Matt Baxter

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| hometown = New Plymouth

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| country = New Zealand

| sport = Long-distance running

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| collegeteam = Northern Arizona University

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| club = Hoka Northern Arizona Elite

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File:Matt Baxter 29 NYM 2022 jeh.jpg

Matt Baxter (born 6 August 1994){{Cite web|title=Matt Baxter|url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/new-zealand/matt-baxter-14413043|access-date=10 July 2020|website=World Athletics}} 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.{{Cite web|title=Senior men's race|url=https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competitiondocuments/pdf/6265/AT-XSE-M-f----.RS6.pdf?v=-1530503012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706223921/https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competitiondocuments/pdf/6265/AT-XSE-M-f----.RS6.pdf?v=-1530503012|archive-date=6 July 2020|access-date=27 June 2020|website=2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships}} He finished in 46th place.

Early career

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.{{Cite web |title=Matt Baxter |url=https://nauathletics.com/sports/cross-country/roster/matt-baxter/3941 |access-date=December 20, 2023 |website=NAU Athletics}}

Collegiate career

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.{{Cite web |date=January 17, 2018 |title=Baxter's NCAA star on rise |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/baxters-ncaa-star-on-rise/OLGF7DT2XRP2XBVYP4VOOH4W4Y/ |access-date=December 20, 2023 |website=NZ Herald}}{{Cite web |date=November 27, 2023 |title=Humans of NAU: Matt Baxter |url=https://news.nau.edu/humans-matt-baxter/ |access-date=December 20, 2023 |website=The NAU Review}}

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.

Professional career

Baxter started running for the Hoka training group Northern Arizona Elite in 2019.{{Cite web |title=Get to Know Matt Baxter! |url=https://nazelite.com/get-to-know-matt-baxter/ |access-date=December 20, 2023 |website=Hoka Northern Arizona elite}}

Authorship

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.{{Cite web |last=Hartmann |first=Mike |date=October 18, 2023 |title=NAZ Elite This Week: Baxter completes marathon of writing 'Running Up the Mountain' |url=https://azdailysun.com/news/local/naz-elite-this-week-baxter-completes-marathon-of-writing-running-up-the-mountain/article_90f9b5a6-6dd4-11ee-8e4a-17c5aba224a9.html |access-date=December 20, 2023 |website=Arizona Daily Sun}}