Brigham Young University seal individual titles as British runner Charles Hicks of Stanford impresses in fourth at the US collegiate division one event in Florida

Conner Mantz won his second consecutive NCAA cross-country men’s title while Whittni Orton took victory in the women’s race at the division one championship event in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday (Nov 20).

In the team stakes, Northern Arizona won the men’s crown for the fifth time in six years as NC State claimed the women’s competition on a rolling course in warm, sunny conditions.

Mantz, 24, made his move on “the wall” – an uphill section about 500m from the finish – but then had to see off a spirited counter-attack from Athanas Kioko before kicking away to win in a course record of 28:33 over the 10km distance.

Wesley Kiptoo of Iowa State finished runner-up five seconds behind with Kioko of Campbell a further two seconds behind in third.

Charles Hicks – a Briton studying at Stanford University – ran 28:47 in fourth as he led his team to fifth place.

“It seemed like every so often, somebody new was taking the front and pushing it,” said Mantz. “It wasn’t just Kiptoo this time. I don’t know if that was better or worse for me, but it all worked out.

Conner Mantz of BYU wins his second consecutive NCAA cross-country title. pic.twitter.com/OBU754BfW7

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) November 20, 2021

Northern Arizona’s winning team effort was led by Abdihamid Nur in seventh, then Nico Young and Drew Bosley in 11th and 13th respectively as they beat Iowa State and Oklahoma State.

Further down the field there was drama as Cooper Teare, the NCAA 5000m champion, staggered across the line in 247th although he was later declared healthy post-race.

In the women’s race Orton used similar tactics by making her move on “the wall”.

Unlike the men’s race, though, her rivals were unable to fight back and she stormed away to win in a course record of 19:25 over the 6km distance as defending champion Mercy Chelangat of Alabama was runner-up four seconds behind, while West Virginia’s Ceili McCabe was a close third.

Whittni Orton of Brigham Young University wins the women’s title at the NCAA Cross Country Champs in Florida. pic.twitter.com/dozy2b8JRO

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) November 20, 2021

Orton led BYU to silver medals in the team stakes as NC State won thanks to Kelsey Chmiel (6th), Katelyn Tuohy (15th) and Alexandra Hays (22nd). 

Ugandan clocks 57:31 to take one second off Kibiwott Kandie’s mark at the EDP Lisbon Half-Marathon

Jacob Kiplimo sliced one second off Kibiwott Kandie’s near-12-month-old world record with 57:31 at the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon in Portugal on Sunday (Nov 21).

Passing 5km in 13:40, 10km in 27:05 and 15km in 40:27, the world half-marathon champion finished roughly half a mile ahead of his rivals as he became the fastest man in history over the 13.1-mile distance.

Kiplimo finished third in the 10,000m and fifth in the 5000m at the Tokyo Olympics, but on the roads of Lisbon he confirmed his status as the world No.1 at half-marathon as he beat the world record set by Kenya’s Kandie in early December of last year.

Esa Huseyidin Mohamed of Ethiopia was runner-up in 59:39, narrowly ahead of Gerba Beyata Dibaba as the top nine men broke 60 minutes.

That one-hour barrier was first broken by Moses Tanui in 1993 when the Kenyan ran 59:47 in Milan. Haile Gebrselassie the became the first man to break the 59-minute barrier with 58:55 in Tempe in 2006, although his mark was disputed due to a vehicle arguably helping him draft from the wind.

When Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea ran 58:23 in Lisbon in 2010, it was a world record that stood for eight years. But that mark has been improved upon a lot in the past three years with firstly Abraham Kiptum running 58:18 in Valencia in 2018 followed by Geoffrey Kamworor running 58:11 in Copenhagen in 2019 and then Kandie clocking 57:32 last December.

The women’s world record for half-marathon has also tumbled lately and has been broken several times this year alone. But on Sunday in Lisbon the race was won by Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu in 66:06 from Daisy Cherotich’s 66:15 and Joyce Chepkemoi 66:19.

All were well outside the world record of 62:52 set by Letesenbet Gidey in Valencia last month.

But they've only raised further questions, over apparent editing and their seemingly staged nature, and so far there's been no let up in the calls from the Women's Tennis Association, a number of global tennis stars as well as governments, for proof that Peng Shuai is genuinely free to speak and acts as she chooses.

Joey Carbery has the attributes to "do what's right" for Ireland at fly-half while showing his full range of skills against Argentina on Sunday, assistant coach Mike Catt says.

"Rugby's about decision-making and that's all they have to do," said Catt.

"Just make the right decisions and then bring their X-factor on top of that."

Catt added: "Joey, he's very good and it's just making sure we get the right platform for him to be able to show his point of difference. I think that's crucial for us."

Carbery's nerveless three late penalties sealed Ireland's sensational 29-20 win over the All Blacks and Catt says Sunday's game offers him another chance to show that the Irish now have genuine depth in their fly-half ranks in addition to 101-times capped Sexton.

