University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2025
- Class:
- 2008
Known for her athletic prowess in the jumping pits, Crystal Hanson left her mark as a trailblazer for Panther high jumpers.
A Roland, Iowa native, Hanson first came to UNI in 2003 originally as an outside hitter with the Panther volleyball team before joining the track and field program ahead of the 2004-05 season under UNI Hall of Fame head coach Chris Bucknam.
In just her second season with the Panthers, Hanson earned her first of six career All-Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Team selections during the 2005 outdoor campaign. She would break through with a record setting junior season in 2006-07, becoming Northern Iowa's first-ever MVC champion in the women's high jump with a title at the 2007 indoor conference meet. Her career-best mark of five feet, eight and three-quarter inches in both indoor and outdoor competition broke a 25-year old indoor program record, while her mark also registered as second-highest height cleared in outdoor team history.Â
Hanson would win the 2007 outdoor conference high jump title, and proceed to sweep both the indoor and outdoor MVC titles again in 2008, becoming only the second athlete in conference history to sweep both the indoor and outdoor crowns in the event in consecutive years. Her performance in the jumping pit was also a key factor in helping UNI win both the 2008 MVC indoor and outdoor women's team championships.
As a track and field athlete in high school at Roland-Story, Hanson was a two-time state champion in the high jump, while also winning the 100-meter hurdles. She also captured a high school girls' high jumping title at the Drake Relays.
Hanson, a 2008 Panther graduate with a degree in health promotion with a minor in coaching, currently resides in Adel, Iowa with her husband, Brian, and their two daughters, Kennah and Blakely.
