record.  Rising star Meg Hemphill (Kyoto Bunkyo H.S.) built up a steady lead over the two days of the women's heptathlon, and with 4666 points and only the 800 m left she needed to run just 2:26.14 to break both the high school and junior national records.  Instead of settling for an easy record she went out full-effort, running 2:17.87 to total 5519 and breaking not just the meet record and the two national records but landing at all-time #8 in the Japanese record books.  A relative newcomer, she looks set to be one of the more interesting Japanese track and field athletes in the next few years.

Hemphill brought the performance of the day, but there were other quality results.  Winning the 400 m national title on the first day of the meet and coming back the next day to finish 3rd in the 100 m, Seika Aoyama (Matsue Shogyo H.S.) succeeded in picking up a second win with a 23.86 into a headwind in the girls' 200 m.  Shu Mori (Imabari Meitoku H.S.), 8th at last week's World Junior Championships boys' javelin with a threw of 69.73, threw 72.18 m for the win here, a mark that would have put him 4th in Oregon.



In the men's 5000 m, Paul Kamais of Sera H.S., the same school to bring the world Bedan Karoki and Joseph Gitau, ran a 2:29 final kilometer for the win in 13:45.12, dropping last year's 2nd-placer Charles Ndungu (Sapporo Yamanote H.S.) to be runner-up again in 13:48.83.  #1-ranked Japanese runner Fuminori Shimo (Iga Hakuho H.S.) and World Juniors team member Shota Onizuka (Omuta H.S.) were the only Japanese athletes to go with the lead pack of five Kenyans, but where Onizuka fell off early Shimo lasted until nearly the last push, ahead of Isaac Mbuguru (Kaishi Kokusai H.S.) until the last 50 m before losing out to take 6th in 14:18.16.

The day's other main distance action came with the qualifying heats for the girls' 3000 m, always the most competitive event on the schedule.  All 18 qualifiers for the final cleared 9:28 to get there, Shinobu Koyoshikawa (Sera H.S.) topping the list with a 9:21.81 to win Heat 3.  2nd through 4th place in Heat 3 were also under 9:22, with Harumi Okamoto (Tokiwa H.S.) winning Heat 1 in 9:22.98 and Kenyan Mariam Waithera (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) claiming Heat 2 in 9:23.30.  The final closes out the last day of the National Championships on Sunday, with the team titles still up for grabs.  Kanagawa prefecture's Soyo H.S. leads the boys' standings with 29 points, its closest rival Hanazono H.S. of Kyoto holding 23 points.  On the girls' side, Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S. leads with 29 points, Shimane prefecture's Matsue Shugyo H.S. holding up 2nd with 22.  Tokyo H.S. is a close third in both the boys' and girls' divisions, making for an exciting meet-ender tomorrow.

2014 National High School Track and Field Championships Day Four
Kofu, Yamanashi, Aug. 2
click here for official results
click here for comprehensive results in English

Boys' 5000 m Final
1. Paul Kamais (Sera H.S.) - 13:45.12
2. Charles Ndungu (Sapporo Yamanote H.S.) - 13:48.83
3. Silas Kingori (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 13:51.36
4. John Kariuki (Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 13:57.47
5. Isaac Mbuguru (Kaishi Kokusai H.S.) - 14:17.79
6. Fuminori Shimo (Iga Hakuho H.S.) - 14:18.16
7. Shota Onizuka (Omuta H.S.) - 14:20.64
8. Takumi Kato (Narita H.S.) - 14:21.39
9. Shiki Shinsako (Sera H.S.) - 14:23.48
10. Atsushi Yamato (Aichi H.S.) - 14:23.99

