In a field of professional runners at Sunday’s Portland Track Festival, Daniel Simmons lowered the high school 5,000-meter record to 13:25.86. Simmons improved the record, set just last year by Lex Young at the Los Angeles Grand Prix—by nine seconds.
The Utah prep school senior and two-time Gatorade National Cross-Country Player of the Year may have also stamped his ticket to the U.S. Olympic Trials, which has a qualifying standard of 13:25.00.
“Leading into this race, I was feeling really confident that I could run 13:25, that I could get the standard,” he said in an interview with DyeStat. “But getting here, on the day of the race, my mind started attacking me. Doubt crept in and I was scared. But toward the last three hours before the race, I was like, you know what, this is going to be amazing. I still believe I can do this.”
Simmons made up significant ground during the race’s late stages, passing ten people and signing off with a 57.66 kick for his last 400 meters. Professional runner Dylan Jacobs won the race in 13:18.18.
When Young broke the previous record in 2023, it was only three weeks old, having been just lowered by Connor Burns at the Track Fest in Walnut, California. Before that, Galen Rupp’s 13:37.91 had stood since 2004.
Simmons is committed to join the Brigham Young University track and cross-country squad in the fall. He’s also a New Balance NIL athlete and the owner of the 5,000-meter indoor national record as well (13:38.86).
Up next, Simmons will compete at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in Philadelphia this week, with hopes of breaking 4:00 in the mile and defending his title in the 2-mile.
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
