SAINT LEO, Fla. – A pair of Saint Leo University student-athletes were selected to the Google Cloud Academic All-District Cross Country/Track & Field teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Seniors Colett Rampf and Niclas Bez were both named to the All-District squad and will go on for Academic All-American voting later this month.
 
Both made the Academic All-District First Team for District 5 which includes the Gulf South Conference, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Sunshine State Conference. By making the first team, both are eligible for the Academic All-America team, which will be released June 20.
 
To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution. Nominated student-athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's events at the position listed on the nomination form (where applicable).
 
Rampf, a Premnitz, Germany native, makes her third appearance on the Academic All-District team after placing in the second team as a sophomore and the first team last season. She finished first in every race in which she competed during the cross country season except the NCAA Championships where she placed eighth overall. She won both the Sunshine State Conference and NCAA South Regional Championships. She broke her own program 5K record (17:05.0) at the Queens Royals Challenge midway through the season. In track, she helped set the school record in the distance medley relay early in the season at the UT Track Classic as her and her three teammates won the event in 12:37.34. A few weeks later, she set the program mark in the 5,000m at the Jesse Owens Track Classic in Columbus, Ohio as she finished third in the event at 16:32.91. She then broke her school mark in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships as she took third overall at 10:00.96, lowering the record by nearly four seconds. She qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in both the 3,000m steeplechase and the 5,000m. Due to her third place finish in the steeplechase, Saint Leo finished t-40th in the team race at the NCAA Championships.
 
Rampf was named a 2017 USTFCCA NCAA Division II Cross Country All-American. She also earned 2018 USTFCCA First Team Outdoor Track & Field All-American status (3,000m SC). She was the 2017 Sunshine State Conference Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year, her fourth-straight honor. She became the first athlete to be named the Runner/Player of the Year four times in their respective sport in SSC history She was the 2017 USTFCCCA South Region Women's Athlete of the Year for the third-straight season. She became the first three-time runner of the year selection of either gender in the history of the South Region. She also earned USTFCCA All-South Region honors in both the 3,000m steeplechase and the 5,000m.
 
Bez, a native of Bonn, Germany, makes his first appearance on the All-District squad. He was a two-time USTFCCA All-South Region honoree this year in both the 800m and 1,500m. He ran a 1:52.46 in the 800m at the Spikes Classic hosted by Embry-Riddle earlier this season and posted a 3:50.88 in the 1,500m at the Florida Relays to finish among the top five in the region. Bex ran the top 800m, 1,000m and 1,5000m times for the Lions this season and was a part of the top 4x400m and distance medley relay squad for Saint Leo. Bez took fourth in a highly-competitive 800m race at the Jesse Owens Track Classic at The Ohio State University earlier this season. He also won the 800m at the Embry-Riddle Spikes Classic, the USF Bulls Invitational and the UT Track Classic.
 
Rampf was one of just five SSC female student-athletes honored on the All-District team while Bez was one of six male student-athletes out of the SSC on the men's side. Embry-Riddle led the way for both the women and the men as they had three women and three men selected.
 
Rampf and Bez will await the announcement of the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-American release on June 20.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo cross country and track teams be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.