Intro[]
SASUKE Koshien 2 (officially, 「SASUKE甲子園2024」), is the second ever series of preliminary trial events for senior high school students. Similar to the previous year's competition, it would test the skills a competitor would need in an actual tournament, with the addition of competitors competing as a team, each representing a different school. Once again, through an audition process, the event narrowed down to the chosen 8 schools consisting of 24 students, with some schools and even students within those schools returned. As ongoing tradition, each school was represented by a team of 3 students, containing a team captain and was designated with a different color. There were 3 rounds in a formation of a tournament bracket system. Each round would cut the teams in half, and the winning team would be officially chosen to compete in SASUKE 42. The broadcast was aired into a single two-hour special on December 21, 2024 on BS-TBS, just 4 days before the airing of SASUKE 42. It was hosted by Kondo Kako, with Iwamoto Hikaru and Hioki Masashi as guests. Hioki, along with Urushihara Yuuji, Yamamoto Shingo and Yamada Katsumi appeared as mentors.
Qualifying First Stage[]
Eight teams would compete in the SASUKE Relay (SASUKEリレー). This year, the 4 matchups were created in a raffle lettering system, placing 2 teams that would going head-to-head within each one. Each matchup would have every team attempting to navigate five obstacles while wearing a sash and the competitor who finish a lap would remove the sash they were wearing, then pass it to their partner so they can go next. This time, the course added a new obstacle, the Kabe Nobori — two medium-sized walls that are 1.5m and 2m tall to climb over. This process would continue until every team members completed all obstacles and the team that do so faster than their opponent would win the matchup and move onto the Second Stage.
Obstacles[]
① Teoshi Guruma 手押し車 (25m)
② Onbu おんぶ (60m)
③ Kabe Nobori 壁登り
④ Untei うんてい (15m)
⑤ Tire Oshi タイヤ押し (20m)
Results[]
| School (Team Color) | Name (Year) | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matchup 1 | |||
| Seisa High School (Red) | Sonoyama Shinya (3rd) Otsubo Isataka (2nd) Hayashi Kanato (3rd) |
Clear | |
| Aoyama Gakuin High School (Green) | Kitaguchi Rintaro Sobolev Yuri Otani Takuto |
Fail | |
| Matchup 2 | |||
| Kodaira Nishi High School (Yellow) | Mochizuki Kagura Yamamoto Ruki Okubo Kuranosuke |
Fail | |
| Zeze High School (Blue) | Ikeda Taiki Sakai Takahiro Shimada Takuma |
Clear | |
| Matchup 3 | |||
| Saitama Sakae High School (Orange) | Kotake Tomohiro (3rd) Sato Komei (3rd) Kojima Kazuya (3rd) |
Clear | Middle Cut. |
| Kisarazu Comprehensive High School (Pink) | Goto Chihiro Hasegawa Yuma (3rd) Sato Shinsuke (3rd) |
Fail | Middle Cut. |
| Matchup 4 | |||
| Natori High School (White) | Takahashi Toki (3rd) Oba Rio (3rd) Suzuki Yukinari (3rd) |
Clear | Fastest Time. |
| Aikodai Meiden High School (Purple) | Tsuchimatsu Takatora Sasaki Alex Yuta Kawasaki Neo |
Fail | |
Qualifying Second Stage[]
The four surviving teams would compete in SASUKE Gaman Kurabe (SASUKE我慢比べ). In this stage, there were two matchups where each team would selected a competitor for each one-on-one match for all events. Ultimately, the two teams that won two of those events would move on to the Final Stage.
The first event was Taikyū Burasagari Taiketsu (耐久ぶら下がり対決), where both competitors would attempt to held onto a bar as long as possible without falling. If a competitor from a team fell into the water, the opposing team wins. This year the difficulty was increased, due to the bar being wet and slippery from the rain.
As the third unattempted event in the previous trial, the second event was Mugen Jump Taiketsu (無限ジャンプ対決), where both competitors would attempt to jump over a sweeper bar as many times as possible. If a competitor from a team were to hit the sweeper bar, the opposing team wins.
As the second event in the previous trial, the third tie-breaker event was Fukkin Taiketsu (腹筋対決), where both competitors would attempt to do as many incline sit-ups as possible following the beat of the taiko drum while lying down on a 30 degree slope. If a competitor from a team is unable to keep up with the beat, the opposing team wins.
Results[]
| Event | School (Color) | Name (Year) | Winning Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matchup 1 | ||||
| 1st | Seisa High School (Red) | Otsubo Isataka (2nd) | Zeze High School (Blue) | Fell at 2:40. |
| Zeze High School (Blue) | Ikeda Taiki | |||
| 2nd | Seisa High School (Red) | Hayashi Kanato (3rd) | Seisa High School (Red) | |
| Zeze High School (Blue) | Sakai Takahiro | Clipped sweeper at 57 jumps and fell. | ||
| 3rd | Seisa High School (Red) | Sonoyama Shinya (3rd) | Stalemate | Couldn't get up at 50 sit-ups. |
| Zeze High School (Blue) | Shimada Takuma | Missed button at 50 sit-ups. Since it was a tie, both players had to start the round again. | ||
| 3rd | Seisa High School (Red) | Sonoyama Shinya (3rd) | Seisa High School (Red) | Seisa advances. |
| Zeze High School (Blue) | Shimada Takuma | Missed button at 42 sit-ups. | ||
| Matchup 1 Winner: Seisa High School | ||||
| Matchup 2 | ||||
| 1st | Saitama Sakae High School (Orange) | Kojima Kazuya (3rd) | Natori High School (White) | Fell at 1:39. |
| Natori High School (White) | Suzuki Yukinari (3rd) | |||
| 2nd | Saitama Sakae High School (Orange) | Sato Komei (3rd) | Natori High School (White) | Hit sweeper at 70 jumps. |
| Natori High School (White) | Oba Rio (3rd) | Since Natori already won the first 2 rounds, they automatically advance. | ||
| Matchup 2 Winner: Natori High School | ||||
Qualifying Final Stage[]
The last two teams still standing would go head-to-head to tackle a replica of the First Stage, with every member from both teams attempting it. Once again, the wet weather affected the course like last year. Whichever team either had a member with the fastest time, or the only team that cleared at all, would win SASUKE Koshien 2 and officially qualify for SASUKE 42.
Obstacles[]
① Quad Steps クワッドステップス
② Rolling Hill ローリングヒル
③ Fish Bone フィッシュボーン
④ Soritatsu Kabe そり立つ壁
Results[]
| School (Color) | Name (Year) | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natori High School (White) | Suzuki Yukinari (3rd) | Clear (38.09 seconds) | Since Yukinari already had a faster time than Isataka, he and his team automatically qualify for SASUKE 42. |
| Seisa High School (Red) | Hayashi Kanato (3rd) | ③ Fish Bone フィッシュボーン | |
| Natori High School (White) | Oba Rio (3rd) | ② Rolling Hill ローリングヒル | |
| Seisa High School (Red) | Otsubo Isataka (2nd) | Clear (49.66 seconds) | |
| Natori High School (White) | Takahashi Toki (3rd) | ② Rolling Hill ローリングヒル | |
| Seisa High School (Red) | Sonoyama Shinya (3rd) | ③ Fish Bone フィッシュボーン |
| Qualified for SASUKE 42: Natori High School |
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