We Speak Sports
Obiri and Kipruto Defend in New York as Kelati Makes Her Marathon Debut
Hellen Obiri chases a third New York title, Benson Kipruto tries to defend a crown won by three hundredths of a second, and Weini Kelati debuts at the marathon on Nov. 1.
The New York City Marathon turns 55 on Sunday, Nov. 1 — and this year’s race also marks 50 years since the event became the five-borough course in 1976. Nearly 60,000 runners are expected, and the professional fields are loaded.
Defending champion Hellen Obiri returns after winning last year in a course-record 2:19:51. A third New York title would make the Kenyan only the fourth woman ever to win this race three times, alongside Grete Waitz, Mary Keitany and Paula Radcliffe. Benson Kipruto is back too, after winning his debut last year by 0.03 seconds over Alexander Mutiso — the closest men’s finish in race history. No man has defended the New York title since John Kagwe in 1998.
The deepest American story is Weini Kelati. The U.S. half marathon record holder makes her marathon debut, joining Fiona O’Keeffe, Jess McClain and Annie Frisbie in a strong home women’s field that also includes Sifan Hassan, 2024 champion Sheila Chepkirui and two-time winner Edna Kiplagat.
The men’s race features Deresa Geleta (2:02:38), 2024 champion Abdi Nageeye and two-time champion Geoffrey Kamworor. Conner Mantz, owner of a 2:04:43 personal best, leads the American men, with Zouhair Talbi and Joel Reichow, last year’s top American. In the wheelchair races, Marcel Hug goes for an eighth New York title and Catherine Debrunner returns as the women’s course record holder.
Photo: Kevin Morris
We Speak College Football
Saturday of Chaos: Five of the AP Top Seven Fall for the First Time Since 1936
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.
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