Matt Kraft is entering his 14th year with the Red Wolves in the 2021-22 season. Kraft has had a tremendous impact in developing a highly competitive throwing program from the ground up since joining A-State Track & Field in October 2007.
“It took a couple years initially, but we have been able to recruit some increasingly talented young men and women, often overlooked, who in the last few years have really elevated the performance of the throws at a national level and have put in a lot of hard work to create a culture of expectation and accountability, development and winning. I feel like we have done a good job of developing talent, where the throwers can expect to improve significantly throughout their careers as Red Wolves,” Kraft said.
During his time in Jonesboro, Kraft has produced 13 USTFCCCA/NCAA All-Americans, including First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention selections, 24 Sun Belt Conference champions, 32 NCAA Preliminary Championship qualifiers, 69 All-Sun Belt Conference performers and 10 A-State school-record holders. His athletes have also established seven Sun Belt Conference all-time and championship meet records and recorded 80 inclusions in A-State’s top-10 all-time performance lists.
Under Kraft's leadership, Eron Carter posted an incredible run to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2021. After qualifying 44th in the West, Carter finished ninth at the NCAA West Preliminary Round to advance to Eugene and earn Honorable Mention All-America honors. Carter and Aimar Palma Simo both earned All-Sun Belt honors indoors and outdoors.
On the women’s side, Evangelynn Harris swept the league in the shot put, winning both the indoor and outdoor titles, while Chastery Fuamatu won the weight throw indoors. Outdoors, Babette Vandeput capped her stellar career with her second Sun Belt title in the discus. Harris went on to qualify for the shot put and discus at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, while Vandeput competed in the discus and Grace Flowers competed in the hammer. Flowers also captured the school record indoors in the weight throw.
In 2020, three athletes earned Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference distinction during the indoor season: Eron Carter, Grace Flowers and Evangelynn Harris. The outdoor season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2019 season saw a pair of throwers reach the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Flowers, who competed in the shot put and discus, and Vandeput, who competed in the discus. Both, along with Harris, were key in helping the A-State women capture the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor title. Flowers and Vandeput placed first and second in the discus, while Harris earned silver in the shot put. Indoors, Carter and Harris posted Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference performances.
Kraft was promoted to Associate Head Coach following the 2018 season, in which he guided Calea Carr to a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the discus. It was the third-highest finish by a women’s athlete in program history. Carr’s performance also marked the third year in a row that A-State had a women’s thrower earn All-America honors.
On the men’s side, two of Kraft’s throwers advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Itamar Levi in the shot put and Cristian Ravar Ladislau in the hammer. Ravar Ladislau earned his second straight All-America honor and ended his season as the school-record holder in the event. Levi captured the program record in the discus and climbed to second in the shot put. He also advanced to the NCAA Indoor Championships in the shot put.
The 2017 season was the most successful for Red Wolves throwers to date. After a breakout 2016 season, Erin Farmer elevated her career with even better performances. During the indoor season, Farmer raised her school record in the weight throw with a personal-best mark of 20.00 meters (65-7.5). She also surpassed her previous school record of 15.93 meters (52-3.25) in the shot put with a mark of 17.80 meters (58-4.75), which at the time was the 22nd-best performance by a woman in NCAA indoor history.
Farmer won her second Sun Belt Conference indoor shot put title and went on to earn Second Team All-America honors by finishing 14th at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas. During the outdoor season, Farmer extended her own school record with a personal-best mark of 18.11 meters (59-5) and won her third consecutive Sun Belt Conference outdoor shot put title.
Two weeks later at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Austin, Farmer threw 18.12 meters (59-5.5) to extend her school and personal record by one centimeter. It was the farthest mark recorded at either the East or West preliminary meet. At the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Farmer advanced to the final in the women’s shot put and finished ninth overall to earn Second Team All-America honors.
