Charged with overseeing Arizona's throwers, Craig Carter begins his sixth season as a member of the Arizona staff. Since arriving in Tucson for the 2006-07 season, he has changed the face of collegiate throwing on the national and conference scene.

Named the 2011 U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) National and West Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year, Carter's throwers dominated the scene in 2011. Julie Labonte swept the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles in the shot put while setting Canadian National Records in both throwing events. She also swept the conference titles in the shot put at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Indoor Championships and the Pac-10 Outdoor Championships. Labonte set a new school record in the indoor shot put with her toss of 57-9 at the MPSF Indoor Championships.

At the 2011 Pac-10 Outdoor Championships, Carter's female throwers went 1-2-3-5-6 in the shot put, 2-3-4-6 in the discus and 5-6 in the hammer. Freshman Baillie Gibson scored valuable points in all three throwing events. She went on to earn All-America honors outdoors in the discus and shot put to go along with indoor All-American accolades in the shot put.

On the men's side, in 2011, UA throwers earned two All-America certificates and seven All-Pac-10 honors. At the 2011 Pac-10 Outdoor Champions, the men finished 2-3-6 in the shot put with Bozidar Antunovic's runner-up finish and throw of 59-7.5 and 4-6-7 in the discus. Antunovic also won the MPSF Indoor Champion in the shot put with his throw of 58-5.25.

He is currently coaching the No. 1 female shot putter in the USA, Jill Camarena-Williams. Since working with Carter, she has won seven indoor and three outdoor national championships. In 2011, she set the American indoor record with a toss of 65-2.25. She went on to also set the American outdoor record with her throw of 66-2.5. She is currently ranked No. 3 in the world.

Camrena-Williams has competed on Team USA at the 2006 World Cup, the 2007 World Championships, the 2008 Olympic Games, the 2009 World Championships, the 2010 World Indoor Championships, the 2010 Continental Cup and will compete at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Korea.

He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Utah State before leaving to teach and coach at the high school level. He returned to Utah State two years later to be the head throwing coach. During that time, he coached several NCAA indoor and outdoor qualifiers, 25 Big West Champions, 53 All-Big West performers and was part of five men's conference championships and seven women's conference championships. Under his direction at Utah State, Olympian James Parker was an eight-time All-American in the hammer and weight throws and an All-American in the discus throw.

An accomplished competitor in his own right, Carter was a two-time NCAA All-American in the weight and hammer throws while competing for Utah State. He was also voted Big West Athlete of the Year and was an 11-time All-Big West performer. Carter was a recipient of the Utah State University Outstanding Athlete Robins Award. Carter was given the coveted Wayne Estes Award - the most prestigious award ever given by Utah State University - to a student/athlete exemplifying all-around excellence.

Upon graduation, Carter continued competing and qualified for the USA Championships for six-straight years (1992-1997). His highest finish was seventh in the hammer throw at the 1996 Olympic Trials before retiring and focusing on coaching.

He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Utah State University. Carter is married to Jo-Anne Bouwhuis and they have four children: Cameron, twins Mark and Makenzie and Ragan.