SE: Taishia Pryce Bounces Back from Injury to Grab NCAA’s Second-Best Mark in Long Jump
May 06, 2019 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Taishia Pryce was already dealing with a lot of new.
After two years at Wiley College, a historically black NAIA university in Texas, Pryce transferred to K-State. The Jamaican long jumper started adjusting to a new school, people, coaches, teammates and culture all over again.
But Pryce loved it.
"When I came here, I was, like, 'This is a different environment,'" she said. "It was different here, seeing a lot of different cultures and adapting to it, and getting to know others, where they're from and the type of people they are, and also the teamwork. It was great."
Until it wasn't.
Pryce enjoyed all the newness she knew was coming. She didn't know her second jump at her second meet in a K-State uniform — the KU-WSU-KSU Triangular on January 18 — would bring a pain in her hamstring that she had never felt before.
"I had never been injured before," she said, "so everything was new to me."
For about five weeks, Pryce spent her time rehabbing that hamstring. It was hard for reasons that went beyond the fact that she had never dealt with an injury before.
"It was really tough seeing my teammates training and knowing I wasn't able to train. It was rough, very rough, because I knew I could be out there doing great in the long jump," she said. "It was kind of depressing."
Pryce, now tied for the No. 2 long jump mark in the NCAA for the outdoor season, got out of the rut she was in by listening to a voice in the back of her head. Not her own, either, but of K-State assistant coach Vincent Johnson.
"I didn't believe in myself at that time, that I could come back," she said, "but he was always there, saying, 'You got this. Don't let that little injury set you back. I know what you're capable of. You're going to come back and make a mark.'"
While Pryce returned in time to finish third at the Big 12 Indoor Championships — a disappointment, she said, because she "knew she could win it" — the mark Johnson hinted at took some more time to reach.
Johnson knew she could reach it because he remembered watching her jump in Jamaica. He did not know her name at that time, but he remembered the way she ran. When Pryce's coach at Wiley contacted Johnson about her, after she became the school's first NAIA National Champion in 2018, Johnson's memory was refreshed.
Before long, Johnson went to watch her in person.
"I didn't see her long jump, but I saw her run," he said. "That was all I needed to see."
On the other side of things, Pryce knew K-State produced All-Americans on an annual basis in the jumps events. She even reached out to fellow Jamaican and current Wildcat Shardia Lawrence.
"She told me it was good here, the environment was good," Pryce said. "I was, like, 'OK, I'm going to do it.'"
Pryce started her K-State career out slowly, thanks mostly to the hamstring injury, but she approached the outdoor season as a chance to prove herself. She did so at the Texas Relays on March 27.
After a foul and a respectable mark of 6.31/20-08.5, Pryce unleashed the best jump her life. She landed at 6.60m/21-08.0 to win the meet, hold the top mark in the NCAA (it now ranks tied for second) and put a new look on Johnson's face. She'll look to replicate it at this week's Big 12 Outdoor Championships in Norman, Oklahoma.
"This is what I was working for all this time and it wasn't happening, so that was a great day for me and also (Coach Johnson) because I saw that he was impressed because of the way he looked and the smile on his face," she said. "I was happy, too."
Taishia Pryce was already dealing with a lot of new.
After two years at Wiley College, a historically black NAIA university in Texas, Pryce transferred to K-State. The Jamaican long jumper started adjusting to a new school, people, coaches, teammates and culture all over again.
But Pryce loved it.
"When I came here, I was, like, 'This is a different environment,'" she said. "It was different here, seeing a lot of different cultures and adapting to it, and getting to know others, where they're from and the type of people they are, and also the teamwork. It was great."
Until it wasn't.
Pryce enjoyed all the newness she knew was coming. She didn't know her second jump at her second meet in a K-State uniform — the KU-WSU-KSU Triangular on January 18 — would bring a pain in her hamstring that she had never felt before.
"I had never been injured before," she said, "so everything was new to me."
For about five weeks, Pryce spent her time rehabbing that hamstring. It was hard for reasons that went beyond the fact that she had never dealt with an injury before.
"It was really tough seeing my teammates training and knowing I wasn't able to train. It was rough, very rough, because I knew I could be out there doing great in the long jump," she said. "It was kind of depressing."
Pryce, now tied for the No. 2 long jump mark in the NCAA for the outdoor season, got out of the rut she was in by listening to a voice in the back of her head. Not her own, either, but of K-State assistant coach Vincent Johnson.
"I didn't believe in myself at that time, that I could come back," she said, "but he was always there, saying, 'You got this. Don't let that little injury set you back. I know what you're capable of. You're going to come back and make a mark.'"
While Pryce returned in time to finish third at the Big 12 Indoor Championships — a disappointment, she said, because she "knew she could win it" — the mark Johnson hinted at took some more time to reach.
Johnson knew she could reach it because he remembered watching her jump in Jamaica. He did not know her name at that time, but he remembered the way she ran. When Pryce's coach at Wiley contacted Johnson about her, after she became the school's first NAIA National Champion in 2018, Johnson's memory was refreshed.
Before long, Johnson went to watch her in person.
"I didn't see her long jump, but I saw her run," he said. "That was all I needed to see."
On the other side of things, Pryce knew K-State produced All-Americans on an annual basis in the jumps events. She even reached out to fellow Jamaican and current Wildcat Shardia Lawrence.
"She told me it was good here, the environment was good," Pryce said. "I was, like, 'OK, I'm going to do it.'"
Pryce started her K-State career out slowly, thanks mostly to the hamstring injury, but she approached the outdoor season as a chance to prove herself. She did so at the Texas Relays on March 27.
After a foul and a respectable mark of 6.31/20-08.5, Pryce unleashed the best jump her life. She landed at 6.60m/21-08.0 to win the meet, hold the top mark in the NCAA (it now ranks tied for second) and put a new look on Johnson's face. She'll look to replicate it at this week's Big 12 Outdoor Championships in Norman, Oklahoma.
"This is what I was working for all this time and it wasn't happening, so that was a great day for me and also (Coach Johnson) because I saw that he was impressed because of the way he looked and the smile on his face," she said. "I was happy, too."
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