Kolbe Advances to NCAA Quarterfinals in Women's 800m

Thursday, May 23

Lexington, Ky.

All Day

University of North Florida

NCAA First Round - First Round

5/23/2024 6:00:00 PM | Women's Track

Women's 800m Results

Placed Third in Fourth Heat to Grab Automatic Berth

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Junior Smilla Kolbe ran well for North Florida track & field in the women's 800m, as she clinched a top-three berth in her heat to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field East Region First Round on Thursday evening.

Kolbe had a great start in the second lane located on the inside of the track to push her way up to the front and generate enough room between her and fourth-place in her heat to qualify comfortably for the next round. She finished at 2:04.59, which would have still been good enough to advance for the quarterfinals even without a top-three finish in her heat.

The women's 800m quarterfinals will take place on Saturday, May, 25, at 7:05 p.m., with a spot in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on the line.

FINISH LINE

Kolbe finished third in the fourth heat, as well as 15th overall in the first round, with a time of 2:04.59.
She advanced as one of the 24 qualifiers for the 800m race into Saturday's meet.
Out of the 24 runners, 12 will advance in the quarterfinals to the NCAA Championship meet in June.
The top three times from each of the three heats will qualify, plus the next three fastest marks overall.
Kolbe went into this week with the eighth-best time in the East region with a program-best mark of 2:01.63.
She clinched that time for first overall in the ASUN Championship to also set the meet record for the conference.

Auto Q for Smilla!

Watch the junior grab the automatic qualifier spot to advance to Saturday's quarterfinals in the women's 800m! ??#SWOOP pic.twitter.com/FzfWWpAVKM
— UNF X-Country/T&F (@OspreyXCTF) May 23, 2024

PIGG'S POINTS

"The goal today was to advance and Smilla [Kolbe] ran very smart. She is fit and talented and welcomes opportunities like today. I'm proud of how she handles herself and look forward to her next race."
-- head coach Jeff Pigg

UP NEXT

Kolbe will try and do it again in the women's 800m quarterfinals of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field East Region First Round meet on Saturday, May 25, currently scheduled for 7:05 p.m., in Lexington, Ky.