Girls' 3000 m Qualifiers
Shinobu Koyoshikawa (Sera H.S.) - 9:21.81 (Heat 3)
Mina Kato (Hakuoh Joshi H.S.) - 9:21.84 (Heat 3)
Airi Tanaka (Asahikawa Ryukoku H.S.) - 9:21.90 (Heat 3)
Nao Yamamoto (Tokiha Gakuen Kikugawa H.S.) - 9:21.92 (Heat 3)
Harumi Okamoto (Tokiwa H.S.) - 9:22.98 (Heat 1)
Kureha Seki (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 9:23.26 (Heat 1)
Mariam Waithera (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 9:23.30 (Heat 2)
Kaede Mikada (Hanawa H.S.) - 9:23.59 (Heat 1)
Kanako Yahagi (Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 9:23.82 (Heat 1)
Yuri Nozoe (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 9:23.88 (Heat 1)
Nodoka Aoki (Mashita Seifu H.S.) - 9:24.29 (Heat 2)
Monica Margaret (Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 9:24.61 (Heat 3)
Kyoka Nakagawa (Kumamoto Shinai Joshin Gakuin H.S.) - 9:24.83 (Heat 3)
Kyoko Tokunaga (Shimahara H.S.) - 9:26.66 (Heat 1)
Yuka Kobayashi (Tokiwa H.S.) - 9:27.33 (Heat 2)
Miyu Hatakeyama (Yamanashi Gakuin Prep H.S.) - 9:27.41 (Heat 1)
Kanako Takemoto (Saikyo H.S.) - 9:27.43 (Heat 2)
Misato Kagayama (Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 9:27.45 (Heat 2)

Boys' 800 m Final
1. Renya Maeda (Funabashi Municipal H.S.) - 1:51.59
2. Haruki Nishimura (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 1:52.15
3. Tomoya Ogawa (Soyo H.S.) - 1:52.38
4. Motoki Nabeshima (Katsura H.S.) - 1:52.43
5. Ryusei Sakuraoka (Morioka Minami H.S.) - 1:52.80
6. Kenta Masuda (Hokuriku H.S.) - 1:53.04
7. Koei Kobayashi (Toyo Prep Ushiku H.S.) - 1:53.49
8. Suguru Otaguro (Taragi H.S.) - 1:53.73

Girls' 800 m Final
1. Hina Takahashi (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 2:08.71
2. Haruko Ishizuka (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.) - 2:09.61
3. Tomoka Mukai (Shigakukan H.S.) - 2:09.80
4. Nana Kuraoka (Kagoshima Joshi H.S.) - 2:09.85
5. Masumi Okuda (Tokyo H.S.) - 2:10.22
6. Mina Ueda (Narita H.S.) - 2:10.54
7. Airi Hagiwara (Niijima Gakuen H.S.) - 2:11.01
8. Sae Shuto (Oita Nishi H.S.) - 2:11.16

Boys' 200 m Final -1.6
1. Kyosuke Konno (Soyo H.S.) - 21.08
2. Hakim Sunni Brown (Josai H.S.) - 21.21
3. Jun Yamashita (Fukushima H.S.) - 21.27
4. Hirotaka Takamatsu (Hokkaido Shogyo H.S.) - 21.38
5. Shunto Nagata (Isahaya H.S.) - 21.40
6. Kenta Oshima (Tokyo H.S.) - 21.47
7. Koki Mogami (Morioka Minami H.S.) - 21.58
8. Shunya Kawabe (Hosei Prep Daini H.S.) - 21.66

Girls' 200 m Final -0.5
1. Seika Aoyama (Matsue Shogyo H.S.) - 23.86
2. Kotomi Eguchi (Shohei H.S.) - 24.21
3. Hinako Sato (Sakata Minami H.S.) - 24.22
4. Tomomi Kawamura (Morioka Daiichi H.S.) - 24.54
5. Risa Akita (Seiryo H.S.) - 24.54
6. Akari Masunaga (Nagareyama H.S.) - 24.56
7. Mizuki Kajiura (Aichi H.S.) - 24.75
8. Sayaka Shibayama (Shigakukan H.S.) - 24.75

Boys' High Jump
1. Yuji Hiramatsu (Shijoyo H.S.) - 2.19 m
2. Shuichi Matsumoto (Isahaya Nogyo H.S.) - 2.16 m
3. Kentaro Kato (Suzuka Kogyo H.S.) - 2.10 m
4. Takeshi Kamibeppu (Kagoshima Shogyo H.S.) - 2.10 m
5. Kiyosuke Nakajima (Anjo Gakuen H.S.) - 2.07 m

Girls' Long Jump
1. Rei Mizuguchi (Shiraume H.S.) - 6.14 m +1.9
2. Yumi Uchinokura (Konan H.S.) - 6.03 m -0.1
3. Kanon Hamamoto (Himeji Shogyo H.S.) - 5.89 m +1.0
4. Yukino Tanaka (Saitama Sakae H.S.) - 5.84 m +0.8
5. Miki Takeshima (Nagasaki Nishi H.S.) - 5.84 m +0.9

