Two months into the Syracuse winter track and field season, Brittany Pryor finally gets to compete at home. For the freshman, it’s about time.

Pryor, a thrower, has circled between Ithaca, State College, Pa., and Champaign, Ill., this season. After bus trips and plane rides to throw, Pryor will compete this weekend a few shot throws away from her Marion Hall dorm room. The Orange competes in the Syracuse Invitational at Manley Field House on Saturday and Sunday.

Syracuse has struggled lately, but a home meet might be just what the Orange needs.

‘It takes less toll on your body,’ assistant coach Cheree Hicks said. ‘You don’t have to hop on a bus and drive for hours. You don’t have to go to an airport. You don’t have to sit on a plane. That’s an added bonus – they’re going to be fresher.’

While the team results have not been particularly noteworthy, the main priority at this part of the season is to get qualifying times for the Big East Championships on Feb. 19 and 20.

‘We’re all just prepping up for the Big East conference,’ Hicks said. ‘Everything leading up to it is a prep meet.’

For Pryor, this weekend is more than a prep meet. The Niagara Falls native is eager to compete in front of a hometown crowd.

‘I’m very excited,’ Pryor said. ‘My friends can come and see me, my family can come and see me. I love to compete at home or in Buffalo or near Buffalo.’

Perhaps more exciting than competing in front of familiar faces is competing against familiar foes. When asked if she pays attention to the schools in the meet, Pryor flashed a smile the length of the room, let out a laugh and admitted that she does.

Especially this weekend.

‘I know UB will be there,’ Pryor said in reference to the University at Buffalo. ‘I’ll see a lot of people from my section in high school.’

That will be a scary thought for those in the section. They should hope they have a short memory because Pryor terrorized competition while a prep. She was a three-time state champion at the shot put at Niagara Falls High School. Pryor also won a state championship in the discus. She was All-State, All-County, and All-League every season she competed.

All the accomplishments came from an athlete who never participated in track and field until high school. During seventh and eighth grade, Pryor was a volleyball player. When she started ninth grade, her friend Heather Flay introduced her to track. The rest, as witnessed by the three Illinois throwers who finished behind Pryor during her second place performance last weekend, is history.

Still, Pryor was less concerned with the three behind her than the one in front of her.

‘I wasn’t disappointed about the Illinois meet, but I wasn’t happy with it,’ Pryor said. ‘My throws are better and I’ve learned the weights. Of course the goal is to win, but I’d rather win with a personal record than win and not better myself.’

She’ll look to achieve both this weekend at home. But when fans are calling her name, don’t expect Pryor to look over.

‘When I’m up there, I don’t really concentrate on friends and family,’ Pryor said. ‘When it’s time to throw, I’m concentrating on throwing.’

Published on February 3, 2005 at 12:00 pm