SALT LAKE CITY — A young Utah girl is now a national finalist in the running to become the Youth Athlete of the Year . Surviving tough competition is nothing new for her, though, since her winning battle with the big “C.”

Ten-year-old Ariya Park is both an elite cheerleader and a neuroblastoma cancer survivor.

“My favorite thing about cheer is everything. Like, I love everything about it,” she said. “I just try to stay focused and keep learning.”

With so much time logged overcoming life’s hurdles, Ariya sometimes speaks like an old soul. It’s one of the many “incredible” ways she inspires her community.

“I remember I was sitting there and I, she was just carrying around her machine. She had tubes with the, you know, the little tube in her arm,” said her cheer coach, Keisah Marquardso

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