LSU Gold
Position
Sprints
Height
5'9
Class
Senior
Hometown
Missouri City, Texas
High School
Fort Bend Hightower HS

Event: 400M (IN: 46.22; OUT: 45.84)

6-time All-American
SEC Champion
4-time All-SEC

CAREER CAPSULE
A standout 400-meter sprinter during his four-year career at LSU from 2009-12 … Claimed six All-America and four All-SEC honors during his collegiate career … Opened his career as the SEC Indoor champion and an NCAA Indoor All-American in the 400-meter dash as a freshman in 2009 … Earned a career-best fourth-place finish nationally at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships … Indoor PR of 46.22 ranks No. 8 on LSU’s all-time indoor performance list in the event … Recorded a lifetime PR of 45.84 outdoors during his freshman season in 2009 … Was a five-time All-American and three-time All-SEC performer as a member of LSU’s vaunted 4×400-meter relay team … Ran on relay teams that ranked No. 2 at 3:01.07, No. 3 at 3:01.21 and No. 7 at 3:01.97 on LSU’s all-time outdoor performance list at the end of his career … Also ran on relay teams that ranked No. 8 at 3:05.41, No. 9 at 3:05.61 and No. 10 at 3:05.65 on LSU’s all-time indoor performance list at the end of his collegiate career at LSU.

2012
Earned All-SEC and All-America honors as a member of LSU’s 4×400-meter relay in his final outdoor season with the Tigers … Ran the leadoff leg on the team that claimed the NCAA Outdoor bronze medal with a third-place finish at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships … Teamed with Quincy Downing, Ade Alleyne-Forte and Riker Hylton to run the third-fastest time in school history at 3 minutes, 1.21 seconds to take third place in the national final … Also ran the second leg on the team that posted the seventh-fastest time in team history at 3:01.97 for second place in the national semifinal … Ran a 45.49-second split on the second leg of the team that posted a 3:03.20 for the fastest time of the national quarterfinal at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds … Earned All-SEC honors as a member of LSU’s mile relay team while running the second leg on the foursome that posted the time of 3:03.80 for second place in the final at the SEC Outdoor Championships held at LSU’s Bernie Moore Track Stadium … A member of LSU’s 4×400 relays that won the event title at the Texas Relays (3:04.54) and Penn Relays (3:04.47) during the outdoor season … An SEC finalist and NCAA qualifier in the 400-meter dash in his final season with the Tigers … Scored three points for the team with a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter final at the SEC Outdoor Championships … Crossed the finish line in 46.72 seconds in the conference final at the SEC Outdoor meet … Ran a seasonal-best of 45.99 for sixth place in the preliminary round to earn a lane in the SEC final … Clocked 46.65 in the prelims and 46.05 in the quarterfinal to advance to the national semifinal at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds … Finished in 19th place in the semifinal round at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a time of 46.41 at Drake Stadium … Won the 400-meter crown at the Louisiana Classics after running 47.01 in his outdoor opener … Set an indoor seasonal-best of 46.99 in the 400 meters to qualify for the final at the SEC Indoor Championships with the seventh-fastest time of the qualifying round … Forced to withdraw from the SEC final due to an injury … Finished the event in fourth place at the Texas A&M Dual Meet with a time of 47.31 … Clocked 47.77 for 12th place at the Razorback Invitational … Led off LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team that ran 3:05.41 to win the event at the Tyson Invitational with the eighth-fastest time indoors in school history … That seasonal-best performance eclipsed the NCAA qualifying standard in the 4×400 relay.

2011
Picked up two more All-America honors during his junior season in 2011 as a member of LSU’s mile relay team … Led off LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team that finished as the NCAA runner-up while running the second-fastest time in school history at the 2011 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa … Ran a 46.46-second split on the leadoff leg as he teamed with Ade Alleyne-Forte (45.21), Caleb Williams (44.53) and Riker Hylton (44.88) to take second place in the national final with a time of 3 minutes, 1.07 seconds … That relay effort ranks behind only LSU’s collegiate-record time of 2:59.59 set at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships on the school’s all-time performance list in the 4×400-meter relay … Ran the leadoff leg on the foursome that earned its spot in the national semifinals with a runner-up finish in the quarterfinal round at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds (3:03.95) … Advanced to the finals in Des Moines after leading off the team that clocked 3:04.38 in the national semifinals … Also led off LSU’s 4×400 relay that finished in second place at the Penn Relays (3:02.33) and third place at the Texas Relays (3:02.23) in 2011 … Was an NCAA Championships qualifier in the 400-meter dash during the 2011 outdoor season … Finished in 18th place in the quarterfinals after clocking his time of 47.11 seconds at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds … Placed 11th in the 400 meters at the SEC Outdoor Championships (47.14) … Clocked his outdoor seasonal-best time of 46.86 in a sixth-place finish in the 400 meters at the LSU Alumni Gold … Earned All-America honors during the indoor season after running a 46.39-second split on the third leg of LSU’s 4×400-meter relay that took eighth place at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas … The team ran a time of 3:08.01 in the national final at the NCAA Indoor meet … Nearly earned all-conference honors indoors as the third leg on the mile relay team that took third place at the SEC Indoor Championships the No. 9-ranked effort in school history at 3:05.61 … Qualified for the 400-meter final at the SEC Indoor meet while running a 2011 indoor seasonal best of 46.54 to take ninth place overall in the conference final.

