Mike Ridaught
Today’s senior spotlight is on 2-sport athlete Zhai Smith of Oak Hall School. Smith was a team captain for the Eagles’ football team, which advanced to the 2nd round of the Class 2A state playoffs in the fall. He averaged almost 18 yards per catch and had two touchdown receptions. His 74 tackles earned him a spot on the Gainesville Sun’s small school all-area first team.
At defensive back he added a tackle for a loss, three interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns. He also blocked a punt.
Smith was also a second team All-State selection.
In addition to making the 2nd round of the high school football state playoffs, Smith’s favorite high school sports moment was finishing second at state in the 4X100 high school track & field state championships last spring.
Smith broke a school record in the process. As a team, Oak Hall finished third overall at state. The Eagles also captured regional and district titles. Smith earned All-Area and All-District honors. He will attend Florida International University, where he will run track as a sprinter in the fall.
If you or someone you know is a graduating senior who participated in spring sports this season, we want to hear from you. You can either send us an audio shout out which we will play on the radio, or send us your bio and I will voice it for you. For more information, please email mike@ThePrepZone.com.
Mike Ridaught is the founder and publisher of ThePrepZone.com, the foremost website for high school sports in northeast Florida.