By Razylin M. Avendano
Alexia Mora could fly.
She did not need wings because she was lifted skyward by her friends and teammates on the cheer squad.
Mora died last month at the age of 21. A former standout Southwestern College cheerleader, she was nearing completion of her Bachelor’s degree in child development at SDSU. She was a Jaguar cheerleader from fall 2018 to spring 2021.
Mora was the squad’s “flyer,” the athletic and courageous member who is tossed in the air for crowd-pleasing acrobatic tricks and stunts. She was previously a four-year member of the cheer squad at Southwest High School and its captain.
Flyer on a competitive cheer squad is possibly the most dangerous position in high school and collegiate athletics. It is the athletic endeavor with the highest rate of injury. Her coach and teammates said Mora was never bothered by that.
“(Our) community lost a fighting spirit,” said Nina Williams, her former coach at SC.
Williams said Mora’s time on the team was marked by her growth from a shy, quiet girl her first year to a confident and driven young woman by the end of her third.
“(Alexia was) very eager (and) willing to do anything you asked,” Williams said. “She was 100 percent on it even when she was fighting so hard inside.”
Williams said Mora’s role as the flyer required great muscle strength, poise and flexibility. To be a flyer, Williams said, Mora had to be diligent and courageous. Mora knew cheerleaders are performers and that all eyes were on her when she was thrown in the air for a stunt, Williams said.
Cheer teammate Hannah Nava said Mora was all in.
“If anyone was passionate about cheer, it was (Alexia),” she said.
SC cheerleader Arelis Olivas agreed.
“Alexia was always down for everything,” she said.
Jazmine Banaci said she grew close to Mora when they both cheered for the Southwest High School Raiders when Banaci was a junior and Mora a freshman. After Banaci graduated from high school and enrolled at SC, she became the cheer coach for SHS and worked with Mora through her high school graduation.
“Alexia was definitely meant to be a cheerleader,” said Banaci. “She had such bright energy and was always willing to help people. Her junior year I made her one of my cheer captains because she was so talented and led by example. She was an excellent student with an exceptional GPA and an amazing all-around athlete.”
After Mora graduated from Southwest High, Banaci asked her to cheer for Southwestern College and be the flyer. Mora accepted and the two cheered together for two years as Jaguars, where their bond continued to grow.
“Alexia always told me how much she admired me, (but) I always admired her and how strong she was,” Banaci said. “I never knew how to manage school and cheer at the same time, but Alexia did, and she was so good at everything she did.”
Mora transferred to SDSU in 2021. She was set to be the first in her family to graduate from a university.
Her cousin Viviana Partida wrote an emotional message for a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for burial expenses.
“She loved to sing and draw, she had big beautiful eyes with a contagious laugh,” Partida wrote. “It’s her smile I can’t get out of my head. She dedicated her life to nothing but good things. (She) never wavered and that’s what hurts us the most. She broke so many generational curses and was the sweetest to every single person in her life.”
Banaci said she is heartbroken by the loss of her close friend.
“I’d give anything to give her one more hug and tell her how much she meant to me and so many others.”
The Mora Family is accepting donations at https://gofund.me/7f2e6016.
