After Princeton’s women’s cross-country team won its first Ivy League championship in 10 years last fall, the team entered the 2025 season facing a difficult path to a title defense. A competitive Ivy League field coupled with the departure of legendary runner Mena Scatchard ’25, who is now racing for Stanford, figured to limit the Tigers’ potential. Yet that has been anything but the case, with the team posting strong finishes against talented competition.
“When Mena graduated, the question became ‘how can we possibly be as good as we were when she’s not here?’” Head Coach Brad Hunt told The Daily Princetonian. “I think that’s where our team has been extraordinary. We’re as deep as we’ve been, as talented as we’ve been, and it’s a testament to the expectations we set a year ago.”
At the forefront of Princeton’s depth and talent have been a pair of star runners: junior Anna McNatt and sophomore Meg Madison. McNatt and Madison have each clinched Ivy League Athlete of the Week honors and have helped define the Tigers’ success.
The Tigers have translated last year’s success to excitement and hope this season. At the first meet, the Jersey Jam, the Tigers ended with five runners in the top 15, finishing second place overall. However, the team was not content with just silver.
At the Iona Paddy Doyle Meet of Champions, held at the site of this year's Ivy League title meet in New York City, the Tigers earned first place overall with Madison leading the pack by over fifteen seconds. Princeton gained six of the top seven places, dominating the competition and showing a strength in numbers and pack running.
Two weeks later, the Tigers had another strong performance in Missouri at the Gans Creek Classic, the famous site of this year's NCAA championship. Placing 17th out of 31 teams, Princeton made itself known by beating seven Power 4 programs.
“Our biggest strategy in a race like this is to find each other throughout the race,” Hunt said to the ‘Prince’. “It’s really hard at a race like Gans Creek, where there are 300 runners and the question becomes ‘how do you find your teammates?’ Those big races are the most helpful since they are the hardest to execute and will guide us in our biggest meets later in the season.”
No one could question the Tigers’ tenacity, with almost every runner “kicking” the finish by passing competing runners and decreasing their team score. McNatt crossed first for the Tigers, passing three runners in her final kilometer, finishing the six-kilometer race in 20:09. Madison remained determined to the finish, passing 100 runners in her last kilometer for a 20:27 finish.
When asked about her mentality during races, Madison described her conservative approach. Waiting until two miles in to strike, she described her internal monologue as: “Now look up and who can I reel in?” This strategy has shown success for both Madison and McNatt, who have consistently shown strong finishes on tough courses.
Princeton hosted a second home meet on the West Windsor Fields in mid-October, the Princeton Fall Classic, with 25 teams competing. Four Tigers earned top-15 finishes, including Madison, McNatt, as well as first-year Caroline Barton (12th) and sophomore Emma De Jong (13th). McNatt took home silver on the home course, with Madison outkicking five runners to earn a sixth-place finish.
Madison posted the most impressive finish of any Tiger this season, taking first place by a whopping fifteen seconds at the Paddy Doyle Meet of Champions in New York. At the Fall Classic at the Princeton Meadows complex, she trailed only McNatt among Tiger finishers, finishing sixth overall. When asked about her success, Madison described her honors as a “confidence boost” showing that she can “compete at this level and be in the mix.”
“Meg has had a fantastic evolution from who she was last year as a first-year, and she was the fastest first-year in the Ivy League last year,” Hunt told the ‘Prince.’ “She’s shown us this year that she’s one of the best women in the Ivy League, regardless of class year.”
At the Tigers’ two largest meets of the season — the 31-team Gans Creek Classic and the 25-team Fall Classic — McNatt has led the pack for the Orange and Black. A first-overall finish at the Jersey Jam and a 39th-place finish at Gans Creek bode well for her prospects in the crowded fields the Tigers will face at their championship meets. With over 100 runners racing in each title meet, her ability to rise to the top despite the competition will be crucial down the stretch.
Both Madison and McNatt emphasized two tenets of Princeton’s cross country: consistency and teamwork. Simply put, Madison described the team’s mantra: “consistency over time equals success.”
McNatt elaborated, explaining practice as a time for “consistency over time.” Not crazy workouts, but simple hard efforts with consistent splits and mileage.
“Practice is designed so that you help the women next to you be better, and that makes us all better,” Hunt explained to the ‘Prince.’ “Then, the objectivity of race day helps guide us through the idea of who will be in the front of the lineup at the end of the season.”
Madison and McNatt embodied the other tenet: the love and excitement on the team. To start the conversation, Madison describes the initial excitement of the season, stemming from seeing “so many girls that are healthy and everyone has improved and is really going for it.” The overall determination of their summer training and five incoming first-years led to the continuing depth of the team.
McNatt described coming off of a track season injury inspired by her teammates to contribute to her team’s success. While she felt the individuality of running in high school, she told the ’Prince’ that “since being at Princeton, it is not an individual sport.” This team motivation “takes the pressure off yourself” as you are “competing for something greater than yourself,” McNatt continued.
Looking toward the future, the Tigers have not hidden their ambitions for a second consecutive Triple Crown. “It would be awesome for us to get the Ivy League win, which is the big goal going forward,” McNatt told the ’Prince.’
When asked about the coming weeks, Madison simply stated, “I think it’s gonna be good. I’m hoping the season continues for a while longer.” McNatt was excited about the Tigers showing their true stripes and described that she is “excited to see what our team is capable of.”
The Tigers look ahead towards the Ivy League Heptagonal Meet this coming Friday, Oct. 31. On Halloween morning at 11 a.m., the Princeton’s women’s team will cross the starting line in Van Cortlandt, N.Y., working consistently and as a team in pursuit of their second straight Ivy League title.
Joe Uglialoro is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Cadigan Perriello is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.
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