Kristal Dawn Uzelac was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on June 27, 1986, the third of four children to Donnie and Brenda Uzelac. Brenda's family owned a gym (Turners) where two year old Kristal began playing around. Her love and talent for gymnastics quickly became evident. At four years old she was throwing full twists on floor, on her 11th birthday she won the Level 10 National title, and at age 12 competed in her first international competition. Kristal spent most of her elite career under the coaching of Bill and Donna Strauss at the Parkette National Training Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She had visited the gym during summer camps and decided to move there to further her career.

Bill Strauss later told International Gymnast, "She was a little thing and just working beam like you wouldn't believe. The combination of a person who's very self motivated and really wants to please is very rare."

Kristal competed in her first US National Championships in 1998, winning bronze in the all-around behind Morgan White (2000 Olympic team member) and Ashley Postell (2002 World Beam Champion). Kristal's total score on the second night was the highest of the competition! A few months later, Kristal also earned two silver medals in the event finals of Australia's Canberra Cup. In 1999, Kristal arrived at US Championships with more experience and stronger routines. Not only did she win the title of US Junior National Champion, but she also won three out of the four event titles. Kristal continued to dominate the junior scene in 2000 and could have arguably made the US Olympic Team had she been old enough.

Kristal began the 2001 season with an invitation to one of America's most prestigious international competitions, the Visa American Cup. It was Kristal's first competition as a senior athlete and she won the bronze medal in the all-around behind a pair of two Sydney Olympians. She also won a bronze medal on beam and silver on floor. However, due to changes in the rules, Kristal moved back down to the junior ranks for US Championships. This gave Kristal a third chance at the Junior National title but this time in a much deeper field of athletes.

The 2001 US Championships took place in the capital Kristal's home state of Pennsylvania. There was a lot of pressure on the two-time national champion to repeat her previous victories, and Kristal did not disappoint. Under the a new and more challenging Code of Points, Kristal flawlessly competed a large repertoire of skills. After two days of competition, she was almost two full points ahead of the competition, making history as the first ever three-time US Junior National Champion!

"Junior Elite gymnastics in the United States should be divided into two levels," wrote Paul Reinhard for The Morning Call. "Kristal Uzelac on one. Everyone else on the other."

Since her first junior championships in 1998, Kristal won a total of eight national championship gold medals. Her scores from Nationals in both 1999 and 2000 would have placed her third in the senior division and second in 2001.

2002 was supposed to be Kristal's big debut as a senior, but she spent the first half of the year battling injuries. Nevertheless, she was healthy by summer and performing routines loaded with difficult skills and high start values. At US Classic, she finished third all-around and won the beam title; however, only days before Nationals began, Kristal sustained yet another injury, this time a broken toe. She surprised everyone by competing prelims and even winning the bronze on floor. However, by finals, her toe was in too much pain for another round of competition. Instead she only competed bars, earning the highest score of the competition on the event.

1991 World Champion Kim Zmeskal said of Kristal, "Her presence on the floor is incredible. When she walks on the floor you don't get nervous because you expect quality. Not that everyone is perfect all the time but you can pretty much count on it being there with Kristal. And she does incredible crazy stuff, so she's fun to watch. She does a mount on beam and smiles. I mean, smiling, on beam.I think that's awesome! Those little things make her stand out."

After many injuries and setbacks, Kristal decided to retire from elite gymnastics in May 2004. However she will carry her experience and talent with her to the Penn State gymnastics program this fall. She has earned a full gymnastics scholarship with the hope of a fun and successful NCAA career.

"I am content with moving on with my life and starting the next step. I look forward which much excitement to my future team and teammates at Penn State."