Danny Simmons followed his older brothers into running and hasn’t looked back.
When he was 10, Simmons’ older brother Joe, a 2016 graduate of American Fork High in Utah and part of the 2015 Nike Cross Nationals runner-up American Fork boys cross country team, challenged Danny and his brother Johnathon to run a 5k road race.
The youngest of 10 children--six girls and four boys--Danny said five of his siblings ran in high school. Older sister Hannah, a 2018 Salmon graduate, was a member of Salmon’s 2016 2A state runner-up cross country team while Johnathon, a 2021 Salmon graduate, won two individual 2A state track titles, two individual 2A state cross country titles and was part of Salmon’s 2020, 2019 and 2018 2A boys cross country state championship and 2021 2A boys track state championship teams.
The youngest Simmons had an impressive season all his own this spring.
The sophomore won gold in the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and as part of Salmon’s medley relay at the 2A District 6 championships. He went on to place third in the 800, second in the 1,600, first in the 3,200 and second in the medley at the 2A state meet to contribute 32 points to Salmon’s fourth place team trophy. He won the 1,600 five times, including the 3A/2A/1A BYU Invitational title, and ran personal bests of 4:17.89 for the 1,600 and 2:00.17 for the 800. He also went undefeated versus Idaho competition in the 3,200, breaking 9:07 three times: 9:06.80 at Tiger-Grizz, 9:06.15 at the BYU Invitational and a personal best 9:05.04 at the 2A state meet. His sub-9:07 3,200 times are the fastest by a District 6 boy since 1999 Bonneville graduate Jed Barta ran a 9:06.58 at the 1999 A-1 state meet. A year ago, Simmons’ bests were 9:29.34, 4:27.28 and 2:03.96.
Simmons said he focused on achieving a 59-second 400-meter split this spring and committed to running twice daily, something he saw Salmon runners do when he was a middle schooler.
“The high schoolers were running not only in the afternoons for official practices but sometimes in the morning,” Simmons said. “I never did that in middle school but I thought, ‘Well, I guess that’s where champions come from.’ That’s really where the focus changed.”
He now owns District 6’s all-time fastest boys 3,200 time on record and he is the Post Register’s All-Area Boys Track Athlete of the Year.{/span} This honor comes 18 months after older brother Johnathon received the Post Register’s 2020 All-Area Boys Cross Country honor for his undefeated senior season.
Sugar-Salem head coach Brett Hill, who last month reached 50 total state titles in 28 years of coaching high school cross country and track in Idaho, remembers Barta well. He took Barta to the 1998 Foot Locker West Regionals in Walnut, Calif., where he placed second to advance to Footlocker Nationals in Orlando. Barta, who went on to run for Nebraska, once held Idaho’s overall and 5A state meet records for the 3,200 and his 4:12.67 from the 1999 state meet remains the fastest 1,600 time by a District 6 boy.
Hill put Simmons’ 2A state 3,200 victory in the same category as Bishop Kelly’s come-from-behind win in a relay at the 4A state meet 20 years ago thanks to future Olympian Nick Symmonds’s anchor leg. Hill said Simmons had another gear that allowed him to leave behind Nampa Christian’s Grady Mylander, a Utah State signee, and win by 20 seconds. But watching Simmons’ 3,200 win on March 23 at a Salmon home meet Sugar-Salem traveled to left Hill stunned.
“One of the most impressive races I’ve watched in my life,” Hill said. “He laps everyone in the field and runs a 9:16. I was flabbergasted.”
While pleased with the 3,200 state title, Simmons said he did not achieve all the goals he set for himself to end the season. Considering the blustery conditions the weekend of state, however, he couldn’t complain.
“I wanted it to be quite a bit faster, but there was a lot of wind,” Simmons said. “I was pretty happy with it.”
State was his final meet in a Salmon uniform, as Simmons and his family moved back to Utah earlier this month after almost seven years of living in Idaho. He said he believes he will be attending and running for American Fork in the fall.
He expressed joy for being part of Salmon’s running community and getting to run with and win two state team championships with Johnathon.
“I thought it was super fun,” Simmons said. “We have a bunch of fun traditions I’d never experienced before. It was cool to be able to run with my brother and get to know him so much better than I would have here in Utah.”
He also expressed gratitude for the opportunities and experiences running in Idaho has brought him. Namely, the friendships.
“It’s brought a lot of good friends and good connections that I really love,” Simmons said. “I went to one meet and could walk 10 feet and say hi to everyone. I could cheer for everyone even if we didn’t have the same results.”
Simmons said he will spend the summer getting in the best shape he can with ‘as little risk of injury as possible’ and he anticipates running to remain part of his life for the long term.
He credits running for helping him become more determined and focused.
“It takes a lot of dedication and time,” Simmons said. “It’s changed my whole attitude about how to get stuff done.”
He also enjoys the escape that running provides.
“It feels refreshing to just trot along and feel the air flow by you,” Simmons said.