“We wanted to win for her”; Lake Highlands soccer plays for beloved principal

DALLAS — Tessa Pettigrew used to be certainly one of a sort.  The senior elegance principal at Lake Highlands High School. 

But greater than that, “she was like, part of us,” Bienveine Bisimwa, a senior at the Lake Highlands soccer crew stated, “as seniors.”

A colourful character, Pettigrew would nice her scholars each and every morning at the bulletins, with a “hey, hey, hey, Wildcats!”, including her personal aptitude to an in a different way mundane activity. 

But on Friday afternoon, the scholars and college at Lake Highlands gained phrase that Mrs. Pettigrew, their beloved principal, had gave up the ghost.

“It was a sad moment for not just us,” senior Drew Tischer stated, “but the entire Lake Highlands community.”

The soccer crew came upon simply an hour and a part ahead of their 3rd spherical playoff sport in opposition to Flower Mound Marcus.

“We’re trying to prepare for the game, and you find that out,” Charlie Willmann stated.

“You just focus on the game right now,” Kerry Najera stated, “and you know, go out there and get this win for her.”

But not one of the Lake Highlands avid gamers used to be extra suffering from this than Cung Lian. Lian is the senior elegance vice chairman, so he would meet with Mrs. Pettigrew each week.

“It was like he was best friends with her, you know? They were always talking, always together,” Anthony Licea stated.

“She really meant something to him,” Drew Tischer. “Which speaks volumes to her character, because she always wanted to see him do well, and all of us do well.”

Lian wasn’t at observe Tuesday, however his teammates all spoke to how a lot he cared for Mrs. Pettigrew, and the way he wanted to commit Friday night time to her.

“The way he was playing, it showed that he’s playing for Mrs. Pettigrew,” Bisimwa stated. “After the game, he posted a picture on his instagram.  And he said “that is for Mrs. Pettigrew. This win is for you.”

A 1-0 win over Marcus moved the Wildcats on to this weekend. Friday night time, they play within the Regional Semis.  A win there would transfer them on to the Regional Finals on Saturday.

“We wanted to win for her,” Willmann stated. “And that’s what we want to do on Friday, and on Saturday… and we want to keep going, for her.”

If you need to donate to the GoFundMe for Mrs. Pettigrew’s relatives, the link is right here:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-pettigrew-family