BIXBY, Okla. — Between the cheers and boos of the football victory Friday night, the feeling of loss lingered for many Bixby Spartans fans and students ten days after the death of sophomore soccer star Kinsey Wright.
"Her love really just shined through this tough time. It brought everyone together in our community," JV cheerleader Whittier Pearman told 2 News Friday.
Wright died in a three-car crash Oct. 17 at the intersection of 121st Street and Yale Avenue. Tulsa Police Department said a car rolled past the stop sign, hitting the car Wright rode in on her way to club soccer practice.
In the first home football game since the tragedy, Bixby Cheer could be seen wearing white wristbands with a pink "KW" on them, keeping Kinsey's memory alive.
"My mom was the one that decided to make the wristbands, actually," sophomore cheerleader Kennedy Jones said. "My mom and Krista, Kinsey's mom, are great friends. And my mom also loved Kinsey a lot."
"(The wristbands) so cute, and it's really fun that we get to represent Kinsey. And on the field, not just like elsewhere," sophomore cheerleader Rylee Mares added. "We get to represent her, and I think it's a really beautiful thing that we got to wear these and do this for her."
Much of the squad said they grew up doing youth cheer with Kinsey and were close with her and her mom, a former middle school cheer coach.
"We (also) got bracelets from her visitation and I plan to wear that for a long time," Jones said.
The three cheerleaders said no amount of tributes can ever be enough, but it's the message that will always last.
"And it's just a good reminder just to do it for Kinsey, because that's what she would've wanted," Mares said. "She wouldn't want us to just stop life. She would want us to keep on going and push for her."
Kinsey Wright's family is still raising money through a GoFundMe.
There's also an online petition calling for new safety measures at the intersection where the crash occurred.
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