Daniel Simmons, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from American Fork, Utah, has been named the Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Player of the Year for the second straight year.
Simmons was surprised with the news following his morning run on Jan. 29. As he walked into his school’s weight room, the cross-country runner was greeted by family, teammates and Grant Fisher, an Olympic distance runner and fellow two-time Gatorade National Player of the Year recipient, who was holding a trophy.
“It was incredibly awesome,” Simmons said of the surprise.
Simmons said his faith in the Lord gave him strength and propelled him forward in many moments when he felt like giving up. He expressed his love for Jesus Christ and His influence in his life.
“I have never felt happier,” said Simmons, who lists the scripture verse 3 Nephi 5:13 and “Disciple of Christ” in his Instagram account. “Running for Him rather than just myself really helps me want to work harder and do everything to the right amount.”
The Gatorade Player of the Year celebrates the nation’s best high school athletes for their success inside and outside of competition.
As a senior at American Fork High School, Simmons won 10 straight races — including a Utah Class 6A title and an NXR Southwest title — before a 13th-place finish at Nike Cross Nationals, which was the final race of the high school season.
In addition to being the top high school distance runner in the country, the veggie-eating distance runner has volunteered at his local public library to read to children and is also active in service through Church activities. He has a 3.93 GPA and accepted a scholarship to run for Brigham Young University this fall. Following the fall semester, Simmons plans to serve a full-time mission for the Church.
Simmons is grateful to receive the honor, but he wasn’t necessarily aspiring to it.
“I don’t really need to win these big things,” he said. “If I do what is right, those will come naturally, as an effect of working hard and doing the things outside of running that make a difference.”
Simmons was selected from among more than 300,000 students who compete in boys cross-country nationwide. Besides Simmons, only two others have won the award twice — Fisher in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and Lukas Verzbicas in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
“To have the success [Daniel had] as a junior, and follow it up as a senior, is really hard to do,” Fisher said. “And there are a lot of things that go into the award besides running that need to be kept up — the service and academics. You can’t begin to have ‘senior-itis’ too early and let the grades slip too much, or otherwise Gatorade will notice. ... So it’s cool and it’s incredibly difficult to do. Danny did a good job.”
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program and see past winners, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.
