ROCKINGHAM — Allexis Swiney has made a name for herself the past three school years as a member of the Richmond Senior High School volleyball, basketball and track and field teams. But during her senior year, she resorted back to a childhood passion and is now a verbally committed college athlete.
This fall, Swiney is a member of the Richmond cheerleading team for the first time in her high school career. While it’s her first go at cheering on the Raiders on Friday nights, she’s no stranger to the sport. Involved in gymnastics and cheerleading since she was five years old, her talents on the mat will be put to use at Coker University next year.
Last week, Swiney announced she was verbally committed to joining the Coker College Acrobatics and Power Tumbling team. She’s now the third Richmond student-athlete to verbally commit this fall, joining D’Marcus Harrington (Campbell University, football) and Devon Tillman (Pfeiffer University, cross country).
Swiney made her decision after visiting campus last week with her father, Lem Swiney, and getting a surprise academic and athletic scholarship offer from first-year head coach Brittany Durham. Also on the visit were five other potential team members from Georgia and South Carolina.
“I went to Coker on what I thought was just a standard visit, and I wasn’t expecting an offer,” Swiney smiled. “I was really excited that someone looked at me with it being my first year on (high school) cheer and so late in my senior year.
“It means a lot to be going to school to do something some people said I would have no chance at doing,” she added. “A lot of people said I should have focused on other sports, but now I actually have a scholarship in a sport that I’ve loved since I was five.”
Swiney started her gymnastics career in grade school at Physical Awareness in Hamlet, the same gym where two-time national champion and US Olympic alternate Ashton Locklear got her career underway. At the age of 10, Swiney switched to competitive cheerleading and joined Richmond County-based Champions in Motion, coached by Cassie Tyler.
She spent “three of four years” with Tyler before Swiney decided to take a break from both sports. During her sophomore year of high school, Swiney picked things back up by competitively cheering with Cheer Extreme in Sanford, which led her to her most recent cheer team, the Greensboro All-Stars.
She officially became a member of the Greensboro All-Stars two weeks ago after starting off as a fill in.
Coker, a Division II school located in Hartsville, S.C., is just kicking off its Acrobatic and Power Tumbling program. According to its website, Durham was hired in March as the first head coach and there are currently four other athletes already signed to compete for the Cobras. On June 3, the sport, along with women’s wrestling, received backing from the NCAA’s Committee on Women’s Athletics.
Swiney explained that the type of gymnastics she’s always been involved with is “power tumbling and trampoline,” which shouldn’t be confused with the artistic gymnastic events like balance beam and bars. She added that what she’ll be doing at Coker is a “great mix between cheerleading and gymnastics.”
Durham takes over the new Coker program after spending the last two years as an assistant with the Glenville State College (W. Va.) tumbling team. She caught wind of Swiney through seeing videos of her cheering online. Her road to a college scholarship started two weeks ago when she got a text from Durham inviting Swiney to visit campus.
“When I was on campus, I talked to a lot of people and everyone said how close all kids are because it’s a smaller school,” Swniey explained. “It really felt like a family there, and there are so many different friend groups I can see myself getting involved with.
“It’s a different atmosphere than Richmond County,” she added. “I think it’s going to be a good learning environment. And I got to meet some of the girls on the team and I really liked them and their willingness to help me feel welcome.”
As she continues to cheer for Richmond as the Raider football team gears up for its regular season finale and playoff run, Swiney will also be preparing for heading off to Coker next summer.
New to her will be “learning to be a flyer,” as she’s been a base for her entire career. She explained the Cobras will also perform pyramid stunts, partner stunting, tumbling and a cheer routine.
“This year is going to be more challenging, especially being a freshman,” Swiney closed. “But I’m looking forward to the opportunity to continue doing what I love.”
