Former Brantley Star Athlete Alex Wilcox Who Lost Fight to Ovarian Cancer Remembered
Alex Wilcox, a star softball player from Brantley who made national headlines has lost her fight with ovarian cancer. Wilcox was only 18-years old. She was enrolled as a freshman at Mississippi State.
For many people in Brantley, Alex Wilcox is the girl that fought the good fight, after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, over 2 years ago.
“She never really let it get her down. No matter what she was going through she always kept pushing through the battle that she was fighting,” says Leanna Johnson.
Wilcox led her team to several state championships in softball and basketball.
“Class 1a 2014, 2015, 2016 softball state championships and then she was a member of the girls basketball 2013 and 2014 state championships,” says Kris Odom, Brantley School Principal.
Former teammate Leanna Johnson says Wilcox leaves a legacy for other students on the field and on the court and that is to never give up.
“I remember her last game that she played and it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to-but to just never get up no matter what you’re going through, whether it is a bad disease or a bad day just always to keep fighting,” says Johnson.
Johnson says the news of her death is surreal.
“I couldn’t believe it. It was just something tough to hear. It just seems so unreal,” says Johnson.
It is something that has sent shockwaves throughout the community.
“It hasn’t sank in yet and it’s hard to imagine our town without her,” says Odom.
Coach Cindy Hawthorne who was Alex’s softball coach at Brantley sent a statement expressing that Wilcox was the face of Brantley softball and that she has left an unbelievable legacy.
At Mississippi State, students started a “No One Fights Alone” campaign where support was shown for Wilcox by many other athletes in college sports.
