Robert Simmons (TX) Signs with LSU
LSU SPORTS INFORMATION
For Immediate Release – May 19, 2008
LSU TRACK ADDS QUARTERMILER ROBERT SIMMONS TO SIGNING CLASS
BATON ROUGE – LSU’s success in the 400-meter dash has helped lay
the foundation for its current position at the forefront of
collegiate track and field, and the Tigers look to continue their
success for years to come with the signing of prep standout Robert
Simmons on Monday.
By signing his National Letter of Intent, Simmons hopes to continue
LSU’s tradition of producing elite quartermilers that boasts three
NCAA champions and 20 All-Americans in program history.
A product of Fort Bend Hightower High School in Missouri City,
Texas, Simmons burst onto the scene last summer at the 2007 Pan
American Junior Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil, when he ran a
personal best and the fourth-fastest time in the nation by a high
school boy at 400 meters with a time of 46.40 seconds in the
semifinal round.
His time also ranked No. 1 in the United States for a member of the
Class of 2008 and No. 20 in the world by an athlete under the age
of 20. Simmons went on to finish in fourth place at the Pan Am
Junior Championships with a time of 46.46 in the finals.
He did not return home empty handed as he ran the leadoff leg on
the United States’ 4x400-meter relay team that won a silver medal
with a time of 3 minutes, 6.15 seconds.
“Robert is a young man that we’ve known about for a while now, but
he really came on strong at the end of his junior season last
summer,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “He’s without a doubt
one of the top recruits in the world at 400 meters, and he showed
why with his performance at the Pan Am Juniors. We’re excited that
he has chosen to continue his career at LSU.
“He’s a very talented runner who will only improve with the
competitive training program we have here at LSU. Robert has proven
to be a great competitor and has the potential to continue the
tradition of great quartermilers to wear the purple and gold.”
Simmons is no stranger to national competition as he won gold
medals in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays with Team Texas at the 2007
Nike Outdoor Nationals last summer. He also won a pair of medals at
the 2007 USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Championships, winning
silver in the 200 with a personal best time of 21.11 and bronze in
the 400 with a time of 47.28.
For his heroics in national competition and on the international
stage, Simmons was named to the 2007 Boys All-USA Track and Field
Team by USA Today.
He carried that momentum into the 2008 season by setting a new
indoor personal best in the 400 meters with a time of 47.80 on the
200-meter oval at The Armory Track and Field Center in New York
where he won a silver medal at the National Scholastic Indoor
Championships.
Simmons knows what it takes to win championships and will bring
that winning attitude to LSU next season after leading Fort Bend
Hightower to the University Interscholastic League Class 5A state
championship in 2007.
“Along with his many individual accomplishments, Robert understands
what it takes for the team to win at the highest level,” Shaver
said. “He will fit right in with the team mentality we have here at
LSU. This is a program that is known for winning national
championships, and Robert is a young man who will certainly help us
continue to strive to reach that goal.”
Simmons joins a small but impressive incoming class of Tigers for
the Class of 2008 that features fellow 400-meter standout Ade
Alleyne-Forte of Trinidad and Tobago.
Alleyne-Forte boasts a personal best of 46.27 in the event that he
set in a bronze-medal winning performance at the Pan Am Juniors
this past summer before representing his country at the 2007 IAAF
World Championships in Osaka, Japan, as a member of Trinidad’s
4x400 relay pool.
The Tigers will also welcome All-American transfer Walter Henning
and prep hurdler Barrett Nugent to the squad in 2009. Henning will
compete in the weight throw and hammer throw following an
All-American freshman season at North Carolina, while Nugent will
line up in both the 110 and 400 hurdles following his career at
North Vermillion High School in Maurice, La.
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