Florida Atlantic University Men's Cross Country

Alex Smolka has been part of both the Florida Atlantic University cross country and track and field programs from almost the very beginning. The cross country program started in 1991, and Smolka joined it as an assistant coach in November 1991. He took over as the head cross country coach in August 2001 and became the head coach of the entire program in July 2002. During the 2005-2006 academic year, indoor track & field was added as a women's intercollegiate sport. Smolka oversaw the teams' transition to the American Athletic Conference for the 2023-24 season. 85 percent of the cross country and track student-athletes achieved personal bests and the team as a whole recorded more PRs than any previous season. The outdoor track season culminated with Anabell Reumann becoming the first Owl to win a medal in the AAC, earning the bronze in the 3000m steeplechase. During the 2022-23 season, Smolka guided the cross country team to multiple strong finishes, including a first-place win in the Thomas Invitational, a third place finish in the USF Invite, and a fourth place finish in the home FAU Invite. Under Smolka's watch, Casey O'Connor won C-USA Athlete of the Week and Madlen Kappeler finished on the All-Conference USA XC second team. The track season saw Jessica Lambert win the 800m gold medal for both the indoor and outdoor seasons as well as qualify for the 2023 NCAA South Regionals, the first Owl to do so since 2019. In 2021-22, Smolka led a very young program throughout the cro

Joined Florida Atlantic in the fall of 2025 as a strength and conditioning graduate assistant. Designs and implements strength and conditioning programs for cross country, women's track & field, men's and women's tennis, and men's soccer. Previously joined the University of Utah as a sports performance intern in 2023, transitioning to an applied health and performance science intern in 2025 helping with men's basketball, men's lacrosse, women's volleyball, men's golf, women's soccer, swim, track & field, and women's tennis. Conducted speed and agility testing, Vald NordBord testing, Vald Dynamo testing, and Vald force plate testing for multiple sports teams. Earlier gained experience at Colorado Mesa as a strength & conditioning shadow in the fall of 2021, observing and gaining perspective of the athlete/coach relationship and sport-specific programming mechanisms. Earned a bachelor's degree in health and kinesiology from the University of Utah in May of 2025. Holds USA Weightlifting Level 1 Certification.

Jacqueline C. Perez joined the SACAE staff as a Learning Specialist in January 2014 and she was elevated to Assistant Director in the fall of 2016. She is re...

Jun Park joined Florida Atlantic in the fall of 2025 as an assistant athletic trainer responsible for managing the healthcare of the men's and women's cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track. Previously, he became an athletic trainer for Florida Gulf Coast University in July 2024, caring for the men's and women's soccer and men's and women's tennis teams. At FGCU, he educated student-athletes on their diagnosis, treatment plans, and return-to-play protocols, designed and implemented tailored ankle rehabilitation exercises, managed rehabilitation programs for ACL student-athletes, and developed field progressions for athletes with hamstring strains and meniscus issues. Park holds a Master of Science degree in Athletic Training from Merrimack College and a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC), a member of NATA and BOC, and holds ECSI Healthcare Provider CPR and AED certification.

Sonja Friend-Uhl came to Florida Atlantic University as an assistant cross country and track & field coach in 2016. Prior to FAU, Friend-Uhl served in a simi...