We Speak Sports

Photo Finishes Steal the Show at Nuttycombe as Kipruto and Chepkoech Win by a Whisker

Colorado freshman Meshack Kipruto ran a course-record 22:30.1 and Florida’s Judy Chepkoech won by a tenth of a second at a wild Nuttycombe Invitational.

Published

9 hours ago

October 22, 2026

Royal Jones

The women's lead pack racing at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Wisconsin

The Nuttycombe Invitational delivered the two closest finishes of the cross country season on Friday, Oct. 9, at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Wisconsin.

In the men’s 8K, Colorado freshman Meshack Kipruto of Kenya won in 22:30.1, breaking the course record of 22:33.8 set by New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel in 2024. New Mexico’s Pasanjo Kitonga was right behind in 22:30.8, Louisville’s Elsingi Kipruto third in 22:31.1 and Wake Forest’s Rocky Hansen fourth in 22:31.4 as the top American. All four men finished under the old course record. Kipruto closed his final 2K in 5:35, the fastest finish in the field, and was later named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week.

The women’s 6K was even tighter. Florida junior Judy Chepkoech won in 19:19.5, a single tenth of a second ahead of Iowa State’s Betty Kipkore (19:19.6), with New Mexico’s Mercy Kirarei third in 19:21.8.

In the team races, New Mexico’s men repeated as champions in dominant fashion with 59 points, ahead of Colorado (93) and BYU (146). West Virginia won the women’s title with 66 points, followed by Florida (111) and Northern Arizona (130).

Photo: Track & Field News

Up Next

New Mexico Holds Firm at No. 1 in Men’s Cross Country Poll

Don't Miss

Syracuse Packs Its Way to Pre-Nationals Title as Kiptanui Wins

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.