Whiteville High School is blessed to have so many great young athletes. They excel on the fields and on the courts. Zay Best is no exception.
Zay will be attending Livingstone College in the fall to run track and play football. On the track, Best expects to run the 100 meter or 200 meter dash while playing receiver for the football team.
Zay was a key factor in Whiteville’s run in the 2024 football playoffs. They went all the way to the 2A Eastern Finals, losing to Northeastern 24-14. He was a duel threat on the field. He caught a 52 yard touchdown pass against Pender. In the conference championship 21-8 win against South Columbus, he amassed 133 yards on just eight carries, with two touchdowns.
In track, he set records. This year he set the school record in the 100 meter dash, running a 10.68 time. He also went to the 2A Eastern Regional Finals in track.
Zay talked about his childhood and his love for sports.
“I started playing flag football at five. That’s when it all started.” He grew up listening to stories of his dad Rico, who was also a standout athlete at Whiteville. The stories instilled a hard work ethic and a will to compete.
“I love the competition, playing, team bonding, and proving yourself,” Zay said. In preparing for competition, Zay likes to eat Zaxby’s and listen to Meek Mill. He said he is thankful for the knowledge and dedication Coach Roosevelt Colden III shared with him through his young career. Most of all, he thanks his dad.
“I want to prove to him I’m better than he was,” as he smiles and laughs. His favorite player is Kobe Bryant and he says his dad instilled the “Mamba” mentality to sports. He plans to carry that with him to Livingstone where he will major in sports medicine.
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