2010
Earned his third career All-America and All-SEC honors during the indoor season as a member of LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team … Ran the second leg on the relay team that finished in third place with an indoor seasonal-best time of 3:05.65 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. … Also ran the second leg on the Tigers’ mile relay that earned an All-SEC runner-up finish at the SEC Indoor Championships (3:06.11) … Added two more points for the Tigers at the SEC Indoor Championships with a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter dash … Set an indoor seasonal-best time of 46.76 in the conference final … Reached the NCAA provisional qualifying standard in the 400 meters during the indoor season … Also clocked an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 47.12 during the preliminary round at the SEC Indoor meet … Competed in the 400 meters outdoors at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds in Greensboro, N.C. … Finished in 16th place overall in the NCAA prelims with a time of 46.32 in the national quarterfinal … Recorded an outdoor seasonal best of 46.19 in the first round of qualifying in Greensboro … Finished in 13th place in the 400 meters at the SEC Outdoor Championships (47.40) … Ran the leadoff leg on LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team that advanced to the national semifinals at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds … Helped the team to a fourth-place finish in the NCAA quarterfinals with a seasonal-best time of 3:04.10 … Ran the 400-meter leg of LSU’s 1,600-meter sprint medley relay team that set a new school record with a win at the Texas Relays, clocking a time of 3:16.01 … Combined with Caleb Williams (200 meters), Gabriel Mvumvure (200 meters) and Richard Jones (800 meters) to set a new school record in the event.

2009
Proved to be one of the top 400-meter runners in the country during his true freshman season … Earned his first career individual All-America honor with a fourth-place finish in the event at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships in College Station, Texas … Crossed the finish line in fourth place with a time of 46.28 in the national final … Qualified for the final with the fastest preliminary time of 46.63 at the NCAA Indoor meet … Also earned All-America honors during the indoor season as a member of LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team … Anchored the team to a sixth-place finish at the national meet with an indoor seasonal-best time of 3:08.47 … Was crowned SEC champion in the 400-meter dash during the indoor season with an indoor personal best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 46.22 in the conference final … Broke the 47-second barrier indoors for the first time at the Tyson Invitational where he finished in third place with a time of 46.55 … Finished the 2009 indoor season ranked No. 7 on LSU’s all-time indoor performance list in the 400 meters … Was also an NCAA Championships qualifier in the 400 meters during the outdoor season … Set a new overall personal best of 45.84 in the national semifinal to qualify for the NCAA final in his first career appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships … Did not finish the race in the NCAA final after pulling up on the backstretch with a leg injury … Qualified automatically for the national meet with a fifth-place finish in the open quarter at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, clocking a time of 46.01 in the regional final … Also earned a fifth-place finish in the event at the SEC Outdoor Championships … Clocked 46.08 in the final at the SEC Outdoor meet … Earned all-conference honors while running the leadoff leg on the Tigers’ 4×400-meter relay team that took second place at the SEC Outdoor Championships … Led off the foursome that ran 3:04.75 at the SEC meet … Also led off the relay that finished in fifth place at the regional meet with a time of 3:06.79.

PRIOR TO LSU
Signed with LSU as one of the premier 400-meter recruits in the world for the Class of 2008 … Burst onto the international scene at the 2007 Pan American Junior Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil … Ran a personal best and the fourth-fastest time in the nation by a high school boy with a time of 46.40 in the semifinal round … His time also ranked No. 1 in the United States by a member of the Class of 2008 … It was also ranked No. 20 in the world by an athlete under the age of 20 … Went on to finish fourth in the 400 meters at the Pan Am Juniors with a time of 46.46 in the final … Did not come home from the Pan Am Juniors empty-handed as he ran the leadoff leg on the foursome that won silver in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:06.15 … Has also competed in numerous national competitions, including the 2007 USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Championships where he won silver in the 200 meters with a personal best time of 21.11 and bronze in the 400 meters with a time of 47.28 … Won two gold medals at the 2007 Nike Outdoor Nationals as a member of the 4×100 and 4×200 relays for Team Texas … Was named to the 2007 Boys All-USA Track and Field Team by USA Today for his performance … Followed the success of his junior season by winning a silver medal in the 400 meters at the 2008 National Scholastic Indoor Championships, clocking an indoor personal best of 47.80 at The Armory Track & Field Center in New York … Is no stranger to team success after leading Fort Bend Hightower to the University Interscholastic League Class 5A state championship in 2007.

PERSONAL
Full name is Robert Rapheal Simmons … Born on July 18, 1989 … Parents are John and Jacquiline Mamon … Has one sister, Racheal, and two brothers, Rodrick and Rondell … Majoring in general studies.

 

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