Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | 6 August 1994 |
Home town | New Plymouth |
Sport | |
Country | New Zealand |
Sport | Long-distance running |
College team | Northern Arizona University |
Club | Hoka Northern Arizona Elite |
Matt Baxter (born 6 August 1994) [1] is a New Zealand long-distance runner.
In 2019, he competed in the senior men's race at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark. [1] [2] He finished in 46th place. [2]
Baxter attended New Plymouth Boys' High School in New Plymouth, New Zealand where he was born and raised. At the time of graduation he held the New Zealand High School senior track record in the 3000m. [3]
Baxter ran for Northern Arizona University from 2016 to 2018. He chose NAU because of the coaching staff and the opportunity to train at altitude. Prior to running for NAU, Baxter studied at Auckland University of Technology where he competed under the guidance of Kerry Rodger. Baxter studied criminology at both institutions. [4] [5]
In his first season running for the NAU cross country team Baxter finished 2nd at the Big Sky XC Championships and 11th overall at the NCAA XC Championships, helping lead NAU to the first national championship in school history.
The following fall Baxter once again finished 2nd at the Big Sky XC Championships. At the NCAA XC Championships he finished 2nd overall to Syracuse runner Justyn Knight by less than half a second. The Lumberjacks also finished as national champions for the second straight year. [3]
Baxter started running for the Hoka training group Northern Arizona Elite in 2019. [6]
Baxters first book, Hurt Me If You Can: The Tales of a High School Runner, come out in 2019. The self-published book is an autobiographical account of Baxter figuring out running in his highs school years.
In 2023, Baxter co-authored Running Up the Mountain with former NAU XC coach Ron Mann. The book was published by Flagstaff-based Soulstice Publishing. It chronicles the start of the Lumberjacks men's cross country dynasty as well as the team's connection to the Flagstaff community. [7]
All results taken from Word Athletics profile [1]
Surface | Event | Time | Date | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
Short Track | 3000m | 7:47.85 | February 15, 2020 | Boston University |
5000m | 13:27.61 | January 24, 2020 | Boston University | |
Outdoor Track | 10,000m | 28:10.05 | May 3, 2018 | Palo Alto, CA |
Road | Marathon | 2:17:15 | November 6, 2022 | New York, NY |
Andrew Lemoncello is a Scottish long distance runner who competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase and the marathon events. He won a team junior gold medal at the 2001 European Cross Country Championships and won a scholarship to attend Florida State University in 2004. At Florida State he was second in the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the steeplechase.
The NAU Lumberjacks are the varsity athletic teams representing Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona in intercollegiate athletics. The school's mascot was adopted in 1946. The Lumberjacks compete in NCAA Division I and are full members of the Big Sky Conference with the exception of the women's swimming and diving team which is an affiliate member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
Chris Derrick is an American distance runner who won 3 consecutive US Cross Country Championships in 2013–15. He attended Stanford University, where he earned 14 All-American honors and holds an American junior record in the 5000 meters.
Juan Diego Estrada Constantino is a Mexican-American long-distance runner. He competed in the 10,000 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London for Mexico. After some confusion about his eligibility after becoming a U.S. citizen, he was excluded from the U.S. Olympic trials even though it was later known that Estrada was misinformed on his eligibility possibilities. Estrada resides in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Abbey Cooper is an American middle- and long-distance runner. Cooper is the most decorated Ivy League athlete in track and field and cross country running. She is the first Dartmouth female distance runner to win an NCAA title. She won a total of seven NCAA titles in her career. In 2014, she became a professional runner for New Balance.
Kemoy Campbell is a retired Jamaican distance runner who competed in various events from 800 meters to 5000 metres. Since competing in the American collegiate circuit, he has developed a reputation for having remarkable range, having competitive experience from the 800 meters to the 10K. Campbell holds multiple Jamaican records in athletics.
Johanna Nilsson was a Swedish middle- and long-distance runner. She was a bronze medallist at the European Cross Country Championships in 2005. Despite an early retirement in 2006 she had a highly successful collegiate career in the United States, winning three NCAA indoor titles and winning the NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship in 2005. Her sister, Ida Nilsson, is also an international distance runner.
Stephanie Bruce is an American long-distance runner.
Futsum Zienasellassie is an Eritrean-American long distance runner. After running for North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, Zienasellassie ran for Northern Arizona University. He has competed professionally for the Hoka One One Northern Arizona Elite team since 2017.
Alice Wright is an English-born long-distance runner.
Erin Clark is an American-born distance runner.
Scott Fauble is an American long distance runner. His best marathon time is 2:08:52. He is the co-author of Inside a Marathon: An All-Access Pass to a Top-10 Finish at NYC. Fauble explains how testing blood levels in Boulder has benefited his training in 2022.
Nell Rojas is an American triathlete, long-distance runner, coach, business owner, and winner of the 2019 Grandma's Marathon. She also competed at the 2020 USA Olympic Marathon Trials and finished in 9th place.
Rory Linkletter is a Canadian long-distance runner. He represented Canada in the marathon at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. He holds a personal best of 2:08:01 set at the 2024 Seville Marathon making him the second fastest Canadian of all time over the distance. He formerly held the Canadian half marathon record from January to October 2022 set at the 2022 Houston Half Marathon.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks cross country are the cross country teams of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Lumberjacks compete in the Big Sky Conference at the Division I level in the NCAA and are head coached by Mike Smith.
Luis Miguel Grijalva is a Guatemalan long-distance runner. Born in Guatemala, he attended Armijo High School in Fairfield, California, where he was a state champion in cross country and track. He competed for Northern Arizona University from 2017 to 2021, securing multiple All-American finishes in the NCAA. In 2021, Grijalva began competing professionally, sponsored by Hoka One One. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, he finished 12th in the 5000m. He also finished fourth in the 5000m at both the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Nicolas Young is an American long-distance runner. He is a two-time NCAA champion having won both the 3000 m and 5000 m at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships while competing for Northern Arizona University. He also holds the collegiate records in the 5000 m (12:57.14) and 10,000 m (26:52.72), both set in 2024. He came out as gay in 2022.
George Beamish is a New Zealand middle- and long-distance runner, who won the 1500 metres at the 2024 World Indoor Championships. He holds the Oceania area record in the 3000 m steeplechase of 8:09.64 and the New Zealand record in the indoor 3000 m and 5000 m. He finished fifth at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the 3000 m steeplechase.
Abdihamid "Abdi" Nur is a Somali-born American long-distance runner. He competed collegiately for Northern Arizona University from 2019 to 2022, where he won multiple national titles in the NCAA and set a collegiate record in the outdoor 5000 m. After graduating, Nur signed with Nike and has since won 2 national titles and represented the US at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships.
Mike Smith is an American coach who has been the director of cross country and track and field at Northern Arizona University since 2017. As the head coach of the men's and women's programs, he has led the men's teams to five NCAA Division I men's cross country championships titles.