Farmer capped her career as a Red Wolf by earning a sixth-place medal at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Sacramento. She also accepted an invitation from USATF to join the Residence Program at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center for 2017-18, where she trained as an emerging elite athlete for development at the national and international levels.
Cristian Ravar Ladislau had an impressive junior campaign, winning his first Sun Belt Conference title by capturing the indoor weight throw crown with a mark of 19.32 meters (63-4.75). His personal-best throw of 20.05 meters (65-9.5) ranked third all-time at A-State.
Ravar Ladislau wasted no time outdoors, breaking a 12-year-old school record in the hammer with a throw of 66.46 meters (218-0) at the first meet of the season. He won his first hammer title at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships in Arlington, Texas, with a series that included two personal bests and three throws that would have won the competition. His winning mark and new school record was 67.33 meters (220-11).
Ravar Ladislau finished fifth overall at the NCAA West Preliminary Round with a personal-best mark of 67.46 meters (221-4) to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. He earned Second Team All-America honors with a 16th-place finish and ended his junior year representing Spain at the European U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Calea Carr was A-State’s third All-America thrower of 2017. She won her first Sun Belt Conference title by taking gold in the discus at the outdoor championships with a personal-best throw of 53.54 meters (175-8). Carr extended her personal-best distance with a mark of 53.57 meters (175-9) at the NCAA West Preliminary Round. Her 11th-place finish earned her a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships and moved her to second all-time in the discus at A-State. Carr finished 19th at the national championships to earn Honorable Mention All-America honors.
Itamar Levi had a strong indoor season, finishing as the shot put runner-up at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships. His best throw of the indoor season, 18.22 meters (60-0.25), ranked second all-time at A-State. Levi redshirted the outdoor season for A-State but competed for his native Israel during the summer, winning the Israeli national championships in both the shot put and discus and the World Jewish Games title in the shot put.
2016 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Erin Farmer: Finished as the Sun Belt Conference runner-up in the weight throw with a school-record mark of 19.34 meters (63-5.5). Farmer earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors in the indoor shot put with a third-place finish and school-record mark of 15.93 meters (52-3.25). After a breakout throw of 17.23 meters (56-6.5) at the Baylor Invitational, Farmer won the Sun Belt Conference outdoor shot put title with a mark of 17.80 meters (58-4.75), breaking the conference championship and A-State records and surpassing the Olympic automatic qualifying standard. She finished fourth at the NCAA West Preliminary Round and 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to earn Second Team All-America honors. Farmer was selected for the USATF national team and won a bronze medal in the shot put at the NACAC U23 Championships before competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
- Itamar Levi: Redshirted the indoor season after transferring from Oklahoma State in fall 2015. Levi finished as the Sun Belt Conference runner-up in the outdoor shot put with a mark of 18.59 meters (61-0), which ranked second all-time at A-State. After not competing in the discus for more than two years, he broke the 25-year-old A-State record with a throw of 57.28 meters (187-11). Levi finished second in the discus at the conference meet and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in both events, placing 16th in the shot put and 20th in the discus. He was also the Israeli national champion in the shot put.
- Cristian Ravar Ladislau: Finished as the Sun Belt Conference runner-up in the hammer throw during his sophomore season with a mark of 63.26 meters (207-6), which ranked second in A-State history. He also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the hammer throw.
- Calea Carr: Earned her second consecutive All-Sun Belt Conference honor in the discus with a third-place finish and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
2015 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Richie Chavez: Won the Sun Belt Conference indoor shot put title by breaking the championship meet record with a throw of 19.61 meters (64-4). Chavez also finished third in the indoor weight throw. He placed 13th at the NCAA Indoor Championships to earn Second Team All-America honors. Outdoors, Chavez won his third consecutive conference title in the shot put and placed third in the discus. He recorded the eighth-best performance at the NCAA West Preliminary Round and closed his career with another Second Team All-America performance in the shot put at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
- Erin Farmer: Earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors with a third-place finish in the indoor weight throw and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the shot put, placing 19th.
