Distance Runner Loses Half-Marathon Title and $20,000 Prize After She… — and more

NEED TO KNOW

• The runner leading the U.S. Half Marathon Championships was guided off the race's course less than two miles from the finish line
• Jess McClain finished ninth, while Molly Born — who was more than a minute off McClain's pace — claimed the top spot and won the $20,000 prize
• USA Track and Field's jury of appeals ruled that it found no reason to alter the results to finish

Distance runner Jess McClain was poised to win a crucial race — until she was mistakenly guided off the course.

On Sunday, March 1, McClain was among scores of runners competing in the 2026 U.S. Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta, all vying for a top-three spot to qualify to represent Team USA in Copenhagen later this year.

That goal appeared well within reach for McClain as she approached the last two miles from of the race, The Athletic reported.

As the frontrunner, McClain was following the lead vehicle supplied by the race's host, Atlanta Track Club.

But then the vehicle erroneously veered off the course, and when McClain realized and returned to the established path, she had run an extra 400 meters (about one fourth of a mile).

McClain arrived at the finish line in ninth place, well behind the race's winner Molly Born — who had been more than a minute off McClain's pace at the time of the error, The Athletic reported. Born was given the $20,000 prize, awarded to the men's and women's winners.

Behind McClain were runners Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat, who had also veered off course. Hurley and Kurgat came in 12th and 13th place, respectively, according to Athletics Illustrated.

Following protestation filings by the impacted athletes, the jury of appeals for USA Track and Field said that it found the half marathon violated a rule that the path should be adequately marked at the point where the lead vehicle and the three runners were misdirected. But the error bears no impact on the results, their statement read.

"However, the jury of appeals finds no recourse within the USATF rulebook to alter the results order of finish. The results order of finish as posted is considered final," the jury of appeals concluded.

Runners are responsible for knowing the course, The Athletic reported, citing the race's rules.

USATF emphasized that Atlanta Track Club was charged with supplying and managing the lead vehicles. In its own statement, also released March 1, track club CEO Rich Kenah claimed "full responsibility" for the error.

"Athletes should never have to make a split-second decision between following a pace vehicle or trusting the official course," Kenah stated, adding, "Atlanta Track Club will make best efforts to ensure the affected athletes — Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat — are made whole."

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Both Atlanta Track Club and USATF are reviewing the events of the half marathon, each organization's statement said.

The final selection for runners representing Team USA in Copenhagen will not officially take place until May, USATF stated. McClain previously represented the United States last year in the World Championship Marathon in Tokyo, where she finished in eighth place.

Read the original article on People

Chad Baker-Mazara controversy, explained: Why did USC abruptly dismiss leading scorer weeks before March Madness? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Just weeks before March Madness begins, the USC Trojans shared some significant college basketball news on Sunday.

USC announced that its leading scorer, Chad Baker-Mazara, was no longer a member of its program.

The guard, who transferred to the Trojans as the fifth team of his college career last offseason, left the floor with an injury against Nebraska on Sunday, then returned to the bench while sitting away from the rest of the team. 

Here's what's known about Baker-Mazara's abrupt dismissal from USC. 

MORE:Darryn Peterson's full timeline of Kansas missed games, benchings

What happened to Chad Baker-Mazara?

Baker-Mazara was dismissed from USC's men's basketball team on Sunday, March 1, the team announced.

"Chad Baker-Mazara is no longer a member of the USC Men's Basketball program," the team's statement read.

No details have yet been released as to why Baker-Mazara was dismissed. However, during Sunday's game against Nebraska, the guard left the game with an apparent injury early in the second half after a hard fall.

Head coach Eric Musselman said Baker-Mazara told him he "couldn't go" after the injury, per ESPN. When Baker-Mazara then returned to the bench area, he did not sit with the rest of the team; instead sitting near injured player Rodney Rice in an area with fans.

Musselman said Baker-Mazara was sitting next to fans because of a shortage of chairs on the bench, per ESPN.

Interesting part of Nebraska vs. USC game yesterday, Chad Baker-Mazara left the game with an injury briefly, came back out to the court but didn't sit on the main bench with the team rather courtside for the rest of the game.

Today, USC moves on from Baker-Mazara.⬇️ https://t.co/PQdAqQco8Ppic.twitter.com/RXt0syRiDE

— Chase Matteson (@ChaseMatteson) March 1, 2026

Why did Chad Baker-Mazara leave USC?

It is unknown whether Baker-Mazara chose to step away from the Trojans or if the team dismissed him. There have also not been any full details of the reasoning behind his departure.

