Kris Curnyn-Hagedorn, a 1994 Jefferson-Scranton graduate and four-sport athlete, was inducted into the Iowa Association of Track Coaches Hall of Fame.
Curnyn-Hagedorn graduated from Iowa State University in 1999 after four successful years on the ISU track and field team. During that time she won Big 12 titles, set Big 12 records, and earned All American honors.
Curnyn Hagedorn first went out for track in seventh grade because her friends did. She knew track events wouldn’t be easy for her, so she decided to try field events, particularly throwing. She found out she loved the competition.
“Qualifying to state in the discus as a freshman and not placing didn’t cut it for Kris,” said Mike Jay, chair of the IATC Hall of Fame committee, in presenting the award. “She won as a sophomore, but that didn’t cut it either. She not only wanted to win, but also wanted to have the best throw across all classes. She did just that both her junior and senior years.”
She also won a Drake Relays gold medal in the discus and silver medal in the shot. As a member of the J-S track and field team she helped win four conference titles, four district titles, and a first-ever State team title for the Rams while winning 31 of 34 discus competitions along the way.
At Iowa State, she immediately became a very important part of the Cyclone’s success. She qualified to the NCAA championships seven times and earned All American honors in the weight throw and the hammer throw.
She was a Big 12 champion and Big 12 record holder in the discus, a four-time Iowa State Scholar Athlete award winner, and more than 20 years after graduating, she still on ISU’s Indoor All Time Top Ten lists in the shot put and weight throw indoors and the shot put, discus and hammer throw outdoors.
Curnyn-Hagedorn works at Principal in Des Moines as a product manager. She and her husband Josh, also a Big 12 champion and All American thrower at Iowa State, reside in Adel. Their son Joey is a freshman at ISU and their daughter Lauren is a high school freshman at ADM.
