Baxter pulls off career high
New Zealand middle distance runner Matt Baxter well and truly exceeded his own expectations to put in a career best performance to help Northern Arizona University retain its National Collegiate Athletic Association cross country title.
The former New Plymouth Boys’ High School and national age-group champion finished second in the division one race in Louisville, Kentucky, the best result by a New Zealander at a NCAA cross country championship.
‘‘I knew I was capable of finishing low in the field but the second place finish still caught me slightly off guard,’’ he said. ‘‘It was just nice to have the race pan out how I hoped it would.’’
In his second year at Northern Arizona, Baxter has had a handful of top 10 finishes at various collegiate meets, his previous best finish being a seventh at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in the 10,000m in June.
Baxter and team-mate Tyler Day, who finished third, worked in tandem to help set up the victory for Northern Arizona with the pair split at the line by just four seconds.
‘‘We really tried to work together out there and had discussed each other’s race plans. We wanted to ensure that no moves made by one another would be unexpected because the team title was the ultimate goal.’’
The pair had led the race for most of the course before being overtaken by Syracuse’s Justyn Knight.
‘‘That home stretch felt a lot longer than it looks.
‘‘I knew that both Knight and Day were right behind me at that point and all I could do was put my head down and grind. It was an exciting experience and to come away with second, I couldn’t be more happy.’’
Baxter remains eligible to compete for Northern Arizona until December 2018 and plans to continue with the indoor, outdoor and cross country programmes.
The back-to-back division one cross country titles are just the second won by the university with Baxter saying the success was starting to spark a lot of interest across campus.
‘‘Since coming to the United States I have got a new understanding of what is possible for my running,’’ he added.
‘‘Seeing so many people hitting fast times makes me think why can I not do that? The depth and quality of the competition over here just breeds solid athletes.’’