Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Friar Invitational
September 03, 2026 | Women's Cross Country
The Princeton women's cross country team will begin the 2026 season Friday at the Friar Invitational, hosted by Providence at the Mark Coogan Cross Country Course at Highland Park in Attleboro, Mass.
Results from Lancer Timing can be found here.
The women's race is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. The field is expected to include Boston U., Brown, Holy Cross, Dartmouth, Fairfield, Harvard, Hofstra, Princeton and Providence.
Princeton enters the season ranked No. 23 in the USTFCCCA national poll after winning its second straight Ivy League title in 2025. The Tigers will race Friday against a field that includes host Providence, which is ranked second in the Northeast Region.
Last season, Princeton won the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships with 27 points, finishing well ahead of runner-up Yale, which scored 82. Anna McNatt won the individual Ivy title in 20:35.0, Meg Madison was second in 20:42.7 and Caroline Barton was fifth in 21:12.5, giving the Tigers three of the top five finishers.
The Tigers went on to finish fifth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, with Madison placing eighth, McNatt 12th, Barton 22nd and Emma de Jong 25th. McNatt and Madison earned individual berths to the NCAA Championships, where McNatt placed 67th and Madison finished 147th in their NCAA debuts.
Princeton returns several runners from last year's Ivy championship team, including Madison, McNatt, Barton and de Jong.
Friday's meet will serve as Princeton's first race of the season and an early preview of the course that will host the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships on Oct. 31. Princeton's next meet after the Friar Invitational will be the Meadows Challenge on Sept. 26 at Princeton.
