Kristal Kostiew is a female hammer throw

Hammer throw

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...

er from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Her personal best throw is 69.26 metres, achieved in June 2007 in Provo. Since 2005 she has placed in the top 9 at the USA indoor and USA outdoor national championships.

She attended the University of Vermont

University of Vermont

The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...

 from 2000-2004, and graduated with a degree in education. While attending UVM as a full scholarship athlete she competed in track and field. She holds school records in the hammer, weight throw, indoor shot put and outdoor shot put. She was named team MVP in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, named "Woman Athlete of the Year" in 2004 and received the "Edward Donnally" award for her athletic achievements in 2004. She was named a 2004 Academic All American.

Prior to college Kostiew attended Coe-Brown Northwood Academy in Northwood, New Hampshire

Northwood, New Hampshire

Northwood is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,241 at the 2010 census.-History:First settled in 1763, Northwood was incorporated on February 6, 1773 by Colonial Governor John Wentworth, when a large tract of land called "North Woods" was separated from...

 from 1996-2000, graduated in the top 10 in her class with a 96.5 GPA

Grade (education)

Grades are standardized measurements of varying levels of comprehension within a subject area. Grades can be assigned in letters , as a range , as a number out of a possible total , as descriptors , in percentages, or, as is common in some post-secondary...

. She participated on five state championship teams, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 in 1996 and 2000 as well as track in 1998, 1999 and 2000. She was an individual State champion in the discus throw

Discus throw

The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...

 in 1998 and 1999 as well as javelin

Javelin throw

The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...

 in 1999 and 2000. She was named All State for volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

, basketball and track in 2000 and was voted "player of the year" in 2000 for track and basketball.

Currently she serves as the Dean of Students at the MSA Academy in [ Iberville Parish, Louisiana]], where she started the first MSA soccer team.

Achievements

Representing the
2007	Pan American Games Athletics at the 2007 Pan American Games The athletics competition at the 2007 Pan American Games was held at the Flamengo Park and Estádio Olímpico João Havelange in Rio de Janeiro between 22 July and 29 July 2007...	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	4th	66.47 m
	World Championships 2007 World Championships in Athletics - Women's hammer throw The Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 28, 2007 and August 30, 2007 at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan...	Osaka, Japan	26th	64.63 m