PERSONAL BESTS
3,000m – 7:47.85 (2020)
5,000m – 13:27.61 (2020)
10,000m – 28:10.05 (2018)
Half Marathon – 1:02:38 (2021)
Marathon – 2:14:08 (2023)
Matt Baxter
MATT’S STORY
Born and raised in New Plymouth, New Zealand, Matt didn’t have plans to come to the United States for college until the end of his first year of University in New Zealand. After having success in cross country and track in New Zealand, he decided to begin contacting U.S. coaches. He hit it off with then Northern Arizona University coach Eric Heins and made the choice to come to Flagstaff. He came over and the rest is (NAU) history.
PRO STATS
Matt signed with HOKA NAZ Elite on January 1, 2019. His first race came in March at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships where we won his first senior national title–grabbing the win at 5,000 meters in 14:04.44. He then finished 46th at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. In the summer he was second at the Oceania Championships before running the second-fastest 1500 and 5,000 times of his career. The fall of 2019 saw him record a win in his professional half marathon debut at the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose Half Marathon (1:02:57). He kicked off 2020 in style with team records at 5,000 meters (13:27.61) and 3,000 meters (7:47.85), the former being a New Zealand National Indoor record as well. He was runner-up at the 2020 New Zealand Championships at 5,000 meters before a forced break from racing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned with a fifth-place finish at the St. George Showdown 5,000 in July. Matt returned to New Zealand in September to prepare for a summer track season in the southern hemisphere. He kicked things off with a National Title at the New Zealand Road Race Championships at 10k, before a lower leg injury shortened his campaign.
Matt arrived back in Flagstaff in March of 2021, got back to training, and opened his outdoor season with a 13:30.57/third-place finish over 5,000 meters at the USATF Golden Games. He ran three more 5,000 meter races but narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympic Games. He opened his fall campaign with another win at the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose Half Marathon in a personal best of 1:02:38 and finished it up with a 13:30.48 indoor 5,000 meter race at Boston University.
Matt began 2022 with a win a the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona 5k in 13:55–a New Zealand National Road 5k Record. Injuries prevented a spring/summer season but he kicked off the fall with a win at the HOKA Chicago Half Marathon. He then made his long awaited debut at the marathon distance when he finished 12th at the TCS NYC Marathon. After a much-deserved break, he returned to racing in February of 2023, captaining the New Zealand team at the World Cross Country Championships where he finished 48th. In the fall, he won the EQT Pittsburgh 10 miler to start off his marathon training segment. A month later he finished fourth at the California International Marathon in a new PB of 2:14:08. He kicked off 2024 with a win in his first ever trail race–the Taranaki Off Road Half Marathon. He was back on the roads in March where he finished eighth at the United Airlines NYC Half. A month later he dropped down to the 5k distance, finishing second at the Carlsbad 5000.
NCAA STATS
Matt will go down as a legend at NAU. In his three seasons of cross country in the NCAAA, he was 11th, 2nd and 15th individually with he and his teammates winning the overall team title each year. On the track his senior year he set PRs of 7:53.37 for 3,000 meters, 13:31.00 for 5,000 meters and 28:10.05 for 10,000 meters.