Rutgers-Camden Athletics

A three-sport letterman (track, golf and cross country) at Rutgers-Camden, Matt Collins was a two-time NCAA Division III All-American in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, a three-time participant in the NCAA Championships, a three-time winner of the Most Outstanding Male Track Athlete at the New Jersey Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships and a four-time Most Valuable Player for  the Rutgers-Camden track program.

Collins earned four varsity letters in track, three in golf and two in cross country at Rutgers-Camden. He was named the Rutgers-Camden Athlete of the Year at the Spring Athletic Banquet in 2001 and was the school’s Wilber W. Wilson Scholar-Athlete Award recipient at the 2002 athletic banquet.

Collins became the first track All-American at Rutgers-Camden when he finished seventh in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Decatur, Illinois (May 26, 2001). After competing in the 2002 NCAA Championships, where he finished seventh in his qualifying heat and didn’t reach the finals, Collins came back with a vengeance during his senior campaign in 2003. He earned another All-American honor in the 400 intermediate hurdles with a sixth-place finish at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York (May 24, 2003). He also broke his own school record with a 52.11 clocking in the final race of his collegiate career.

While winning three straight Most Outstanding Male Track Athlete honors at the NJAC Championships from 2001-03, Collins captured a pair of NJAC titles in the 400 intermediate hurdles (2002, 2003) and one in the 110 high hurdles (2001). He also was the conference runner-up in the 400 hurdles as a freshman and a sophomore (2000, 2001) and was second in the 110 high hurdles during his junior and senior seasons (2002, 2003). He finished fourth in the 110 high hurdles as a freshman. In 2001 he also was a member of the NJAC Honorable Mention (third place) 4x400 team and the program record-setting 4x100 relay team (44.80), which finished fourth.

Collins participated in a pair of ECAC Championships during his sophomore and junior seasons. He finished second in both the 400 intermediate hurdles and the 110 high hurdles in 2001. The next year he won the ECAC title in the 400 hurdles and finished third in the 110 hurdles.

When Collins completed his Rutgers-Camden track career, he held program records for the 120-yard high hurdles (15.4), the 440-yard intermediate hurdles (56.99), the 400-meter intermediate hurdles (52.11) and was a member of three record-setting relay teams in the sprint medley (3:41.585), the 4x100 (44.30) and the 4x400 (3:25.86). His marks in the hurdles and the sprint medley still stand.

In addition to running track, Collins played in 19 matches for the Rutgers-Camden golf program over five semesters (2000-01 and 2001-02 school years, both semesters, and the spring 2003 semester). He averaged 93.1 over his career, with his top score of 85 coming at Montclair State on April 15, 2002. He tied as the Raptors' team medalist at the Susquehanna Classic, Sept. 29, 2000, shooting an 86.

Collins also earned cross country letters in 2000 and 2001 for the Scarlet Raptors. He was the top runner on the team at the Allentown Invitational (Oct. 14, 2000) and the No. 2 runner on the Raptors in his other five races that season. During the 2001 campaign, he led the Scarlet Raptors at the Griffin Classic on Oct. 6, posing his personal-best 8K time of 31:11.