The 2025-26 season begins Matt Vining's 17th season of coaching at Arkansas State. His coaching duties include overseeing those A-State athletes who compete in the pole vault, high jump and multi events. Vining holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and is a U.S. Track and Field (USATF) certified Level 1 coach. Over his tenure, Vining has coached 48 Sun Belt Conference Individual Champions, 112 All-Sun Belt Medalists, 42 NCAA West Preliminary Qualifiers and 15 All-Americans.
Vining has been instrumental in a stellar A-State multi events group that holds all four Sun Belt Season records including the Indoor Pentathlon (4356pts, Camryn Newton-Smith 2023) Indoor Heptathlon (5885pts, Colby Eddowes 2024) Outdoor Heptathlon (5887pts, Newton Smith 2023) and Decathlon (7725pts, Eddowes 2025). Newton smith is one of four different female Conference Champions in the multi-events totaling seven titles indoor and outdoor. Eddowes is one of three different champions totaling ten wins at conference championships on the men’s side. Other multi event records include Ethan Turpen in the SBC Decathlon meet record in 2014 (7294 points) and Will Oliver in the SBC Heptathlon overall record (5423 points) that same season.
Pole vault has a special place in Arkansas StateTrack and Field history. Coach Vining has continued to add to that history since taking over those duties in 2011. All-American pole vaulters include Stephanie Foreman (2011, 2013), Ethan Sandusky (2015), Michael Carr (2019), Bradley Jelmert (2023-25) and Carly Pujol (2025). All four program records are currently held by Vining coaches athletes including Women’s indoor (14’ Foreman 2013) Women’s Outdoor (14’6” Pujol 2025) Men’s Indoor (18’9.25”Jelmert 2023) and Men’s Outdoor (18’8.75” Carr 2019). Sun Belt titles under Vining total 13 on the women’s side and eight on the men’s side.
Vining's high jumpers have had great success in recent years. Kashef Daniel won a Sun Belt title in 2014 while also qualifying for two straight NCAA prelims in the event. Daniel set the Trinidad and Tobago national high jump record in 2014 both indoors and outdoors (7-1) under Vining. Darragh May had the highest jump in the Sun Belt both indoor and outdoor in 2015 and jumped to a personal best 1.80m in 2017. She qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary round three times in her career. Tiaan Steenkamp joined the list of NCAA West Preliminary Qualifiers making the trip in 2016 & 2017, while earning all-American honors in 2017 with a personal best of 7-2. In 2021, Hensley and Frank Massey made the regional field.
In addition to coaching at A-State, Vining ran track and field for Arkansas State from 2003-08. He competed in the decathlon and heptathlon as well as being an All-Sun Belt Conference performer in the pole vault, javelin and high jump. He was a two-time indoor and outdoor champion in the multi events. He also graduated with the school and Sun Belt conference overall records in the indoor heptathlon (5193 pts).
A third generation coach, Vining has worked with both high school and college-aged athletes.
A graduate and Hall of Fame member of Lake Hamilton High School in Hot Springs, Ark., Vining was the 2003 Arkansas decathlon state champion. He has had the privilege of working under several distinguished coaches such as Karl Koonce (Lake Hamilton High School), Lon Badeaux (former A-State head coach and current Louisiana-Lafayette head coach), Guy Kochel (legendary Arkansas State coach) and Earl Bell (world renowned pole vault coach and former world record holder).
Coach Vining is married to Kelli McKesson Vining, and the couple has two children, Levi and Lexi.
| Coaching Record |
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College
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Coaching Experience
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| Arkansas State, Assistant Coach |
2009-present |
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