Alex Smolka

Biography

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