Simmons going full speed ahead
Milw. Lutheran star puts in extra work
Ja’Cey Simmons has set the bar high.
“I’m trying to give it my all, do my best on the track, better than I did last year,” the Milwaukee Lutheran sophomore said. “I’ve got this quote: ‘If you can take it, then you can make it,’ and that’s what I’ve been sticking with.”
Last year the Red Knights sprinter burst on the scene, running the state’s top times in the 100 and 200 meters. She eventually won Division 2 state titles in each race, setting a state record for the division in the 200.
To take her performance to a new level, Simmons spent the off-season pushing herself to new limits, improving her diet and altering her training regimen.
“I’m going to try to get up there, make my times better,” she said.
Simmons already leads the pack.
She won the state title in the 100 in 12.25 seconds, the fastest time of any division. Her season-best time of 11.85 was twotenths of a second better than the No. 2 performer and easily would have beaten the Division 2 state meet record.
In the 200, she set the Division 2 record of 24.91, but the 24.63 she ran in the prelims was also the fastest time of any division at state.
She was even better at the AAU Junior Olympics in Au- gust when she ran a 24.36 and a 24.39 in the 200 prelims and semifinals before taking third in the final with a time of 24.11.
In order to separate herself even more, she has cut down on the junk food — she loves Flamin’ Hot Cheetos — and from a competitive standpoint pulled out of races since August.
The focus has been on circuit work and running form.
“She took a little bit of a break and went into conditioning mode in early fall and conditioned through December,” Milwaukee Lutheran sprint coach Rollan Parish said. “Just getting away from such heavy competition all the way throughout the year. … We weren’t really sure where she’d be. She dealt with some injuries toward the end of the season last year, so we wanted her to have the time to fully recover.”
Last season Simmons, who had a nagging hip problem late in the 2016 season, focused exclusively on the 100 and 200. That won’t change this year, though she might enter a 400 a couple of times during the outdoor season to strengthen her 200.
She eased into the season with runs of 8.11 and 29.14 in the 55 and the 200 on March 14. Saturday she was faster at Milwaukee Lutheran’s Chris Wilson Invitational, taking the 55 in 7.69 and the 200 in 28.04.
“Typically what you see from girls is such a growth spurt from freshman to sophomore year,” Parish said. “That is when you see a significant drop in their times. If we can get that out of her this year, we’ll be ecstatic.”