When senior Cortny Pritt found out she won Miss Raider, she couldn’t believe it.
“It made me feel so awesome that the student body voted for me,” Pritt said.
Laura Pritt, Cortny’s mother, was at the Round Up dance to support her.
“When her name was announced, she was surprised and overwhelmed with excitement,” Mrs. Pritt said. “I think it took a minute for it to sink in.”
Cortny’s mom believes that part of the reason Cortny won is her loving heart.
“She wants everyone to feel loved and be happy,” Mrs. Pritt said. “She accepts people for who they are. She’s a leader and loves Rider High School.”
18 people were nominated. Two won. One girl, and one boy.
“I had no clue that I’d win,” Cortny said. “The nominees this year were amazing, I had no idea if I’d get it.”
At Rider, Pritt is deeply involved in both volleyball and powerlifting.
“I set high standards for myself and expect to reach all of them,” Cortny said.
Outside of school, she spends her time going to church, Younglife, and hanging out with friends and family.
“I love the Lord more than anything,” Cortny said. “I love spending time with my family and being close to them.”
During her summers, she does free volleyball clinics and lessons with her sister Alysha.
“She helps with Bible schools and mission trips,” Mrs. Pritt said. “She helps with Younglife doing skits and for the past three years has worked with Rider volleyball to raise money for Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness.”
Originally, Cortny comes from a military family.
“The Air Force brought us to Texas, but she lived in England from age 1 go 5,” Mrs. Pritt said. “She had an awesome British accent until the Texas teachers got ahold of her.”
Cortny also comes from a family of Miss Raider nominees and winners.
“My sister Alysha was Miss Raider in 2004,” Cortny said. “My other sister Jentry was nominated in 2002.”
Mrs. Pritt believes that since Cortny is the youngest in her family, it meant even more for her to be nominated.
“She loves and respects her sisters,” Mrs. Pritt said. “It meant a lot to her that she was voted Miss Raider like her sisters had when they were at Rider.”
Now a senior, when Cortny reflects on her freshman year, she said she never thought of being Miss Raider.
“It never even crossed through my mind,”Cortny said.