Hall of Honor
Krista finished her career as one of the most decorated student-athletes in Highlander history.
She came to Houghton in 1995 and quickly became a key member of the cross country program. The women’s team advanced to the NAIA National meet, where she finished as the number 3 runner for the Highlanders.
It was a during her sophomore year, where Krista began to perform at an elite level. With a 9th place finish at NAIA Nationals, she became the first NAIA All-American runner in Houghton history. She would go on to earn another All-America honor in cross country during her senior campaign. On the track, she was equally impressive, earning All-America honors in the indoor 3000 meters as a sophomore, junior and senior. Outdoors, she added another All-America honor in the 3000 meters as a senior and closed her career with an All-America performance in the 10,000 meters, an event she had run just once before.
All in all, Krista competed at 12 NAIA National Championships, earning seven NAIA All-America awards and six NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors. She was also recognized as the conference winner of the A.O. Duer Award following her junior campaign and was the recipient of the annual Velma H.M. Hewson Outstanding Athlete Award as a Houghton senior, an award we gave out earlier tonight.
While her career was truly marked with memorable athletic accomplishments, it is her gentle spirit, selfless attitude and Christ-centered life that stand out to those who interacted with her. Former head coach Bob Smalley recalls that Krista made it a point to encourage her teammates with personal notes slid under their doors before big races. And Krista’s response to her first All-American race in indoor track was to say: “It was all God. Do we have to tell anybody about this?”
At one indoor nationals Krista was well entrenched in 5th place when she, uncharacteristically, slipped to 7th place. Apparently, she had made friends with the other runners and wanted them to have the joy of becoming All-Americans. Her struggle was that she liked to race, but did not like others to feel the hurt of losing.
Coach Smalley went on to say that “in over 30-plus years of coaching Krista stands out as one of the most gifted athletes that I have had the honor to coach. Krista was a hero to my kids, a fierce competitor and a friend to those she raced against. In all respects Krista represented her Lord and Houghton College athletics extremely well.
Since leaving Houghton, Krista has worked as an elementary teacher, but now works harder than ever as a stay-at-home mom.
