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

Syracuse won the Pre-Nationals men’s title with a tight pack and no top-10 finisher, while Tulane’s Silas Kiptanui took the individual crown in 23:17.4.

Published

9 hours ago

October 22, 2026

Royal Jones

Tulane's Silas Kiptanui winning the men's race at Pre-Nationals

Syracuse did not have a single runner in the top 10 on Friday — and won the Pre-Nationals men’s title anyway.

The Orange scored 115 points at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Indiana, edging a fast-closing Villanova (127), with Notre Dame third (148), Wichita State fourth (212), North Carolina fifth (243) and Arizona sixth (244) in a 44-team field.

Tulane’s Silas Kiptanui of Kenya won the 8K in 23:17.4, holding off Wichita State’s Elkana Kipruto (23:18.8) and Nicholas Kipchirchir (23:19.8). Notre Dame’s Daelen Ackley was the top American in fourth at 23:20.5.

Syracuse’s win was a masterclass in pack running. Connor Ackley (15th, 23:30.6), Benne Anderson (16th, 23:32.3), Ben Gabelman (18th, 23:34.3) and Louis Small (22nd, 23:40.0) finished within about 10 seconds of each other, with Connell Alford closing the scoring in 44th. Villanova nearly stole it, cutting a huge deficit to just 12 points over the final 3K.

Remarkably, Syracuse also won the Princeton Fall Classic on the same day with its second group, scoring 39 points. The Orange head to the ACC Championships in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Oct. 30 with momentum on both fronts.

Photo: Track & Field News

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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

18 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.