On Friday, October 31st, 2025, Sahuaro honored cheer, football, band, and color guard seniors. Let’s find out about our 2026 cheer seniors.
Starting off with our first cheer senior and one of the captains, Aubrianna Stewart, she has been cheering for 12 years, including 4 years on varsity at Sahuaro as a main base. Her favorite memory with Sahuaro cheer is all the bus rides back from those late-night away games. Aubrianna’s advice for next year’s senior cheerleaders is, “…to soak in every moment cause it will go by so fast, and make every moment count.” After high school, she might cheer, but her main focus is on her criminal justice degree.
Next up, another one of the 4 captains, Alayah Briscoe! Alayah has been cheering since her sophomore year at Sahuaro as a side base. Her favorite memory throughout these short years is, “…winning against Douglas on my birthday, my sophomore year. It was such a good game, and it was just so fun to experience that with all my teammates by my side!” What Alayah will miss most is “…Friday night lights. It has always been my favorite part of the cheer season. I will truly miss being under those stadium lights with my bestest friends by my side.”
For next year’s seniors, she advises, “Don’t take your senior year for granted, cherish every moment that you have because it will pass by in the blink of an eye. Be sure to be positive role models for the lower-classmen, you want to lead by example.” After she graduates, Alayah plans to attend culinary school to eventually become a chef, as it has been her lifelong dream!
Following Alayah, we have another one of the captains, Jazmin Rodarte. Jazmin has also been cheering since her sophomore year with Sahuaro, but for her position, she’s a backspot. Jazmin’s favorite memory throughout the years was during competition practice last year, when everyone ran off the mats to prank Coach Kiki. Cheer may be stressful, especially with being a captain, but Jazmin will especially miss “…all the ladies there. Yes, it’s stressful, but I would do it all over again if I could, and I love all these girls; they all mean the world to me, and I love everything about every single one of them. I will miss the memories with my girls, and I’m so happy that I got this team, and I don’t wish for any other team.”
For next year’s group of seniors, Jazmin says, “…don’t take it for granted and do whatever you want to do, not what other people want you to do. Don’t get embarrassed to do things, you only live through high school once, and you won’t ever be a senior again, so do all of everything, all the spirit weeks, and go full out because you’re leaving for good after, and you’re probably not gonna have this opportunity ever again, so live it to your fullest!” After her graduation, Jazmin plans to go to school to further her education in child development for infants and toddlers.
Coming up with the last of the 4 captains, Neela Valdillez! Neela has been a Sahuaro varsity cheerleader for 4 years as a side base. Being such a committed member of the team, Neela has countless memories, but her favorite is, “…probably taking 2nd place at Arizona Pink State. All of the girls were just so excited and so happy, and I feel like it brought us so much closer together.” After all the years, Neela will miss “the memories and the fun times we had, definitely the talks before taking the mat at competition, and just being with my girls!”
Neela gives advice for next year’s seniors, “Take it all in, your senior year will go by in literally a blink of an eye. Make sure to have fun and just be with your team. Don’t stress about what’s to come, just enjoy being with your team and make memories; don’t let one misstep take over your whole season. What comes next is the real world, enjoy being a kid and being with your team, enjoy the laughter and the smiles and the dancing, even enjoy the hard times, because one day you’ll wish you were stressing about stunts not hitting instead of something else. It’s not going to last forever, but take it in while it does last.” After graduating high school, Neela plans to move to Oregon to study Criminology.
One of our former fresh faces, Abigail Bone! Abigail has been a Sahuaro varsity cheerleader and a main base for all 4 years, with an extra year before starting high school. Her favorite memory from this past half-decade is winning 2nd place at a competition last year. Abigail will mostly miss, “…everything about cheer, the good days and the bad. But the one thing I think I’ll miss the most would be the people. No matter how bad of a day it’s been, everyone in cheer, especially my stunt group, will always make my day better.” For future seniors, Abigail said, “…listen to coach and never give up! If you stay persistent, you’ll always get the stunt or tumbling.” After graduation, Abigail plans to attend an Arizona college, where she wishes to cheer at the collegiate level. Her ultimate goal is a career in the marine sciences.