Boys' Javelin Throw
1. Shu Mori (Imabari Meitoku H.S.) - 72.18 m
2. Ayumu Ishiyama (Hanazono H.S.) - 69.68 m
3. Kensei Hanada (Jiyugaoka H.S.) - 67.29 m
4. Tatsuya Sakamoto (Ichinomiya Minami H.S.) - 66.02 m
5. Atsushi Kawano (Miyazaki Kogyo H.S.) - 65.74 m

Girls' Heptathlon
1. Meg Hemphill (Kyoto Bunkyo H.S.) - 5519 - Jr. NR, HS NR, MR
2. Konoka Takahashi (Shiraume H.S.) - 5118
3. Tomomi Nono (Saikyo H.S.) - 5079
4. Juri Sawada (Shiraume H.S.) - 5018
5. Azusa Ueno (Koku Gakuin Prep Tochigi H.S.) - 4921

(c) 2014 Brett Larner, all rights reserved 
photo (c) 2014 Kazuyuki Sugimatsu, all rights reserved

Comments

Anonymous said…
Brett -- as always, thanks for your reports! Re Meg Hemphill -- any chance you could post other information about her, or link to something about her, or even interview her? Interested to know more about her, her training, etc. Thanks!
Brett Larner said…
Most people don't get what they want in life simply because they never ask. Composite translation article posted Aug. 5.

Most-Read This Week

World Championships Medalist Racewalking Coach Mizuho Sakai Recognized With Highest Coaching Honor

The 2023 Mizuno Sports Mentor Awards recognizing excellence in coaching were held Apr. 23 in Tokyo. Toyo University assistant coach and race walking coach Mizuho Sakai was given a gold award, the program's highest honor, and expressed her thanks and joy in a speech at the award ceremony. The coach of 2023 Budapest World Championships men's 35 km race walk bronze medalist Masatora Kawano , Sakai said, "This is an incredible honor and I'm truly grateful. As a child I wanted to be in the sporting world and I've spent my life in that world. My end goal was always to play a supporting role for other athletes, so I'm honored to be recognized in this way." Sakai's husband Toshiyuki Sakai , head coach of Toyo's three-time Hakone Ekiden champion team, attended the awards gala with her and was also introduced to the audience. After bowing he took a seat in front of her and watched with warmth as she received recognition for her outstanding work. The Mizun

Hirabayashi Runs PB at Shanghai Half, WR Holder Nakata Dominates Fuji Five Lakes - Weekend Road Roundup

Returning to the roads after his 2:06:18 win at February's Osaka Marathon, Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin University) took 5th at Sunday's Shanghai Half Marathon in a PB 1:01:23, just under a minute behind winner Roncer Kipkorir Konga (Kenya) who clocked a CR 1:00:29. After inexplicably running the equivalent of a sub-59 half marathon to win the Hakone Ekiden's Third Stage, Aoi Ota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) was back to running performances consistent with his other PBs with a 1:02:30 for 8th. His AGU teammate Kyosuke Hiramatsu was 10th in 1:04:00. Women's winner Magdalena Shauri (Tanzania) also set a new CR in 1:09:57. Aoyama Gakuin runners took the top four spots in the men's half marathon at the Aomori Sakura Marathon , with Hakone alternate Kosei Shiraishi getting the win in 1:04:32 and B-team members Shunto Hamakawa and Kei Kitamura 2nd and 3rd in 1:04:45 and 1:04:48. Club runners took the other division titles, Hina Shinozaki winning the women's half

The Ivy League at the Izumo Ekiden in Review

Last week I was contacted by Will Geiken , who I'd met years ago when he was a part of the Ivy League Select Team at the Izumo Ekiden . He was looking for historical results from Izumo and lists of past team members, and I was able to put together a pretty much complete history, only missing the alternates from 1998 to 2010 and a little shaky on the reverse transliterations of some of the names from katakana back into the Western alphabet for the same years. Feel free to send corrections or additions to alternate lists. It's interesting to go back and see some names that went on to be familiar, to see the people who made an impact like Princeton's Paul Morrison , Cornell's Max King , Stanford's Brendan Gregg in one of the years the team opened up beyond the Ivy League, Cornell's Ben de Haan , Princeton's Matt McDonald , and Harvard's Hugo Milner last year, and some of the people who struggled with the format. 1998 Team: 15th of 21 overall, 2:14:10 (43