"I never worked with him when he had his best [form], so I'm still learning about Joey myself," said Catt.

"But over the summer and the past three or four weeks we've had together, him and Harry [Byrne] and Johnny have been exceptional in how they've progressed, in how they've helped each other and how they're competing against each other for those spots.

"It's a very, very healthy environment for that to happen.

"He's hopefully going to get a few opportunities tomorrow to really do what he's good at and go out and enjoy himself."

Catt says Carbery has a different personality to Sexton, whose leadership and intensity are fundamental to the Irish side.

"They are very different characters but you need that in a team. That's what makes you a good team," said the 50-year-old former England international.

"Where Johnny's leadership comes through, maybe Joey doesn't have that just yet.

"But other people bring that, so it's just making sure that you bring what you are good at and we will grow the other aspects that need to be grown as a 10.

"If everybody is helping you and everybody else is doing their job and leading in their own way, then it's very easy to do."

Saturday's victory against South Africa is England's biggest win since their 2019 World Cup semi-final defeat of New Zealand.

A lot of teams would have succumbed under that amount of pressure from the world champions.

The Springboks had a python grip on England and took the lead after the hosts conceded a string of penalties.

But England's replacements brought energy, impact and continuity and they got themselves out of it.

It was a brilliant, tense atmosphere at Twickenham. It was palpable that the world champions were in town.

It is not easy to get yourself out of a hole in international rugby. Were it not for Raffi Quirke's try, everyone would have been saying after the game that England got absolutely hammered in the second half.

But the wave of England support and the energy it gave the players in the last 10 minutes was awesome.

It is very difficult to dig yourself out of those positions and it has been a while since England have done that.

That is a massive takeaway that they will bottle up and take forward.

'That win shakes off World Cup nightmare'

That was the first time England had played South Africa since being beaten by the Springboks in the 2019 World Cup final.

Without a shadow of doubt, it would have been a sweet feeling after Saturday's win.

Of course it does not make amends for not winning the World Cup but it shakes off that ongoing nightmare that people will have about Yokohama in 2019.

Now they know they can beat South Africa. They know what it takes, they know what mindset they need to be in. You have to have that experience of winning against top sides.

A vast majority of those England players will be going to the World Cup and it stands them in great stead.

'England offered a Harrods-like shop window'

England are now building for that 2023 World Cup and in each four-year cycle you need defining moments to show that certain players and combinations are physically and mentally ready to play at that level.

Head coach Eddie Jones will look through that squad today and see a lot of players in that transitional part of the cycle.

It is a long list: Jamie Blamire, Bevan Rodd, Alex Dombrandt, Sam Simmonds, Raffi Quirke, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Henry Slade, Max Malins.

Jones is probably looking at them now and thinking they are in the frame to go to the 2023 World Cup.

A lot of the talk pre-match was about the absence through injury or coronavirus of props Joe Marler and Ellis Genge, hookers Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie, and captain Owen Farrell.

Marler returned from his Covid-19 isolation to start on the bench, but that was by no means England's strongest XV.

They faced adversity during the game too. Manu Tuilagi went off straight after scoring his early try and Will Stuart was sin-binned.

It was England who had the calm head when under the pump to make the right decisions.

If they are going to play like that under that sort of pressure, imagine what you could be doing when you have got a full-strength England side.

For the coaching staff, it was a Harrods-like shop window of players. It was very appealing and would make anyone go in and buy the product.

'It is time for England to embrace the favourites tag'

Of course, there was some frustration that England did not play more rugby in the second half.

They scored two tries in the first 20 minutes and that is when you really want to press on and make the opposition panic.

Going into the second half, the South Africans got their half-time right and England started to play a closed down game.

They will learn from that, though. For them to change how they were playing mid-half to take the win, I have been crying out for that for years so that needs to be celebrated.

England wanted to get the ball in play and get it wide quickly. They are now starting to be able to deliver different types of tactics to play different types of opposition.

That is genuine progress and we should not doubt England's ability to attack. They have proven they have got the players and the strategy to do that.

But questions are going to be asked when there is something on the line like a Grand Slam or Six Nations title. Games when pressure is on to win and everything is at stake.

Rather than being the underdogs, can England hold that favourites tag? Because when England get on a bit of a roll at a World Cup, everyone makes them favourites.

They need to harness that. Going into the 2022 Six Nations, it is now time for England to grab hold of the favourite's tag and embrace it, whether they are or not.

Matt Dawson was speaking to BBC Sport's Becky Grey.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rejected the opportunity to make changes to his backroom team at Manchester United, sources have told ESPN, despite concerns among some of the club's players that the coaching methods and tactical demands were too one-dimensional and lacking in imagination and new ideas.

