Utah woman on her way to World Deaf Basketball Championships
SOUTH JORDAN, Utah (ABC4) — A Utah woman’s love for basketball is taking her to Argentina this summer.
Mariyah Saldana was 5 or 6 years old when she started playing basketball, and now, she is on the U21 USA Team — set to play in the World Deaf Basketball Championships in Argentina.
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Her mom, Taren Saldana, said she is proud of her daughter for being recruited.
“To try out and to make the team is awesome in and of itself,” Taren said.
Mariyah played basketball while she was a student at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind, and now plays college ball at Gallaudet University.
Her parents said everything she does is an inspiration — but they are especially proud of what she is doing now. They said Mariyah is their oldest daughter, and out of the five kids they have, three are deaf.
“This is huge for her younger sisters to be able to look up to her. You can accomplish anything,” Taren said.
Mariyah said she is just excited to play.
“I am very, very motivated and excited to compete — I feel like I’m ready for the game, I want to do that team work. Collaboration — it inspires me and I’m proud of myself,” Mariyah said.
If you would like to support Mariyah and her Argentina expenses, she has set up a GoFundMe, which you can visit here.
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