- Calea Carr: Placed third in the discus as a freshman at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships with a throw of 52.36 meters (171-9) and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
2014 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Richie Chavez: Distinguished himself as the top shot putter in Arkansas State history with an indoor throw of 20.06 meters (65-9.75), surpassing a 15-year-old school record by more than five feet. Chavez won the Sun Belt Conference indoor shot put championship and finished sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a throw of 19.47 meters (63-10.5) to earn First Team All-America honors. He redshirted the outdoor season, but his indoor performance ranked 19th in the United States and qualified him for the USATF Outdoor Championships.
- Christopher Nicasio: Placed third in the indoor weight throw and finished as the outdoor conference runner-up in the hammer throw. Nicasio finished seventh in the hammer at the NCAA West Preliminary Round with a mark of 62.58 meters (205-4) to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He placed 20th in Eugene to earn Honorable Mention All-America honors.
2013 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Julia Agawu: Won the Sun Belt Conference indoor weight throw title and finished as the runner-up in the indoor shot put. She set a school record in the weight throw with a mark of 19.31 meters (63-4.25). Agawu won her third consecutive conference discus title and established conference championship and school records with a mark of 54.59 meters (179-1). She also finished as the conference runner-up in the hammer throw, established A-State records in the outdoor shot put and hammer throw, and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the discus and hammer.
- Christopher Nicasio: Won the Sun Belt Conference indoor weight throw championship and his second consecutive outdoor hammer throw title. He established a conference championship meet record in the hammer with a mark of 62.45 meters (204-11) and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
- Richie Chavez: Earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors in the discus and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the shot put.
2012 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Christopher Nicasio: Won the Sun Belt Conference hammer throw championship and established a conference championship meet record with a mark of 61.84 meters (202-11). He also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the hammer throw.
- Richie Chavez: Finished as the Sun Belt Conference runner-up in the outdoor shot put and set the A-State outdoor shot put record with a mark of 18.43 meters (60-5.75). He also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
- Julia Agawu: Placed third in the indoor weight throw and established an A-State record with a mark of 18.53 meters (60-9.5). She won her second consecutive Sun Belt Conference discus title, finished third in the hammer throw and set the A-State hammer record with a mark of 56.53 meters (185-5). Agawu also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the discus.
BEFORE A-STATE
Kraft served as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of New Mexico and was responsible for the throwing program prior to his arrival at A-State. During his five years with New Mexico from 2003-07, the Lobos throwers won two Mountain West Conference titles and produced nine all-conference performances. His throwers also qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships 13 times, with one automatic qualifier to the national championships. Kraft’s student-athletes established five University of New Mexico school records.
“It has been my goal for the throws at A-State to be a dynamic program that is a dominant force in the Sun Belt Conference and can help the team win conference championships,” Kraft said. “I also consider it a vital part of my duty as a coach to be a mentor to the young men and women I work with and help them develop not just athletically, but also personally. We will pursue excellence in all that we do, and our athletes are confident that in the way we train, they will definitely develop and improve.”
Kraft’s experience in the throwing events began when he competed at Colorado State University under nationally respected throwing coach Brian Bedard in the early 1990s. He has also had the opportunity to work directly with legendary throwing coach Art Venegas of UCLA and the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center.
Prior to his time at New Mexico, Kraft spent six years in the United States Army. As a noncommissioned officer, he was responsible for the training, health, welfare, development and preparedness of the soldiers under his direction. He also served as a flight instructor for enlisted helicopter crewmember training.
Kraft is a 2003 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a 4.02 grade-point average. In 2007, Kraft earned a Master of Science in physical education with a specialization in sports administration from New Mexico, graduating with a cumulative 4.05 GPA.
Kraft is a certified Strength and Conditioning Coach through the USTFCCCA.
Kraft and his wife, Tanjia, who is from Germany, have two daughters, Cailin and Elise, and a son, Logan.
