Simons joins the ZAP team for his first practice on Thursday. (Photo via @ZAPFitness)

Minnesota stand-out John Simons has joined Reebok's ZAP Fitness training group in North Carolina. 

In 2014, Simons set a personal best of 3:40.56 for 1,500-meters at the NCAA West Regional Championship. He went on to finish 7th in the 1,500-meter final at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in June. 

At the 2014 Payton Jordan Invitational, Simons ran the 5,000-meter run in a personal best of 13:39.11. 

Flotrack has learned North Carolina State graduate Andrew Colley is expected to join the group next week. This summer, the All-American set personal bests in the 1,500-meter (3:41.20), one mile (3:58.17), 5,000-meter (13:40.19) and 10,000-meter (29:11.08) distances.

Colley was the second American to cross the finish line at the NCAA Cross-Country Championships and finished 7th overall. 

Simons transferred to Minnesota after beginning his collegiate career at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He joins a training group that already includes fellow Wisconsin-native Joe Stilin. 

Chris Chavez is a writer at Flotrack and marathon analyst for ESPN. He once beat Joey Fatone of NSYNC in a half-marathon. Feel free to to reach him with any questions, comments, or feedback on Twitter or by email.