Nebraska college basketball player drowns in Utah reservoir
A basketball player from the University of Nebraska Omaha was identified as a drowning victim in a reservoir in the Salt Lake City region during the weekend after the divers recovered his body.
Authorities received calls at 911 on Saturday evening concerning two people “in distress” at the Blackridge tank, according to a statement from the Herriman City police service on Sunday. A man, identified as his mafotaga, was able to swim on the shore alone, said the police.
Deng Mayar, a 22 -year -old college athlete, continued to fight in the water. Police said Mafotaga had returned to the tank to help him but couldn’t save him.
The police used a submersible to search the waters for hours, finally locating the Mayar body and sending a diving team to recover it from the water. Mafotaga was taken to the hospital and should recover.
The University of Nebraska in Omaha published on Sunday a statement crying for the “tragic loss” of Mayar. Chris Crutchfield, head coach of the basketball team, said they were delighted to call on Mayar as a transfer after competing against him for two years.
“Deng was a joy to be there and improved our culture,” said Crutchfield. “We will miss a lot.”
Mayar was a 7 -inch 7 -inch attacker who studied business administration in Omaha, according to his Omaha athletics profile. He was one of the seven brothers and sisters of Salt Lake City.
He was also part of the university team during the four years at the Judge Memorial Catholic High School, finishing fourth at the state tournament of his last year. Before his season with the University of Nebraska Omaha, Mayar attended the Junior College and transferred to the University of Dakota in the North.
In two seasons at the University of Dakota in the North, Mayar made 42 appearances and 15 departures. His profile noted that he had accumulated 59 points as a junior and that he was fourth in interceptions of the team last season.
The University of Northern Dakota also published a statement expressing its “deeper condolences” to the Mayar family and his friends after his death.
Coach Paul Sather describes Mayar as a “wonderful person with a heart of the size of a gymnasium”.
“As competitive as he was on the ground, he had a gentle nature and a nice soul out of the field,” said Sather. “We will miss a lot about all those who knew and loved him.”
