EUGENE, Ore. - Smilla Kolbe advanced from her heat in the women's 800m semifinals with an at-large qualifying spot into the championship race at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday evening at Hayward Field.

Kolbe placed third in the second heat and sixth overall among the 24 athletes in the 800m semifinals with a time of 2:00.70. She advances to the Saturday's final race after placing with the fastest time for one of the three at-large spots despite not having a top-two time in her heat.

The Hanover, Germany native, who currently holds the fourth-best all-time collegiate 800m time, jumped out in front of the pack after starting in the middle lanes and held the lead for 600 meters. She made a strong push down the final stretch to nearly turn in the second sub-two minute mark of her career.

The Osprey senior will be one of nine qualifiers to compete in the final race on Saturday night. She is one of three athletes from a non-Power school to advance to the championship stage for the women's 800m.

"Smilla [Kolbe] ran a smart prelim race. She understood the goal was to advance by being among the top nine and that most likely sub-2:01 would do it," said head coach Jeff Pigg. "She took control of her destiny and ran 2:00. Saturday's final will be a great opportunity to just go compete and I'm sure she is ready."

Kolbe will move on to the final race of the women's 800m, which will take place on Saturday, June 14, at 10:14 p.m. ET, hosted at Hayward Field. With a top-eight finish in the final race, she will clinch First Team All-American honors for the second time this collegiate track & field season.

There will be live broadcasts available for Saturday's race on ESPN2 and ESPN+. Updates will be provided on Flash Results, as well as on X/Twitter at @OspreyXCTF and Instagram at @OspreysTrack.