United confirmed on Sunday that Solskjaer had left his role as manager, a month short of the third anniversary of his appointment, following a 4-1 defeat at Watford which left the team six points adrift of the Champions League qualification positions.

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- Ole's exit: How social media reacted

The loss at Vicarage Road was United's heaviest defeat against a newly-promoted side in over 30 years and the team's seventh defeat in 13 games in all competitions.

Sources told ESPN last month, following the 5-0 loss at home to Liverpool, that senior players had lost faith in Solskjaer and his coaches.

And sources have now said that several key players had become exasperated by the ability of Solskjaer and his coaches to make the team better, with one source telling ESPN that the players regarded the training as "too British" and unsuited to the requirements of the modern game at the elite level.

Solskjaer's coaching team was made up of former United players including Michael Carrick and Mike Phelan, as well as Northern Irishman Kieran McKenna. Several other coaches had previously worked with Solskjaer at Cardiff City, where he was relegated from the Premier League, and in Norway with Molde. Solskjaer's coaching team remains at the club, with the manager the sole departure as things stand. The club hired a set piece coach, Eric Ramsay, in the summer.

Sources have said that the United hierarchy had become aware of the concerns over the quality of the coaching team and "offered Solskjaer every level of support and told him he could have whatever he needed to put it right."

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was told, however, that Solskjaer believed his coaches were world-class, forcing the club to back the manager's judgement.

Following Solskjaer's departure as manager, former United midfielder Carrick will take caretaker charge against Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has left his position as Manchester United manager, the club have confirmed.

A humiliating 4-1 defeat to Watford on Saturday was the final straw for the club's owners, the Glazer family, with Solskjaer out amid a wretched run of five defeats in seven Premier League games.

A club statement read: "Manchester United announces that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has left his role as manager.

"Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision. While the past few weeks have been disappointing, they should not obscure all the work he has done over the past three years to rebuild the foundations for long-term success.

"Ole leaves with our sincerest thanks for his tireless efforts as Manager and our very best wishes for the future. His place in the club's history will always be secure, not just for his story as a player, but as a great man and a Manager who gave us many great moments. He will forever be welcome back at Old Trafford as part of the Manchester United family."

The club confirmed former player Michael Carrick, who was part of Solskjaer's coaching staff, will take charge as caretaker, as well as their intention to appoint an interim manager until the end of the season.

The manner of the performance at Vicarage Road warranted fresh discussions between the club's owners and executive vice chairman Ed Woodward on Saturday night. Chief negotiator Matt Judge was also involved in talks, which focused on compensation costs for the manager, as well as which of his staff would stay on at Old Trafford in the event of his dismissal. Solskjaer had signed a new contract at United in July 2021, which ran until 2024, with an option for a further year.

Sources had told ESPN that Solskjaer had expected to leave the club in the wake of the Watford loss and the news comes following United's poor start to the 2021-22 season, which included a humiliating 5-0 home defeat against bitter rivals Liverpool. Manchester City then comprehensively outplayed Solskjaer's United in a 2-0 win at Old Trafford before the international break and the Watford debacle sealed Solskjaer's fate.

Solskjaer, who replaced Jose Mourinho as manager in December 2018 initially on an interim basis, had been in permanent charge since March 2019. While he enjoyed some success, including setting an English league record 29-match unbeaten run away from home, as well as securing successive top four finishes for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, his tenure included a mixture of devastating results and a failure to secure a first trophy since 2017.

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- Too big to fail? Inside United's decline

As well as a 5-0 loss at home to Liverpool, Solskjaer also oversaw a 6-1 defeat at home to Tottenham, managed by predecessor Mourinho, last season. The Norwegian's best chance of silverware was also ended in the 2021 Europa League final as his side lost to Villarreal on penalties having been eliminated in the Champions League group stages earlier in the campaign.

A positive summer of recruitment, which included the arrivals of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo for over £120m, heightened the pressure on Solskjaer to begin the campaign positively ahead of what many expected to be a sustained challenge for a league title.

However, Solskjaer has left United following a run of one win in seven Premier League games, with the club seventh in the table and 12 points adrift of leaders Chelsea.

Speaking after the Liverpool defeat, the United manager labelled it his "darkest hour" as coach but said he and the club had come "too far" not to carry on and said they had taken "a big step backwards" after the loss to City.

Solskjaer's dismissal represents the latest managerial misstep since Ferguson, the club's greatest manager, retired in 2013.

David Moyes did not see out his first season in charge, with the former Everton manager sacked in April 2014, 11 months into a six-year contract. Louis van Gaal won the FA Cup at United but he lasted two seasons before he was dismissed and Mourinho took over. Mourinho won the League Cup and Europa League but was sacked in December 2018, with Solskjaer appointed as a caretaker coach until he was handed a permanent deal in the spring of 2019.

Information from ESPN's Rob Dawson and Mark Ogden was used in this report.