Smilla Kolbe has swooped onto the All-American list.
The University of North Florida senior didn’t top the podium, but she made history with her performance in the women’s 800-meter run at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships on June 14.
Kolbe finished sixth in the final in 2:00.37, good for a first-team All-American recognition. She becomes the first track and field athlete ever for UNF to earn first-team outdoor honors since the program attained NCAA Division I status.
She had previously won first-team All-American honors in indoor track and field earlier in 2025. UNF has twice produced second-team All-Americans in women’s outdoor track: Former Raines High School sprinter Brianna Frazier was a second-team All-American in the 400 in 2012, and former Providence School runner Eden Meyer achieved second-team All-American status in the 10,000 in 2017.
Accustomed to leading from the start, Kolbe found herself only seventh after the first lap of the 800 and had too much ground to make up. Stanford’s Roisin Willis won in 1:58.13, setting a new NCAA championship record.
A 23-year-old from Hanover, Germany, Kolbe is scheduled to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: UNF’s Smilla Kolbe earns All-American honors in NCAA track final. How did she finish?
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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