Boston, MA
Hellen Obiri defends her crown in the Boston Marathon women’s race
Defending champion Hellen Obiri of Kenya turned a controlled tactical race into a wild sprint to the finish in the women’s professional race during Monday’s 128th running of the BAA Boston Marathon.
Obiri broke the tape in 2:22:37 to become the sixth woman to win consecutive races and first since four-time Boston winner Catherine Ndereba of Kenya did it in 2004 and 2005.
“I was happy to defend my title and it was not an easy thing because I had strong ladies challenging there with me,” said Obiri. “I am the best coming to the one (last) mile so I tried to give everything, give my energy because anyone can win this.
“I tried to push in the final leg. When I crossed the finish line it was amazing to me, it was a memorable moment for me.”
Obiri’s compatriot, Sharon Lokedi put in a game effort down the stretch and took second place in 2:22:45. Edna Kiplagat, 44, completed the Kenya sweep taking third in 2:23:41. She was also credited with finishing first in the Masters category. Kiplagat, the 2017 champion, competed in her seventh Boston Marathon.
“I would like to congratulate Hellen for defending her title and Sharon for coming second,” said Kiplagat. “It was an amazing race today and coming third was good for me. I am very happy because the field was so competitive.”
Obiri hopes her Boston victory will realize her ambition to represent Kenya in the marathon at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Obiri also lobbied from her bully pulpit at the winner’s podium to have Lokedi accompany her on the Athletics Kenya team.
“For me, I can say like in Kenya we don’t know yet and Sharon was there with me,” said Obiri. “For me I do hope I will be on the team with Sharon and the Paris course is even tougher than Boston. I think Kenya should consider Sharon and I for the team.”
Emma Bates of Boulder, Colo., who set the pace through the first two-thirds of the race, was the top American finisher for the second year in a row with a time of 2:27:14. Bates placed fifth last season with a time of 2:22:10.
“I thought last year was crazy wild but this year surpassed that,” said Bates. “It was a nice day for the spectators but not so nice for the runners.”
Bates stuck with the race strategy that served her well in last year’s race by seizing the lead on the downhill from Hopkinton Center. The lead pack of over 20 runners regained contact with Bates before 2-mile marker as the women’s race evolved early into a group effort.
With such a large tight knot of runners, the race took on a more tactical aspect as the field made its way onto the Framingham Flats. Bates and compatriot Sara Hall of Flagstaff, Ariz., were side-by-side at the front of the pack and they enjoyed a boost of energy from the sidelines as they cruised past Wellesley College.
“I ended up leading most of the race and that wasn’t in the cards,” said Bates. “My coach had told me to go out and run your own race and just treat it as a long run with a little more pizzazz. But I found myself in the lead over and over again and when I would surge the rest of the pack would surge.”
Ethiopian favorite Tadu Teshome made a brief surge to the front on the flat stretch through Wellesley Center, but the pack remained larger than normal for that stage of the race. The field was spread out across the road on the decent into Lower Falls and slowly began to thin out on the swing onto Commonwealth Ave. at the Firehouse Turn.
Bates made a push on the backside of Heartbreak Hill and opened a small lead on the large pack onto the final 10K stretch of the race. But the Kenyan troika of Obiri, Lokedi and Kiplagat seized total control on the Brookline Ave. stretch through Coolidge Corner.
Obiri and Lokedi were stride-for-stride in the race to Kenmore Square as the boisterous crowd lent its support to this epic battle of wills. Obiri let her track background takeover with a surge as they passed Fenway Park and Lokedi had no response.
“I was fun to compete with everyone in the field and Boston is not easy,” said Lokedi. “I am glad that we started well and finished well and getting a last push from Edna and Hellen was good.”
Eden Rainbow-Cooper, a 22-year-old upstart from Great Britain wearing bib No. 107, staged a competitive run in the wheelchair race with a winning time of 1:35:11, well ahead of her personal best 1:47:27. The victory was Rainbow-Cooper’s first Abbott Marathon Majors win. She also became the first wheelchair racer from England to win at Boston.
“My first marathon was just over two years ago so to have that much progression in a short amount of time is beyond my wildest dreams,” said Rainbow-Cooper.
Boston, MA
Greater Boston enjoys a light snow, travel not significantly impacted – The Boston Globe
The snow showers come from a weakening system approaching from the Great Lakes that tapped into some of the moisture from a strong storm passing south of New England.
The region was spared the worst precipitation of the storm thanks to persistent sub-freezing temperatures earlier this week, which pushed it south toward its current location off the coast of North Carolina, Nocera said. New England’s light snowfall is on the northern fringes of the storm.
Nocera added that this weekend’s “decorative snow” will not significantly impact ground travel.
The Massachusetts Port Authority issued a travel advisory for flight delays at Boston Logan International Airport. According to the flight tracking website Flight Aware, as of around 1:00 p.m. 212 flights were delayed at Boston Logan and another 15 were cancelled.
Margo Griffin, a teaching associate at the University of Cambridge in England, was initially worried about driving through the snow on her way to get coffee in Cambridge, but said the view from the Charles River was worth the trek.