Next, we’ve got Nikki Calvillo, cheerleader and main base of 5 years, 3 with Sahuaro. Nikki’s favorite experiences with cheer have been her senior year tryouts with Aubrianna and Alie, and overall, the relationships and memories she’s formed over the years. She advises next year’s seniors to participate in everything and give it their all! After she graduates, she plans to go to college and obtain her BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing).
One of the returners from the past season is Alezandra Zambrano. Alezandra has been cheering for 11 years total, with 4 being at Sahuaro as a flyer and a side base. Her favorite memory over her high school career has been, “…one of the games landed on my birthday, and my whole team surprised me and sang me Happy Birthday. My best friend bought me a birthday cake, and that was the moment I knew this was exactly the place for me.”
What Alezandra will miss most is “…the feeling of going all out on that mat is beyond energetic, it feels like adrenaline. It’s such an amazing feeling to know what you worked so hard on for weeks, sometimes months, is all about to be seen, you just have to perform it to its full potential.” Alezandra warns next year’s cheer seniors to, “…remember that every moment is so precious and time is cruel, it goes by too fast! So, appreciate every moment and don’t take it for granted because one day you’re gonna wish you could go back and relive those good times, and even the bad.” After she finishes high school, Alezandra plans to join the Air Force, and from there, pursue the medical field, specifically as a pediatric nurse!
As we near the end, we have returning Sahuaro varsity cheerleader, Alexa Carbajal. Alexa has been cheering with Sahuaro for 2 years as a flyer, but for 12 years in total. She’ll miss practicing, learning, and performing new stunts with her group at games the most. For next year, she tells seniors, “…don’t be a hater, just love everyone around you, make it fun and welcoming!” During school, Alexa has been a part of the JTED cosmetology program, and also has run her own lash business on the side. After she receives her cosmetology license, she plans to go to esthetic school for her esthetician license.
Last but not least, we’ve got Dela Ochoa, our one and only 1st year senior! This is Dela’s first year on the cheer team as a side base, but she’s always been a varsity athlete. Her favorite memory over these past couple of months has been, “…whenever me and my main base, Olivia (Richmond), hit the stunt, we always hug each other after. She’ll definitely miss her stunt group the most. Her advice for the next group of seniors is, “…enjoy every game because they go by fast!” Following her high school graduation, Dela plans to join the U.S. Army and eventually become a police officer.
At the end of all the practices, games, and full-outs, almost every senior agreed that Coach Kiki was the #1 supporter throughout their senior season.
Alayah Briscoe: “Coach Kiki has been a big part of my senior cheer season. He has always seen something in me and welcomed me on the team with open arms. He always encourages me to do my best and has always had faith in me, no matter what.”
Jazmin Rodarte: “My coach. He has helped with so much, he has done so much for our team, and he has been awesome for us with giving us all these opportunities to be better, and he is always just chill. I love you, Kiki!”
Aubrianna Stewart: “I’d say Coach Kiki has been my number 1 help getting through senior season.”
Nikki Calvillo: “Coach Kiki has been a huge help in my cheer seasons, and I thank him for that.”
Abigail Bone: “My stunt group (Alayah Briscoe, Neveah Garcia, and Sophia Boggs) and Coach Kiki have been my biggest support through my senior season.”
Neela Valdillez: “Coach Kiki is definitely one of the biggest people who helped me through not just my senior season, but through it all. Kiki has always been the person to make me get back up and try again, and I am forever thankful for that. He’s always pushed me so hard cause he believes in me more than anyone in the world. He’s brought me up to the person I am now, even when I didn’t think I’d be able to come back up. He has truly changed my life in ways I can’t even explain. There is not a moment that goes by that you don’t look up to Kiki. He is a wise man full of confidence, and I will forever have so much love and respect for Kiki for pushing me even when I didn’t want to be pushed. He is the reason I believe I have what it takes, and I’m sure he’ll be the reason anyone else feels they have what it takes.”
