Baxter ahead of the pace

ANDY JACKSON/Taranaki Daily News

RISING YOUNG STAR: Matt Baxter gets through some stretching exercises in training this week as he prepares to represent New Zealand at the Oceania Youth Games in Sydney next month.

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New Plymouth teenager Matt Baxter is making big strides on the pathway to becoming a top middle-distance runner.

Baxter, 15, has carved almost 30 seconds off his personal best time for 3000m on the track this summer and heads to Sydney in a couple of weeks to represent New Zealand at the Oceania Youth Games.

The New Plymouth Boys' High School Year 11 student this week ran a Taranaki under-16 years record for 3000m of eight minutes 53.24 seconds, four seconds off his previous best set at Cooks Gardens in Wanganui last month. The time is the best for his age-group in New Zealand.

Baxter now is top on the Athletics New Zealand men's 16 years ranking list for the 3000m.

Tall for his age and lean, Baxter had a personal best of 9min22sec at the start of this season and almost every time he has stepped on to the track he has beaten his previous best time.

"I've improved quite a bit," Baxter said in a self-effacing manner this week.

Baxter's coach and Athletics Taranaki official Karen Gillum-Green said Baxter was showing the potential to go a long way in the running world.

"His time just keeps coming down, it's quite scary,"she said.

"It's just a case of nurturing him and not exposing him too much too early," adding that with a bright young star like Baxter, it was easy to get carried away and push them too hard.

"We want to see Matt at the Olympics long term, we don't want him just to be a flash in the pan and see him burnt out by the time he's 18."

The New Plymouth Girls' High School physical education teacher has been Baxter's coach for six months after Baxter approached her seeking help.

That was just before last year's national secondary schools championships at Timaru when he finished second in the junior 3000m event. He picked up silver in the 4km junior event at the national cross-country championships at Nelson.

"I was more than happy to do that [help out]," Gillum-Green said.

"What he's done is remarkable really. It's not me, you've got a really talented athlete.

"It's a hellava lot easier when you've got a athlete with his potential. So the bulk of it has come from him and his commitment and it's just a case of guiding him in the right direction and not giving him too much too soon."

Baxter was introduced to competitive running by his parents Rob and Karen, successful athletes themselves, as too are his sister Kate, 17, and older brother Glen, 18, a sprinter.

"I've always liked cross-country running from when I was at Vogeltown [primary school]," Baxter said.

"My parents took me along to one of the club athletics nights a couple of years ago and from then on I was into it."

Baxter is the only Taranaki athlete selected in the 25-strong New Zealand side for the Oceania Youth Games.

He will be following in the footprints of talented Hawera high jumper Regan Standing, who competed at last year's event on the Gold Coast, winning gold.

"I'm quite excited about it ," Baxter said, whose goal is to break 8min50sec at the games.

Baxter also competes in the 800m and 1500m events, but 3000m is the one he enjoys most and is his main focus.

Taranaki has more than its share of young talent coming through the track and field ranks. Baxter is just another to have emerged from the pack.

Baxter attributed the trend to the dedication of coaching and support available in the province at club and provincial level.

"I know I wouldn't have had the success I've had without the help I've had from Egmont Athletics, Athletics Taranaki and my sponsor Frontrunner."

It's not only sport that Baxter excels in. He is a genuine allrounder, achieving in the classroom, and last year he showed ability to entertain as winner of his school's junior speech making competition.

Baxter is a pleasure to coach, according to Gillum-Green. "If he has any issues he's not backward in coming forward, which is neat, it's nice to have someone with an inquisitive mind."

Next month will be busy. Baxter leaves for Sydney where he will spend five days from March 10.

The next weekend he plans to compete at the North Island secondary schools track and field championships in the capital before the national championships at QEII Park in Christchurch on the final weekend of the month.

Then comes a well-earned break before getting into some winter build-up for next season.

- © Fairfax NZ News