Women's Cross Country Wins 2024 Ivy Heptagonal Championship

Saturday, November 2

Princeton, N.J.

11:00 AM

Princeton University

Ivy League Championships

Women's Cross Country Wins 2024 Ivy Heptagonal Championship

November 02, 2024 | Women's Cross Country

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton women's cross country team captured its first Ivy League Championship title since 2015 on Saturday, November 2nd at home on the Meadows Campus Cross Country Course in Princeton.

Four Tigers finished in the top-10 to deliver Princeton its 10th title all-time and first under Head Coach Brad Hunt.

"We are so grateful for the opportunity to compete at home in front of the passionate Princeton fan base. The women leveled up today, as we have been building all fall to being at full strength come the Ivy League Championships.

To win on our new cross country course in celebration of the 50th anniversary of women's sports in the Ivy League is a special "forever moment" for this crew. Mena Scatchard bounced back from being sick at the Fall Classic two weeks ago, to running her best cross country race in a Princeton uniform. Anna McNatt improved a remarkable 41 spots from last year and her kick at the line put an exclamation point on the last 365 days of her evolution as a collegiate student-athlete to date. Lexi Allen has been building off a fantastic 2024 track season and has been lights out all fall after missing the 2023 Ivy League Championships due to illness. Meg Madison was absolutely lights out, as she moved from 27th place at the mile, all the way to 8th overall to finish as the top freshman today. Emma de Jong put herself in the top 20 from the start and held strong throughout the entire race. Peyton Leigh and Liv Martin committed to the team plan and placed themselves in the top pack to ensure we were racing together as a full squad from the gun. The crew made it happen and they should be so proud of their preparation, effort and competitive spirit as a unit.

I am so grateful for the outstanding support from the amazing Friends of Princeton Track group as well as John Mack and his administrative team. Princeton University put on a great show today, as the athletic facilities staff presented their masterpiece of a course and the event staff pulled it off without a hitch. Thank you to Coach Eisenreich, Coach Jones, Coach Meng, Coach Purcilly, John Walker in sports medicine and Kim Keenan-Kirkpatrick for putting the crew in position today to be our very best. Today is a great day to be a Tiger!" - Head Coach Brad Hunt

Senior Mena Scatchard was the top Tiger finisher, taking second place overall with a time of 20:04.7 for a new personal best.

Kicking out three runners during her final sprint to the finish, sophomore Anna McNatt finished in third place overall with a time of 20:17.1.

Senior Alexis Allen also outpaced three runners in the final stretch to take seventh place with a time of 20:25.2.

For their performances, Scatchard, McNatt and Allen were named to the First Team All-Ivy.

Meg Madison took eighth place overall, clocking in at 20:28.2, earning her a spot on the Second Team All-Ivy.

Emma De Jong was the fifth Tiger scorer, taking 20th place overall with a time of 20:53.6.

Peyton Leigh (20:56.0) and Olivia Martin (21:04.1) were the Tiger pushers, claiming 22nd and 27th place, respectively.

After taking the Ivy title, Princeton, who is currently ranked fifth in the Mid-Atlantic, looks ahead to the NCAA Regionals on Friday, November 15, which will be hosted by Penn State.

Team Results

Princeton (40)
Harvard (53)
Yale (104)
Dartmouth (131)
Brown (136)
Cornell (147)
Penn (149)
Columbia (155)

Princeton Leaderboard
2. Mena Scatchard (20:04.7)
3. Anna McNatt (20:17.1)
7. Alexis Allen (20:25.2)
8. Meg Madison (20:28.2)
20. Emma De Jong (20:53.6)
22. Peyton Leigh (20:56.0)
27. Olivia Martin (21:04.1)
31. Maddie Cramer (21:12.8)
33. Lucca Fulkerson (21:13.7)
52. Emily Cooper (21:38.6)