Nansemond River senior track and field star Zakiya Rashid borrowed some words from NBA superstar LeBron James at her signing ceremony on Wednesday at Nansemond River High School.

“I’m taking my talents to South Beach,” she said.

The highly-recruited Rashid committed to compete for and attend the University of Miami.

“It means a lot to me,” she said. “It was just so exciting to sign and have a full ride from a D-I school. I just think it’s great.”

She said competing in track and field at the college level had been a goal of hers “since I got to high school.”

Nansemond River track and field coach Justin Byron said the recruiting process for Rashid was unusual because college coaches were acknowledging how rare it is to see a thrower that is as versatile as her.

She received home visits from schools including Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, the University of Illinois, the University of Tennessee and North Carolina State University.

She visited most of those schools and made an unofficial visit to Southern Illinois University.

“It was kind of overwhelming, but fun at the same time,” Rashid said.

Byron, who attended the signing ceremony, expressed his happiness and support for Rashid and shared his history with her as her coach.

“I’ve been working with Zakiya since (she was in) seventh grade, so she’s actually one of the athletes that I’ve been working with the longest,” he said.

He went down to Miami with her when she made the trip to visit the University of Miami. He said on the airplane ride back, he asked her to list three things she liked about the school and three things she disliked.

He said she could not come up with one thing she disliked, giving him confidence that she would choose Miami. She made her decision last week.

“I just felt like it was the right fit for me, pretty much,” Rashid said. “That was the biggest thing.”

The fit was right both athletically and academically. She is considering majoring in kinesiology.

Accounting for why she was able to reach her current level of achievement, Rashid said it was “just all of the coaches that I’ve had and the help of my parents and just everybody around me, cheering for me and wanting me to do good.”

A large crowd gathered on the edge of the Nansemond River cafeteria to take in Rashid’s signing, which she performed while flanked by Byron, her parents and her older sister, Malika Rashid.

Byron expects Zakiya to use her athleticism and create some really impressive performances early on at the college level.

“I see her making an impact on the national scene within her first two years,” he said.