They came early and stayed for more than two hours, in what might have been Medina’s most fitting tribute to Jenna H. Pratt.

Nearly 300 people — her Medina High School classmates, friends, family, school officials and community members — gathered outside the school on a cold Sunday evening to say goodbye to the popular, outgoing 17-year-old senior killed that morning in a one-vehicle crash.

School officials took the candlelight vigil into the school gym, where those who loved Jenna gathered in a big circle and listened to tributes.

“With Jenna, I told the kids, what we need to do is live our lives the way she lived her life, caring about others and putting others’ needs first,” High School Principal Wesley R. Pickreign recalled Monday. “The best tribute to her would be to treat people the same way Jenna treated people.

“Hopefully, that will be her legacy.”

Jenna was a front-seat passenger in a car that ran off Martin Road at about 12:15 a. m. Sunday and struck a tree before coming to rest in an open field. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

She was a strong student, with a 97 average in the first marking period this year. She also was involved in many activities, including a cappella choir, softball, cheerleading and dance lessons. She wanted to be a nurse practitioner and planned to attend Genesee Community College and possibly the University at Buffalo, friends and school officials said.

Jenna also was one of 10 girls who competed in the recent Orleans County Junior Miss pageant, where she won two honors, including the Spirit Award.

“That really speaks to who Jenna was,” Pickreign said. “She was one of the most caring people you could know. If you came into a room and you were having a bad day, she always had a kind word and a smile for that person.”

One of those at Sunday night’s gathering recalled how Jenna stepped in to help someone having trouble with a certain step in dance class.

“That’s who Jenna was,” Pickreign said. “A girl was struggling, and Jenna helped her.”

Friends organized the impromptu gathering Sunday evening. It was set to start at 5:30, but many had gathered long before that.

“It was pretty quiet at first, very quiet, with a lot of crying and small groups talking,” Pickreign said, before school officials took the gathering inside. “Eventually, we formed a circle and said a prayer, and a few people spoke.”

The large gathering didn’t really shock those who knew the student.

“Jenna was liked by all groups,” Pickreign said. “In school, you often have different groups. She was the kind of kid that everybody liked, and she liked everybody.”

Monday was a tough day in the Medina schools.

“As difficult as [Monday] has been for our students and our staff, if we had not had that vigil [Sunday] night, it would have been almost impossible to handle the grief,” Pickreign said. “I think it helped us get through the day.”

The driver of the car — Jenna’s boyfriend, Joshua Stockwell, 18, of Medina — was unhurt, authorities said. He had graduated from Medina High School this year.

Orleans County sheriff’s officials could not be reached late Monday to comment on the investigation.