Alexa Wilson is a cheerleader for the Ohio Valley All Stars and was a varsity cheerleader at Warren High School for three years. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — Alexa Wilson has made a huge positive impact in the Mid-Ohio Valley despite her young age and the obstacles she’s had to overcome.

Wilson has been cheering as part of the Ohio Valley All Stars for 11 years, and she was on the Varsity Cheer team for Warren High School for three years.

She uses her connections as a cheerleader to organize community service projects and encourages her fellow teammates to become more involved in helping those less fortunate.

OVA Cheerleaders for Charity is an organization that Wilson spearheaded as a sophomore in high school. Since its start in 2023, the group has already hosted many charity projects, including collecting canned goods and winter clothing items for House to Home and personal items for the Eve Inc. Shelter, donating money to AmVets 1788, manning a water station at the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half-Marathon, and making Valentine’s cards and collecting plush animals for Rockland Ridge Nursing Home.

Wilson says she has enjoyed seeing her teammates come together to give aid to people in need, whether through helping with the events physically or donating items for the group’s charity drives.

The Ohio Valley All Stars team “Electric,” of which Alexa Wilson is a member, won Bronze at the D2 Summit, the team’s highest placement at a competition. (Photo Provided)

“It’s been a good opportunity for me to learn communication and leadership skills, and also get the gym and the athletes more involved in what’s going on in our community,” she said.

Wilson said some of her favorite team charity experiences include providing runners at the half-marathon with water and making Valentine’s cards for the nursing home residents.

“It’s something we can all do physically, and it’s really fun because we’re cheerleaders. We were always on the last stops, and we were cheering everybody on who’s running,” said Wilson. “Another thing was making the cards for the nursing home…when we would drop them off, the workers were like ‘some of the residents don’t have any family close, so it means a lot to them to get something from somebody, even if they don’t know them.'”

Wilson will be starting college this fall and will not be cheering with the All Stars, but she said that she is confident that her teammates will continue to serve the Mid-Ohio Valley and come up with more ideas for service projects, adding the experience has been very rewarding for her to be a part of.

Wilson has wanted to compete on a college cheer team since she was a freshman in high school. However, in October 2023, she tore her ACL during practice. She was worried that the injury was going to prevent her from achieving that goal.

Alexa Wilson and a group of athletes and parents manned a water station at the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half-Marathon. (Photo Provided)

“At first when I heard that it was torn, and I heard that it was a really long recovery injury, I was like ‘oh my gosh, this is going to be a lot.’ And I had never gotten an injury before besides a concussion, which was only for a few weeks,” said Wilson.

Luckily, in December 2023, Wilson was able to receive fertilized ACL reconstruction by Dr. Chad Lavender at Marshall Health. Wilson said she was thankful to her surgeon and physical therapists for helping her push through the difficult healing process, and she was ready to cheer again after only six months.

“I was telling myself ‘I want to be back exactly how I was before I was injured,'” she said. “And honestly, I feel like I’m stronger mentally, as well as physically.”

When her team “Electric” competed at the D2 Summit in Florida in May, Wilson was surprised to learn that she won the Varsity Pinnacle Award from Varsity All Stars for her dedication to community service and her hard work in the gym. The national award is only given to one nominee. This year, there were over 100 nominations for the award out of nearly 20,000 athletes who competed at the summit.

“I didn’t even know that I was nominated for it by my coaches,” says Wilson. “It didn’t even feel real because I came back from my injury and did all these things…I felt very supported by the gym and everything…and it definitely made me feel like everything I had done was actually a bigger deal than I might think, and they all really pay off in the end.”

Reese Wilson, from left, Alexa Wilson, and Brynley Charleston provide residents with cards and plush animals during a Valentine’s Day charity event at Rockland Ridge Nursing Home in Belpre. (Photo Provided)

At Warren High School, Wilson was also a part of the National Honor Society and was Senior Class Secretary. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with honors, and she will be competing on Kent State University’s game and competition cheer teams starting this fall.

“I went to a clinic at Kent State, and I was like ‘this is definitely where I want to go.’ The cheerleaders, everyone on the team, the coaches were so welcoming,” said Wilson. “It kinda felt like what I already had here. The type of cheerleading was similar, and the ‘family feel’ it had felt like home.”

Wilson auditioned for both teams in person at Kent State. Throughout the day, she had to demonstrate different styles of jumps, tumbling, and chants for the judges with a group of other competitors. She was very excited when she received the final email announcing that she made it to both teams.

Wilson will get a head start on her Kent State cheer career by attending multiple practices scheduled throughout this summer, the first starting on June 13. In the next school year, Wilson wants to go to the NCA Nationals competition and organize more community service projects as part of the team.

When she starts her first semester at Kent State, she will be in the exploratory program until she decides on her major. As of now, she is leaning towards becoming a medical lab technician.

Reese Wilson, from left, and Alexa Wilson stand with their collection of donated personal items for the Eve Inc. Shelter. (Photo Provided)

“I’ve always really liked science and math, but I never was interested in being a nurse,” said Wilson. “I’d rather be behind the scenes a little more.”

She is also interested in adding a minor in leadership and becoming a cheer coach after she graduates.

“Cheer has been such a big part of my life already. I might as well continue it,” said Wilson.

Matty Lamp can be reached at intern@newsandsentinel.com.

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Alexa Wilson presents a check for donations collected on Veterans Day. From left are Jason Malec, Larry Woods, Wilson, Brad Webb, and Gene Venham from AmVets 1788. (Photo Provided)

Know Someone Who Could Be Teen of the Week?

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Alexa Wilson receives the national Varsity Pinnacle Award for her hard work and dedication at D2 Summit. (Photo Provided)

Alexa Wilson tore her ACL during her junior year of high school but was able to receive ACL reconstruction surgery. (Photo Provided)