【Waterpolo】Strong competitors advance in the first round (National High School Comprehensive Athletic Meet Swimming Competition)
Official website: https://www.koukousoutai.com/2024soutai/
Official record site: https://kirokukensaku.net/0IH24/index.html
Tournament table: https://kirokukensaku.net/0IH24/tournament_33002000.html
The water polo competitions for the 2024 National High School Athletic Meet and the Northern Kyushu General Athletic Meet will be held at Oita Prefectural Oita Commercial High School in Oita Prefecture. On the first day, four first-round matches and two second-round matches were held.
On the first day, the first match was between Kanagawa Technical High School and Kanazawa Municipal Technical High School. In the first period, Kanazawa Municipal Technical High School scored the opening goal. However, Kanagawa Technical High School quickly returned the points and took the lead with a counter attack. After the second period, which was a battle for points, the score was 10-7. Kanagawa Technical High School continued to dominate the game in the second half and won the game 16-12.
The second game was Kansai vs. Nagahama Hokusei. Kansai took the lead in the first period and took a two-point lead. In the third period, both teams added one point each to make it 6-4, but then Nagahama Hokusei scored consecutive points to gradually close the gap and tie the score at 9-9. In the final period, Kansai extended the lead to two points at one point, but Nagahama Hokusei held on. In the end, Kansai's 13th point, scored from a loop shot by Murakami Ryoku, became the deciding point and the game ended. Kansai won 13-12.
In the third match between Naha Commercial and Aomori Union, Naha Commercial took control of the game with a fierce attack from the first period. They added seven points in the first period and three points in the second period. Aomori Union, desperate to fight back, scored three points in the final period, but Naha Commercial continued to score at a faster pace, and Naha Commercial defeated Aomori Union 20-6.
In the fourth match between Yamagata Industrial and Kashiwazaki Union, Kashiwazaki Union scored four points and ended the first period with a one-point lead. They continued to extend their lead in the second period, and the first half ended with a score of 4-6. Kashiwazaki Union wanted to keep the momentum in the second half, but when Yamagata Industrial tied the score in the third period, Yamagata Industrial scored consecutive points and quickly pulled away from Kashiwazaki Union, winning the game 11-8.
The second round, which consisted of two games, was a match between the local team Oita Commercial and Meiji University Nakano. Oita Commercial received loud cheers from the local crowd, but Meiji University Nakano scored six points in the first period. Oita Commercial tried to fight back in the second period, but they were unable to stop Meiji University Nakano's onslaught and lost to Meiji University Nakano 7-19.
The final game of the day, the Kyushu block match between Kagoshima Minami and Fukuoka Technical High School, looked like a close match from the beginning. However, Kagoshima Minami, who accumulated points at key points, ended the first half with a three-point lead of 6-3. In the second half, neither team gave an inch, and the third and fourth periods were tied. As a result, Kagoshima Minami, who managed to hold on to their lead from the first half, won 13-10.
