On Sept. 28 redshirt senior Emily Pritt competed for the first time this season—and the first time since 2010— finishing 71st overall, and sixth on the women’s cross country team, at the Roy Griak Invitational.
Pritt returned from a 3-year recovery after a string of injuries, the most profound being a hip labral tear, suffered through hip dysplasia.
Doctors shaved down Pritt’s femur to better fit in the hip joint. For the first six weeks after the surgery, Pritt used a machine that assisted her in moving her leg.
In Friday’s ACC Cross Country Championships, Pritt finished 34th overall, second on the team in her third race of the season.
The road to recovery was a tough one for Pritt. She said that there were days where the rehabilitation process was very difficult, but she managed to pull through with the support of those close to her.
“Encouragement and support from my family, friends, teammates, coaches and medical [staff] kept me going through the hard times,” Pritt said. “My coaches and teammates mean the world to me, and I wanted the opportunity to put the [Wolfpack] jersey back on. I just kept pushing until that day came.”
Pritt said that her return to the track this season has felt phenomenal, but her injury has changed the way that she views each race.
“I just take every opportunity that I’m given to go out there and do the best I can because I never know when my last race is going to be,” Pritt said. “When I raced three years ago, I didn’t know that that would be my last race for three years. I look at every race as potentially my last and give it everything I have.”
No matter how much Pritt missed the action on the track, the aspect of cross country that she missed the most was the practices and time spent with her team.
“A lot of memories are made at practice, and to not be able to be there every day was torture for me,” Pritt said. “I tried to still be involved, but it’s different when you’re in the training room getting rehab and not down at practice. I’m really enjoying being part of the team again.”
Women’s cross country head coach Laurie Henes has coached Pritt during her entire career at State and said that the team not only lost a competitor in Pritt’s absence, but a leader as well.
“[The impact of Pritt’s injury on the team is] two-fold because she’s such a good leader as well as a very high level athlete,” Henes said. “I think that anyone in the program who looks at what she’s been through and how dedicated she is will try and bring themselves and others to that level.”
Pritt has assumed the role of leader on this year’s squad, but she said that the first-year runners make that job easy.
“The freshmen that we have are very talented and intelligent,” Pritt said. “I’ve just tried to lead by example and to go out there and put my best foot forward at practice and in the races. I just try to be there for them if they ever have a problem.”
In her time off the track, Pritt was able to pursue her interest in sports media. She is currently working on a graduate degree in communication.
“When I was hurt, and wasn’t really sure that I was going to make it back on the lineup,” Pritt said. “I filled my time with a lot of internships.”
“I definitely want to do something in sports, whether that’s public relations or broadcasting.”
Pritt’s internships included working with media relations for the Carolina Hurricanes and the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Pritt will try to build on her already successful comeback on Oct. 15 when the men’s and women’s teams head to Charlottesville, Va., to participate in the NCAA Regionals events.
