We Speak Sports

Hurley Runs Fastest Marathon Debut by an American Woman in Chicago

Emma Grace Hurley’s 2:20:47 in Chicago was the fastest marathon debut ever by an American woman, and Clayton Young led the U.S. men despite a hamstring injury.

Published

9 hours ago

October 22, 2026

Royal Jones

Runners racing through the streets at the 2026 Chicago Marathon

The headline numbers in Chicago belonged to Amos Kipruto and Hawi Feysa — but the American story at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 11, belonged to Emma Grace Hurley.

Hurley, a Furman graduate based in Indianapolis, finished seventh in 2:20:47 — the fastest marathon debut by an American woman in history. She ran near the front of the chase pack all morning on a warm day that drew some 55,000 runners. Dakotah Popehn was the second American in 12th with a personal best 2:24:00, and Elena Hayday took 13th in 2:24:57.

Clayton Young led the American men, finishing seventh in 2:05:23 while racing through a hamstring issue. Charles Hicks was eighth in 2:05:35, and Indiana’s Vincent Mauri, who led the American pack through 22 miles, placed 10th in 2:06:45. Galen Rupp won the masters division in an American masters record 2:06:55.

At the front, Kenya’s Amos Kipruto won the men’s race in a personal best 2:01:09, tying Eliud Kipchoge for fifth on the world all-time list after finishing third in 2024 and second last year. Ethiopia’s Hawi Feysa defended her women’s title in a personal best 2:13:33, leading the first marathon in history with three women under 2:15, as Sharon Lokedi (2:14:07) and Brigid Kosgei (2:14:55) joined her. Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner won the wheelchair races in course records.

Photo: Clay Shaw / Runners Gazette

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Royal Jones

We Speak College Football

Saturday of Chaos: Five of the AP Top Seven Fall for the First Time Since 1936

Published

32 minutes ago

October 22, 2026

Royal Jones

Tennessee celebrates its 26-10 win over Alabama — the signature result on a Saturday when five of the AP top seven lost.

College football has been playing with an AP poll since 1936. It had never seen a Saturday like this one: five of the top seven teams in the country — No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas — all lost on the same regular-season day, and the top two teams lost on the same day for the first time since Nov. 17, 2012. For the second straight week, the nation’s No. 1 team fell to an unranked opponent, something that hadn’t happened since 1990.

The carnage: Auburn beat No. 1 Georgia 27-24 in Athens on a field goal as time expired, the Tigers’ first win there in 31 years. BYU toppled No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 in Provo behind four total touchdowns from Bear Bachmeier, ending the Irish’s 16-game winning streak. Ohio State survived Indiana 19-15 in Bloomington, snapping the Hoosiers’ 22-game winning streak — but lost quarterback Julian Sayin to a shoulder injury. Tennessee’s defense strangled No. 6 Alabama 26-10 in Knoxville, holding the Crimson Tide to 201 yards. And Florida went into Austin and beat No. 7 Texas 27-24 behind first-time starter Tramell Jones Jr.

The survivors: No. 3 Miami needed two overtimes to escape Florida State 43-35 in a rivalry classic. No. 9 Ole Miss routed No. 13 Missouri 31-3, LSU blanked No. 16 Mississippi State 31-0, No. 10 Texas Tech hung 53 on Arizona State, and No. 15 Kentucky rallied to win 21-13 at Oklahoma. Michigan benched Bryce Underwood and still beat Penn State 21-18. Elsewhere, Utah edged Colorado 27-24, UCLA beat Wisconsin 17-7, Houston outlasted Oklahoma State 35-32, SMU topped Virginia 23-13, Wake Forest routed Cal 41-7, Oregon held off Nebraska 17-14, and Washington beat Purdue 38-26 on Friday night.

The new AP Top 25 tells the story of the shakeup: Miami is No. 1 with 40 first-place votes, BYU is No. 2 (20 first-place votes) and Ohio State No. 3 (9). Notre Dame sits fourth, Georgia fifth, Indiana sixth, followed by Ole Miss, Texas Tech, UCLA and Utah. Tennessee climbs to No. 11 and Kentucky to No. 12, while Alabama tumbles to No. 13, LSU rises to No. 18, Texas falls to No. 19 and Florida cracks the poll at No. 20. Missouri (No. 22), SMU (No. 23), Northwestern (No. 24) and Arizona (No. 25) round out the rankings.

Week 8 has a lot to live up to.