WHS Lacrosse has kicked off their season, honoring the legacy of Leigh Cooper Wallace. The girl’s team dedicated their game on March 2 to Wallace and organized a fundraiser in recognition of her contributions to Watuaga’s Lacrosse Team.
“I wanted to honor the memory of the first WHS women's lacrosse coach by holding this fundraiser,” said Maddie Ellis, organizer of the fundraiser. “I don't think it would have been right to look over the 10 year anniversary of this wonderful woman's passing”
Wallace was a remarkable athlete as well as an inspirational figure for the WHS community. She went to Appalachian State University and later became the first WHS women’s lacrosse coach. Much of her time was spent dedicated to the WHS athletics, her students, and her family. December of last year marked ten years since her passing, yet she continues to move and inspire people of all backgrounds. Her resilience led her to push past her life’s hardships and she used her strength to encourage and advocate for others.
“I decided that we should honor her legacy by doing what she did her entire life, which was giving back to her community,” said Ellis.
With the money raised from the fundraiser, the team will award one rising college freshman the scholarship. The team’s previous goal had been to raise $1,000, though the team faced great success and quickly reached $2,000 in community donations.
“Our goal was always 1,000 dollars, but as we rapidly received donations," said junior Kade Maiden. "Maddie and I just wanted to get as much as we could for the cause.”
Both the boys and girls team have upheld Wallace’s legacy as they continue to represent Watauga Lacrosse. The teams are seeing improvements and successes like never before and plan on keeping it up as their season progresses.
“As all teams want, we want to win," said Maiden. "Maybe we haven't done much of that in years past, but I think our team just wants to see growth and improvement, to have no doubts that we played as hard as we could, and win every game that we can."
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