Daisy Jellop of the women's relay team placed second in the 5,000m at the All Japan Intercollegiate Championships

Dacey (right) and manager Morioka receiving their award certificates

Three members of our university's women's relay team competed in the women's 5000m and 3000m steeplechase at the 94th All Japan Intercollegiate Athletic Championships held at JFE Harunokuni Stadium (Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture) from Thursday, June 5 to Sunday, June 8, 2025.
Among them, Dacey Jerop, a freshman at Faculty of Management and Information Sciences, achieved a remarkable second place finish in the women's 5000m. Her time of 15:39.49 was a new personal best and the fastest time ever recorded by the University. This impressive performance on the big stage, where the nation's top-level student runners gathered, was a great demonstration of the University's presence in the race.
The women's ekiden team is training hard every day for the Kanto University Women's Ekiden Championships scheduled for October 4 (Saturday), aiming to make another leap forward. Please continue your warm support for the Women's Ekiden Club at Josai International University.

Nagashima running the 5000m

Sasaki running the 3000m hurdles

＜5000m＞
Daisy Jellop (1st year, Faculty of Management and Information Sciences) 2nd place
Nana Nagashima (3rd year, Faculty of Social Work Studies) 27th place

<3000m Hurdles>
Megumi Sasaki (1st year, Faculty of Social Work Studies) 14th place

Comment from Dacey

I was very disappointed that I ended up in 5th place at the last Kanto Intercollegiate Championships. Before the competition, I felt heavy and almost gave up. The speed training was also really tough, but I told myself, "It will get easier if I do it," and I worked on the training with a positive attitude. I am confident that I can run, so I will do my best in future competitions. As the saying goes, "No pain, no gain," and every time I participate in a race, I feel like I am challenging my limits. I think that training, mentality, and a solid race strategy are more important than anything else. My goal this year is to go under 15 minutes and 20 seconds for the 5,000 meters. I want to keep working hard and see results.

Comment from Coach Morioka

Dacey has been working hard at her daily practice, spurred on by the disappointment of the Kanto Intercollegiate Championships in May. Her efforts have borne fruit, leading most of the race and breaking her personal best. She set a new record for our university and won second place. Her efforts over the past month have greatly inspired the entire team and become a shared asset. Nagashima also showed a bold attitude of not running away from challenges, even in the difficult situation of being in the middle of recovering from an injury. I think her teammates learned and felt a lot from her dedication. I believe that Sasaki's experience on the big stage of this national championship will be a great source of strength in her future competitive career. The challenges and growth of each of the three members made this tournament very meaningful for the entire team. We will continue to work hard together towards our next goal, the Kanto University Women's Ekiden Championships.