IUP Athletic Hall of Fame
Krista Matsko-Moran capped an outstanding track career at IUP in 2014 by earning All-America honors at the NCAA Division II meet in Allendale, Mich.
She finished seventh in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:00.06, only 0.73 seconds out of third place.
Matsko-Moran competed for four years at IUP as a member of both the indoor and outdoor track teams, piling up points for the Crimson Hawks. By her senior season, she was regarded as one of the most formidable hurdlers in the nation, a dependable performer for coach Michelle Burgher-Duncan.
Matsko-Moran was named the PSAC Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2014 after a sterling performance at the conference meet in Shippensburg. She won the 400 hurdles in a personal-best 1:00.02—incredibly, her first career collegiate victory in the event—took runner-up honors in the 100 hurdles with a personal-best time of 14.19 and joined Lizzy Cunningham, Christina Roberson and Marina Wareham on a 4x400 relay team that placed fourth in a school-record 3:52.88.
The year before at the Raleigh (N.C.) Relays, Matsko-Moran joined Roberson, Damirah Graham and Brooke McDaniel to run a school-record time of 1:43.51 in the 4x200 relay. Both relay times still stand as the second-fastest in school history.
In addition to her PSAC honor, Matsko-Moran was a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Atlantic Region hurdler at both 100 and 400 meters and earned USTFCCCA Outdoor Academic All-America honors.
Matsko-Moran was a versatile performer during her IUP career, competing in the 60-meter hurdles, 400, 4x200 relay and pentathlon indoors, and in the 100 and 400 hurdles, 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays, and the heptathlon outdoors.
She graduated from IUP in 2014 with a BS degree in kinesiology and earned a master’s in sport science from IUP in 2015. Matsko-Moran works as a strength and conditioning specialist with AHN in Pittsburgh and serves as an assistant track and field coach at Mount Lebanon High School in suburban Pittsburgh.
She and her husband, Thomas Moran, reside in Mount Lebanon with their seven-month-old daughter, Isla.
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Personal Reflection
It is an absolute honor to be inducted into IUP’s Hall of Fame. IUP felt like home to me from the first moment I stepped on campus, and it proved to be the best choice I could have made. IUP provided me with the environment and expertise to thrive, and it was here that I truly developed the skills and passion that would guide me forward.
IUP not only prepared me to excel as a student-athlete but also equipped me for my current roles as a strength and conditioning coach and a track and field coach, specializing in the hurdle events. The lessons learned, both on the track and in the classroom, were invaluable.
I want to extend my deepest gratitude to my coaches, Michelle Burgher-Duncan and Kurt Duncan. Their guidance, mentorship and belief in me were instrumental to both my success as an athlete and my development post-graduation. I also wish to thank my parents, whose unwavering support has been a constant source of strength throughout my life.
This recognition is not just a personal highlight but a testament to the incredible support system and education I received at IUP.
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