According to ESPN, USC spokesperson Kristen Keller told The Associated Press in a text message: "We have nothing additional to add at this time."

According toRyan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times, a source said Baker-Mazara's dismissal "wasn't any one incident, but an accumulation of issues."

BENDER: Latest projections for 2026 NCAA Tournament Field of 68 

How old is Chad Baker-Mazara?

Baker-Mazara is 26 years old. He has been one of the oldest players across college basketball in the 2025-26 season.

He has been playing his sixth NCAA season at USC.

Where is Chad Baker-Mazara transferring to?

There are no known plans for Baker-Mazara to pursue another year at the collegiate level. In fact, should his dismissal from USC stand, the guard's NCAA career is likely over.

Chad Baker-Mazara college eligibility

Baker-Mazara, at the time, does not have any remaining collegiate eligibility. He had been playing this season due to the NCAA's temporary waiver that allowed student-athletes who previously suited up for a non-NCAA school to play a fourth season at an NCAA school. 

However, with Baker-Mazara using that final eligibility in 2025-26, his time in college basketball has likely concluded.

MORE: How the 2025 freshman class stacks up with the best ever

Chad Baker-Mazara college timeline

Baker-Mazara has had one of the longer collegiate careers of any active player, including stops at five different programs.

Duquesne, 2020-21

Baker-Mazara's collegiate career began at Duquesne, where he committed as a prospect out of Spire Academy (Ohio).

He appeared in 15 games and made 13 starts at the school as a freshman, averaging 9.5 points on 43.8 percent shooting.

San Diego State, 2021-22

After his freshman season, Baker-Mazara transferred to San Diego State for one year. 

In 2021-22, he averaged 6.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 31 games, being named the Mountain West Sixth Player of the Year.

Northwest Florida State, 2022-23

Baker-Mazara entered the transfer portal for a third time in 2022, deciding to join Northwest Florida State, which is a junior college.

He averaged 15.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists for the Raiders in 2022-23.

Auburn, 2023-25

The furthest stability of Baker-Mazara's college career came at Auburn, where he transferred to after the 2022-23 season. He would spend two years playing for the Tigers.

Over two seasons, he started 43 games, averaging 11.2 points and 3.3 rebounds, and was a key member of the 2024-25 Auburn squad that won the SEC regular-season title and made a Final Four run.

After his two years at Auburn, Baker-Mazara had one year of eligibility remaining due to the NCAA's temporary waiver about playing for a non-NCAA school. 

USC, 2025-26

Baker-Mazara decided to use his final collegiate eligibility at USC this season. He has become the Trojans' leading scorer, averaging career highs in points, rebounds and assists per game.

A knee injury resulted in a few missed games for Baker-Mazara, but up until his dismissal, he was the Trojans' leading force as they hoped to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.

Chad Baker-Mazara 247

Baker-Mazara was not rated by 247Sports as a prospect coming out of high school. 

The 6-foot-7 guard/forward was, however, given a four-star rating while in the transfer portal in 2025 before he committed to USC.

Chad Baker-Mazara recruiting class

Baker-Mazara was originally a member of the 2020 recruiting class. His freshman season was played at Duquesne in 2020-21.

Other members of the 2020 recruiting class include well-established NBA stars like Jalen Green, Evan Mobley and Jonathan Kuminga. While Baker-Mazara remained in college, many of the other members in the class quickly went to the NBA.

In honor of Chad Baker Mazara’s collegiate career officially coming to an end, here were the Top 5 recruits in his class. pic.twitter.com/BDhExAvTmZ

— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) March 2, 2026

USC's chances of making March Madness

USC, which is now 18-11 this season, had been in a strong position to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2023, but that has changed a bit.

The Trojans have lost five-straight games, and with two games remaining, they've been projected on the outside of the bubble. ESPN's latest bracketology has USC as one of the "first four out" teams.

The Seattle Seahawks enjoyed a productive week at this year's NFL Scouting Combine. John Schneider and Mike Macdonald return from Indianapolis having gathered information for their approaches in free agency and the 2026 NFL draft. With the combine now officially in our rearview mirror, we've conducted a brand-new three-round Seahawks mock draft.

Round 1 (No. 32 overall): Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina

South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse has been connected to the Seahawks by analysts throughout the pre-draft process. Cisse had a good performance at the combine, leaping a 41 inch vertical and 10-foot-11 broad jump. The Gamecocks standout would be an excellent fit at cornerback in Mike Macdonald's defense.

