Lauren Simmons is used to excelling. At Princeton University, she received the C. Otto Von Kienbusch 2002 Sportswoman of the Year Award for high scholastic rank and proficiency in athletics. As a college senior, this track star won the Nancy Kraemer Award for Excellence in Leadership and was named NCAA All-American.

She earned second place in the NCAA, was ECAC Outdoor Champion, Heptagonal Indoor and Outdoor Champion, and Princeton Indoor and Outdoor Record Holder, all in the 800 meter race. She was also Heptagonal Outdoor Champion in the 1500 meter race, and captain of the Princeton varsity track and field women’s team - all in her senior year. As a junior, she was Heptagonal Indoor and Outdoor Champion in the 800, Outdoor Champion as a sophomore and Heptagonal 4×800 meter relay champion as a freshman.

Simmons’ personal best times are 2:03.8 in the 800 and 4:26 in the 1500. She hopes to pare her time in the 800 to below two minutes, allowing her to effectively compete in international competitions and the 2004 Olympic Trials. She has shaved nearly 12 seconds off her time since her personal best as a high school senior.

Since graduating Princeton in 2002 with a major in Psychology, Simmons has participated in the USA Nationals in Palo Alto, Calif., where she placed seventh. Her coach is Frank Gagliano and she is a member of the Nike Farm Team.

Once she has proven her athletic prowess, Simmons intends to pursue a career in psychology or possibly social work. She has served as a research assistant in autism in the Psychology Department at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, and as a volunteer at the Eden Institute in Princeton serving families of people with autism.

One thing Simmons has learned about herself is that second-place is not good enough for her. After securing a spot at Nationals in the spring of her senior year at Princeton, she was disappointed not to have come in first, despite making her personal best time in the prelims and knowing she had come farther than she ever thought she could.

“I finished a few tenths of a second behind the winner,” Simmons shared. “I expected to be happy. Instead, I was disappointed because I really wanted to win. However, even with that disappointment, I felt I had reached a new level. Without realizing it before, I had become competitive with anyone. It was a special moment because, for the first time, I realized there was a lot more that I wanted to accomplish and I knew that this race could be just the beginning.”

My Most Memorable Moment- Lauren Simmons

My senior year at Princeton, I improved enough during the indoor season to provisionally qualify for NCAA. However, at the end of the season, I missed going to Nationals by one slot. I was crushed when I found out that I would not go, but that disappointment filled me with motivation for the outdoor season. My goal for the spring season was to secure a spot at Nationals. At the end of May, I had achieved my goal and was headed to LSU.

The week I was in Baton Rouge felt unreal to me. I was star struck by the talented athletes that I saw. I was not nervous, just proud and excited to be part of the meet and anxious to compete. On Wednesday, the morning of the prelims, my parents, sister, aunt and grandparents all arrived to watch the meet. I spent the day laughing and relaxing with them. I was proud that they came to see me race, and I could tell how happy they were to be there with me. When I arrived at the track on Wednesday night I was focused and relaxed. My body felt ready and my mind felt clear when they called us out to the track. The first few heats went out very slow. I knew that would mean that my heat, the last heat, would go fast. I was right, the race was fast from the gun. I stayed with the pack, but I ran near the back. With 300 to go I felt great. I seemed to have more energy than when I started the race and I began to pass people. During the last 100 meters I was thinking about everything. All I wanted to do was to make it to finals. I put everything I had into that last sprint which resulted in a personal best time of 2:03. The best feeling though was that I thought I could run faster in finals. I left the meet feeling great about the race and with a new confidence that I could compete with anyone out there. I couldn’t wait for Friday when the finals would take place.

In the time between prelims and finals I tried to soak up all the excitement of the week. I watched the rest of the events of the meet in between spending a lot of time with my family. When I went to the track on Friday night for the finals, I felt a little different than I did before. On one hand, I knew there was no pressure on me. I had come farther than I thought that I could and for that I was happy. On the other hand, I knew that the next two minutes of racing would be something that I would always remember, and therefore, I wanted to make the most of the opportunity.

I was a lot more nervous for the finals. Perhaps, I was so nervous because I felt like I could win. I wanted to win. The race was a lot more tactical than the prelims. We opened up with a 64 second 400. I got caught in a bad position on the third 200. I saw the leader break away with 300 meters to go and I went after her. She had a big lead and I was in the middle of the pack. I began to catch up and by the final straightaway there were only two people in front of me. I caught the second girl but I finished a few tenths of a second behind the winner. I expected to be happy with second place. Instead I was disappointed because I really wanted to win. However, even with that disappointment, I felt I had reached a new level. Without realizing it before, I had become competitive with anyone. It was a special moment because for the first time I realized that there was a lot more that I wanted to accomplish, and I knew that this race could be just the beginning.

The weekend of the Nationals was one of the most special weekends of my life. I loved track that weekend. I ran my best race and I ran in front of the people who cared most about me and the people who I cared most about.