Matt Collins (2000) is the most decorated athlete in Westfield State men’s track and field history, capped by a second place finish in the 1999 NCAA Division III national championships.

A three-time national qualifier in the 400 intermediate hurdles, Collins was a favorite to win the 2000 national championship. He made the final round of eight but was disqualified for a controversial false start when he moved in the starting blocks after a camera shutter clicked.

Collins also excelled on the regional and conference levels. He earned All-New England honors 14 times, including five New England championships. He was the 400 hurdles All-New England champion in 1998 and 1999 while competing against Division I scholarship athletes and a three-time New England Division III champion.

He was a 16-time New England Alliance champion and a 10-time Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) champion, including all four years in both the 400 hurdles and 400 meter dash.

“He was the most dedicated athlete I’ve coached in 30 years,” said Westfield State Hall of Fame track and field coach Jerry Gravel. “He was a great big meet competitor. Everything you could want, he had it all.”

Interestingly, Collins did not begin participating in track and field until his junior year at Acton-Boxboro High School. But the Acton, Mass., native made an immediate impact as he set numerous high school records in both running and jumping events and won the All-State 300 meters hurdles championship his senior year. 

While competing at Westfield, Collins set six New England Alliance meet records and the MASCAC meet record in the 400 hurdles. He was a member of Westfield’s Penn Relays champion 4 x 400 relay team in 1999 and received the Westfield athletics department’s Contributions to Athletics Award in 2000.

Following his graduation, Collins joined the Greater Boston Track Club and was a member of its victorious Olympic development shuttle hurdle at the Penn Relays. 

Collins was a high school mathematics teacher and track and field coach for nine years in Eastern Massachusetts, including seven years at Weymouth High School. He was the Weymouth head track and field coach for five years. 

Collins and his wife, Hillary, moved to her home state of Oregon in 2009. He is employed full-time as a high school mathematics teacher and coaches track and field at Central Oregon Community College.