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As Jaylen Simmons prepares for the Atlantic 10 Conference’s indoor track and field championships, the ����AV graduate student said he will not deviate from his normal routine.

“Just do my job,” he said. “Compete to the best of my ability.”

Still, Simmons admitted there’s a little more on the line this year.

Granted an extra year of athletic eligibility by the NCAA (something all student-athletes received because of the pandemic), Simmons set his sights on a goal that has been elusive despite his record-setting Patriot career: earning a spot in the NCAA championships.

It is one reason Simmons, from Waynesboro, Virginia, continued competing. But the extra year also allowed Mason’s 2021 Student-Athlete of the year to start on his master’s degree in at a university that, for him, ticks all the boxes. He completed his bachelor's in kinesiology at Mason in 2021.

His mom, Laura Simmons, BA Study of the Americas ’94, is also an alumna.

“It is a very diverse campus and very open, even to the community. And it cherishes what it does in the community,” Simmons said of Mason. “And the faculty looks out for their students, and works with them.”

“I’ve met so many great people while networking and meeting friends along the way,” he added. “With track, you travel, you meet different competitors from every level, even Olympians. I can’t explain how amazing this experience has been here at Mason.”

Simmons has been brilliant in competition and holds Mason records in the indoor shot put (19.33 meters, also a conference record), weight throw (20.3) and hammer throw (58.15). He is also ranked second all-time at Mason in the outdoor shot put and third in the discus.

“Jaylen is a thoughtful and mature athlete who has become a true partner in his training,” said Becky Hartley, who has coached Simmons throughout his Mason career. “He is a hard worker who has identified clear goals and concrete steps to follow to give him the best chance of achieving those goals.”

The Atlantic 10 indoor championships are at Mason, Feb. 26-27. But as with his coursework, Simmons has more than sports on his mind.

In August 2020, after the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, Simmons and several other Mason students and student-athletes staged “Push for Justice” to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

For every dollar pledged, the students pushed a strength and conditioning sled one meter across the field at George Mason Stadium. The final tally was $7,000 for Hinesight, a Fredericksburg, Virginia, nonprofit that addresses generational poverty through family empowerment, its website says.

Jaraad Hines, Hinesight’s executive director, called the donation “a tremendous help to our organization and our efforts in the community.”

“We want to continue to have uncomfortable conversations, so Black Lives Matter is not just a trend but a continued conversation,” Simmons said. “We also want to give back to the Black community and educate people along the way.”

For Simmons, education is the key, whether he is learning on the field or in the classroom on his way to, hopefully, working as an athletic trainer at the national level.

"The lessons learned as an athlete have contributed to Jaylen's success in the Athletic Training (MSAT) program including time management, confidence and a drive to succeed," said Amanda Caswell, director of Mason's Athletic Training Education Program. "The MSAT is a time-intensive health care preparation program, and Jaylen has managed his academic and athletic load with grace."

“I know sports aren’t forever,” Simmons said, “so I want to set up my future.”