Clayton State University Athletics

A fixture in Clayton State men's track & field for near a decade, Eric Simmons accomplished things in his career that no other individual has in program history – for any sport.
 
A member of Laker track & field programs from 2003-08, Simmons is the only individual to qualify for seven NCAA Division II National Championships as a student-athlete. The only thing that stopped him from maxing out at eight was the simple fact that, when he first came to Clayton State, they did not yet have indoor track & field.
 
Rectified after his first season, Simmons would go on to qualify for the national championships every year that he could. Highlighting those trips was actually his very first appearance in 2004 as he competed with Rother Heard, Carlos Guyton and Brian Etelman in the 4x400-meter relay in Walnut, California.
 
That group would go on to finish sixth nationally with a time of 3:13.05 and earn the first All-American honors in men's track & field history.
 
A former program record holder in the 800-meters, it is one of the few records that Simmons set that has been broken in the decade since he last competed. In indoor competition he still holds marks in the 200- and 400-meters, notching times of 21.77 and 47.72, respectively, during the 2007 season. Along with that he was part of a 1,600-meter relay that posted a record time of 3:19.48 that same year.
 
An equal opportunity record breaker, Simmons still holds four marks on the outdoor side of the ledger. Those include the 400-meters (47.03 in 2008), 4x100-meter relay (40.81 in 2005), 4x200 (1:25.68 in 2005) and the 4x400 (3:11.24 in 2004).
 
In the midst of his final season, the native of nearby Carrollton, Georgia collected one of the highest honors of his career, that being named the 2008 Clayton State Laker Award Winner as the top overall student-athlete at the institution.