Mena Scatchard

Last updated
Mena Scatchard
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (2003-01-28) 28 January 2003 (age 22)
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event(s) Middle-distance running, Cross country running
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)800m: 2:03.26 (2025)
1500m: 4:11.09 (2025)
Mile: 4:28.43 (2025)
3000m: 9:00.86 (2024)

Mena Scatchard (born 28 January 2003) is a British middle-distance runner. [1]

Contents

Early life

From Hutton Conyers in North Yorkshire, she attended Ripon Grammar School. In 2021, she earned a sports scholarship to attend Princeton University in the United States, initially to study for a liberal arts degree. [2] [3] In May 2025, she was announced to be transferring to Stanford University for the academic year starting in the autumn of 2025 for her post-graduate degree. [4]

Career

She ran as a member of Leeds City Athletics Club and Ripon Runners Club, was a three-time Yorkshire age-group champion whilst a teenager in distances from 1500 metres to 3000 metres. [5] [6]

Running for Princeton University, she finished ninth at the Northeast Regional cross country championships in 2024, before competing in the 2024 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. [7] [8]

She won the women's mile at the Eagle Invitational in February 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts, with a time of 4:28.43 which broke the Princeton school record she set earlier in the season as well as breaking the meet record. She also won the 1500m with a time of 4:11.14, also breaking her own Princeton record. The time for the mile ranked 3rd all-time in Ivy League history. [9] [10] She finished second in the mile run at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach on 15 March. [11] [12]

She qualified for the final of the 1500 metres at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon in June 2025. [13] Thw following month, she was named in the British team for 1500 metres at the 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen, Norway, reaching the final and placing fourth overall on her international debut. [14]

Personal life

Her sister Marnie is a field hockey player. [15] Their mother, Brenda, is a former PE teacher. [16]

References

  1. "Mena Scatchard". Word Athletics. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  2. Dacey, Ruth (22 April 2021). "Talented runner, 18, from tiny North Yorkshire village wins scholarship to Ivy League college Princeton University in the US". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  3. "Students collect A-level results at Harrogate district schools". Thestrayferret.co.uk. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  4. Stockless, Luke (15 May 2025). "Nation's No. 2 miler Mena Scatchard '25 to transfer to Stanford for graduate year". The Daily Princetonian. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  5. "Student follows in the footsteps of Michelle Obama and Jeff Bezos with Princeton scholarship". The Northern Echo. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  6. "Mena claims Yorkshire crown for third time". Rippingrammar.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  7. "Ivies Have Strong Showings at NCAA Regional Championships". Ivyleague.com. 16 November 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  8. "Several Ivies Punch Tickets to NCAA Championships". Ivyleague.com. 16 November 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  9. "Princeton Sweeps Indoor Track & Field Weekly Honors". Ivyleague. 18 February 2025. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  10. "Scatchard Breaks Own Mile Record, Several Tigers PR at Eagle Elite Invitational". BVM Sports. 15 February 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  11. "Mena Scatchard Finishes With A Surprise Second Place In The Women's Mile". Flotrack. 15 March 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  12. Hansen, Chris (15 March 2025). "How the Oregon women won their 8th national title at NCAA Indoor Track & Field meet". Register Guard. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  13. "NCAA Women's DI Track and Field Championships 2025 Results & Scores". Flotrack. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  14. "GB & NI FINISH SECOND OVERALL AT EUROPEAN ATHLETICS U23 CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BERGEN". British Athletics. 20 July 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  15. "Grammar School Student Has Been Talent Spotted By England Hockey". Yorkshire Times. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  16. "18-year-old girl wins $318,000 scholarship to Princeton University, set to bag bachelor's degree". Scholarshipregion. 30 May 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2025.