“Daniel Simmons continued on his path as a distance talent to be reckoned with. His two-mile victory at New Balance Nationals put the finishing touches on a junior campaign which ended with him ranked among the top 15 prep competitors in history in two events.”

Rich Gonzalez

editor of PrepCalTrack.com

Athletic Excellence

The 2022-23 Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Player of the Year, the 5-foot-10, 127-pound junior won the national title in the 2-mile run at New Balance Nationals Outdoor this past season with a time of 8:41.23. Simmons also earned All-American honors at NBNO with a sixth-place finish in the mile run. He took second in the 3200-meter run at the Arcadia Invitational with a time of 8:34.14, which ranked No. 2 nationally among prep competitors in 2023 and No. 3 in U.S. prep history. His top 2-mile time of 8:41.10 at the Brooks PR Invitational ranked No. 5 nationally and No. 12 in history, while his 4:07.51 performance in the 1600-meter run at the BYU Invitational ranked No. 22 this spring.

Academic Achievement

Simmons has maintained a 3.93 GPA in the classroom. He will begin his senior year of high school this fall.

Exemplary Character

Simmons has volunteered locally as part of multiple community service initiatives through his church youth group. He has also donated his time by orchestrating food drives for the underserved and raising money for non-profit organizations.