Zhaire Mack: Three-sport standout at PSHS, excellent student, plans to be a PE teacher

Zhaire Mack is a woman for all seasons.

 

Mack, who graduated from Philip Simmons High School on May 26, began her senior year with basketball practice in the fall, with hoops spilling over into winter.

 

She had double duty in the spring, competing in track and field and lacrosse, shining on both stages.

 

The results?

 

She was all-state in the three sports and might be forgiven for taking the summer off. She dabbled in sports, but her focus this summer is writing poetry, hanging out with “people” and solving crossword puzzles.

 

She also has spent this spring saying goodbye to her classmates, teachers and administrators at the school, which opened when Mack was in the seventh grade. It was at that time, Mack and classmates Kennedy Rivers and Kylee Kellermann stepped on the Philip Simmons

hardwood as members of the varsity team.

 

The rest was about making history.

 

Mack had a brilliant career at PSHS. She sat out a season in basketball because of COVID-19 but still had some impressive stats, although it cost her the 1,000-career point status. She concluded her career with 978 points after averaging 18 points a game her senior season.

 

She has no regrets, just good memories.

 

“I set high standards for myself when it comes to basketball,” Mack said. “The past six years have been awesome and memorable. I couldn’t forget that if I wanted to.”

 

Mack competed in track and field early in her Philip Simmons career. But she put the sport on pause to concentrate on basketball. She rejoined the Iron Horse track team this spring, and the results were record-book worthy.

 

She set school records in the shot put with a heave of 32-7 and javelin with an effort of 126-8. She set another school record by clearing 5-4 in the high jump. She also ran a leg of the 4x100-meter relay.

 

That’s impressive considering she also played lacrosse and shone on the field to earn all-state honors. It takes a great work ethic and mindest to compete in two sports at the same time.

 

“Z is just different than most,” said Iron Horse girls’ track coach Emma Santor. “She is kind of an athletic anomaly. She did in one season what some athletes spend years training to do. I fully believe she could do every single event in track if time permitted.”

 

She’s a three-sport star and an excellent student as well. She has a 4.4 GPA on a weighted scale and college is in her future. She’s still pondering her matriculation plans, but will make a decision soon. Her list includes South Carolina State, Claflin, Georgia State and Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama.

 

She will play basketball and plans to compete in track and field at the next level.

 

She loves sports and children, and her future vocation could combine the two by becoming a physical education teacher.

 

“They’re the next generation,” Mack said. “I want to make a difference.”