“I thought it might be a problem, but I just decided to go ahead with the plan, and I’m enjoying walking through the snow,” Griffin said.
Other Boston-area residents who spoke to the Globe Saturday morning were happy to wake up to the winter scene on Saturday.
“I am feeling wonderful about the snow. I haven’t seen it in a long time,” said Barbara Delollis, a communications lead at Harvard Business School.
Delollis already made snow day plans.
“We want to go out and have some fun in the snow, and take a lot of pictures and just remember this moment, because we don’t know how much more snowfall we’re going to see in the Boston area anymore with climate change,” Delollis said.
Talia, a Cambridge resident, said that the snow had no effect on her plans to attend synagogue with her two-year-old son Saturday morning.
“It feels nice and seasonal, which is cool because climate change is terrifying,” she said.
Snowstorms can still occur, despite warming temperatures from climate change, Nocera said. Although Saturday’s snowfall cannot guarantee heavy snow this winter, there is a slightly higher chance of snow towards the end of the month as cold temperatures ease.
Materials from previous Globe stories were used in this report.
Boston, MA
Boston College drops Hockey East contest to Merrimack
The second-ranked Boston College men’s hockey team suffered its first home loss of the season, falling to Merrimack by a score of 5-2 in Hockey East action on Friday night at Kelley Rink. The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second, but the Warriors scored the next five. BC falls to 12-4-1 overall and 6-3-1 in Hockey East, while Merrimack improves to 8-10-1 overall and 4-5-1 in league play. The Eagles opened the scoring midway through the first period when Oskar Jellvik one-timed the rebound off an Aram Minnetian shot that was saved by the Merrimack goaltender. Minnetian’s shot fell right into the path of Jellvik for the quick shot into the open net to put the Eagles in front. BC added to its lead shortly into the second period when Brady Berard scored a short-handed goal. Merrimack responded 32 seconds later with a power-play goal to get on the board, before scoring the game-tying goal less than one minute after that. The Warriors took the lead nearly three minutes later when Merrimack scored its third goal of the period. The Warriors scored twice in the third period to push their lead to three. Jacob Fowler made 23 saves while Nils Wallstrom had 27 stops for Merrimack.
Boston, MA
Syracuse men’s basketball: predictions and poll vs Boston College
The Syracuse Orange (7-8, 1-3) are back on the road tomorrow to face the Boston College Eagles (9-6, 1-3). The game tips off at 3:00 ET on The CW and here’s what we’re predicting in this #OrangeEagle battle:
Kevin: Syracuse 82, Boston College 80
I’m thinking this is higher scoring than the metrics suggest because neither team defends well. I also have a feeling that Elijah Moore hits double-figures in this one. Moore didn’t make a shot against Georgia Tech, but he didn’t commit a turnover and I’m looking for him to get an early 3 to drop and for him to find space as the Eagles try and contain JJ Starling and Eddie Lampkin. It’s not going to be pretty, but I’m taking Syracuse to get their 1st road win of the year.
Max: Syracuse 72, Boston College 65
The Orange finally have some momentum going into this one and a lowly Eagles team is just what the doctor ordered for another win. Believe it or not, Syracuse’s offense shoots better from the field and commits fewer turnovers than BC (and most of those numbers are without Starling). We’ll see if Donnie Freeman suits up, but hopefully, it doesn’t matter against a Boston College defense that allows its opponents to shoot over 57% in conference play (worst rate in ACC).
Dom: Syracuse 79, Boston College 73
BC’s offense over the course of the year is very much hot or cold, but I don’t expect a repeat performance of the Orange’s defense compared to how things turned out against Georgia Tech. That being said, if both defenses are going to be suspect, Syracuse will have the best scorer on the floor and I think this is the game we see J.J. Starling have a pre-injury-like performance that propels Syracuse to the win column once again.
Szuba: Syracuse 78, Boston College 71
Syracuse has certainly struggled and has been shorthanded this year, but it still hasn’t fallen to the Boston College threshold. BC doesn’t do much of anything well — it rebounds decently, it shoots from three at a fair clip but overall the offense is poor and its defense is worse. I would think Syracuse should be able to score the ball more effectively in this game as opposed to last. Starling leads the way once more with solid contributions from Lampkin and the supporting cast as the Orange win its second straight conference game.
Sam: Boston College 72, Syracuse 70
This prediction hinges on Donnie Freeman not playing, if he does, I’d probably lean towards Syracuse by a point or two. Without him, I’m just not confident enough to pick the Orange on the road – a building they lost in last year – even against a bad Boston College team. There’s undoubtedly a path to a win, specifically, if the Orange can force about 15 or more turnovers, and convert off of them. A true toss-up game for me.
Mike: Syracuse 78, Boston College 70
Two really bad defenses should make these not-so-great offenses look better for one afternoon. Like Sam said this is the definition of a toss-up and I really think it’ll be close all the way through. This should be a time where Lampkin can use his size in the paint and be the one to break the stalemate.
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