Round 2 (No. 64 overall): Derrick Moore, EDGE, Michigan

Schneider loves adding pass rushers. Boye Mafe is a pending free agent and probably isn't returning. The aging DeMarcus Lawrence could be entering his final season in Seattle, and Uchenna Nwosu's future isn't guaranteed, either. Schneider will want to restock the cupboard. Derrick Moore didn't participate at the NFL Combine, but he's an athletic pass rusher who broke out at Michigan in 2025.

Round 3 (No. 96 overall): Kage Casey, IOL, Boise State

Guard Anthony Bradford is entering a contract year. The Seahawks may think ahead and try to grab a replacement since it appears the Christian Haynes pick did not work out. Kage Casey looked smooth during on-field combine drills. Casey is making the position switch to guard despite playing offensive tackle at Boise State.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks 3-round 2026 NFL mock draft: Post NFL Combine edition

It’s safe to say not everyone was sold on Ryan Day’s hire of Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator when Jim Knowles took the Penn State job. Our own site listed the uncertainty of the choice as one of the Buckeyes’ biggest concerns last summer.

While things hadn’t gone so well for Patricia as an NFL head coach in Detroit — lack of success by no means being uncommon for Lions coaches from a historical standpoint — or in some of his positions since, his NFL experience is something Day covets.

Patricia got the job, and the reaction from Ohio State writers and fans was mixed, at best.

Those concerns were quickly put to rest. Despite having to completely rebuild a defense that lost a ton of departing talent to the NFL after the 2024 national championship season, Patricia’s unit was not only Ohio State’s best in 2025, but it was the top defense in college football.

The Buckeyes finished first in scoring defense, allowing fewer than double-digit points per game (9.3), and led the nation in total defense, allowing just an average of 219 yards per game. With an entirely new defensive line, Ohio State held opponents to less than 90 yards rushing per game, finishing seventh nationally in run defense, while leading the country in pass defense, giving up a stingy 129.7 yards per game through the air.

There is no room for criticism for the numbers in the above paragraph. It’s ludicrous to expect that kind of performance, let alone any improvement on it.

Leading the country in three of the four major defensive categories makes the 2025 defense historically good (and it’s even better when you consider the Buckeyes led the country in red zone defense and were No. 10 nationally in third-down defense), and the architect of that defense putting to rest any doubts about his return can be seen as nothing but a positive for Ohio State football in 2026.

A side effect of being one of the top programs in the country is that other schools are always coming for your coaches. At Ohio State, it isn’t just college programs coming for them; the NFL also comes calling. With the ridiculous season Patricia’s defense just had, there were no doubt suitors for his services from both college and NFL teams.

Although Patricia’s initial deal was through 2027, there was never any guarantee of his return after turning the OSU defense into a buzzsaw that improved a national championship-caliber defense.

Now that Patricia has committed to being in Columbus for another year, he has the unenviable task of replacing several key parts of his own elite defense.

The good news is there is plenty of talent returning and several new arrivals via the transfer portal that will help. The bad news is that it is a big ask to replace Kayden McDonald’s explosive play on the defensive line and “unicorn” players like Caleb Downs and Arvell Reese, along with an elite linebacker talent in Sonny Styles and top cornerback Davison Igbinosun.

Despite the losses of Downs, Reese, and Styles in particular, the job of rebuilding the defense seems less daunting now than it did a year ago.

Ohio State’s returning starters and depth players have been in Patricia’s system for a year. They should be better pepared in their second year, even if some of them will become first-time starters. New arrivals will help mitigate some of the losses.

Again, it’s ludicrous to expect a repeat of what Patricia’s defense did in 2025 in the season ahead, especially with a tougher schedule to play, but Ohio State’s second-year defensive coordinator has done enough to at least silence last year’s critics and build trust that the Silver Bullets will be back in 2026.

The NFL draft is two months away, however, for fans of the Las Vegas Raiders, the drama should be over.

The Raiders, of course, own the No. 1 overall pick in the April 23-25 draft.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner, had been the early favorite to be the team’s pick. But that went to the next level after his incredible play in a NCAA playoff win over Oregon. Mendoza was near perfect in the game.

He looks like the clear-cut choice. The Raiders badly need a young quarterback and Mendoza fits the bill perfectly, it seems.

Still, we our our readers. Yes, they agree. In a popular poll, about 90 percent of the poll takers agree that Mendoza is the choice.

So, it’s clear most fans aren’t on the fence about Mendoza. They aren’t eying anyone else. They don’t want the Raiders trade the pick for a load of compensation.

They want Mendoza.

Here are some of your responses: