LA MIRADA, Calif. --- As part of the COVID-19 closures, Biola Athletics had to cancel its 2020 EDDIES awards and year-end student-athlete banquet. Since we were unable to announce our awards and celebrate student-athletes at the banquet, we will take the next two weeks to do so online and over social media.

We continue the process today by announcing the five finalists for the 2020 Male Student-Athlete of the Year award. The winner will be announced next week on Thursday via our @BiolaAthletics social media accounts.

Please see the five 2020 nominees below:

Michael Bagatourian - It was fitting that he would be the one hitting the iconic game-winning shot that lifted Biola over Azusa Pacific in the PacWest Conference Tournament semifinals because Michael Bagatourian was "the man" for Biola Men's Basketball all season long. The junior thrived in his third season at Biola, picking up All-PacWest second team honors, passing 1,000 career points and finishing tied with Marquise Mosley for the team-lead in scoring at 15.7 points-per-game. His 488 points scored this season was a career-high and NCAA-era record for most points in a season (passing Trevor Treinen's 442 back in 17-18). He made the conference all-tournament team after increasing his season scoring average with his efforts in leading Biola to the conference championship game. Bagatourian was second on the team in rebounding (7.5./gm). He was top-10 in the conference in scoring, rebounding, FT percentage and minutes. His leadership has helped the team grow from 11 wins his freshman season to 15 wins last year and 19 wins in 2019-20.

Larson Kindreich - Larson Kindreich was an absolute lock for a quality start and display of dominance in his five outings during the 2020 season. The sophomore left-hander was named PacWest Pitcher of the Week three times over the first three weeks of the season and earned NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the Week honors after striking out a career-high 15 batters in seven shutout innings on February 14. Kindreich posted four quality starts and had at least eight strikeouts in each outing. He racked up 48 strikeouts compared to just five walks and a .143 batting average against over 30 innings. Kindreich also set two NCAA-Era program records with 25.2 consecutive scoreless innings to start the year and a 0.00 ERA overall. 

Jake Munivez - Senior center back and captain Jake Munivez moved up a level with his All-PacWest second-team selection in 2019 after appearing on the third team in 2018. Munivez started every match at center back for the second-straight year and played the most minutes in his collegiate career (1,702). He was one of just two PacWest men's soccer players to be selected to 2019 Academic All-District Team and helped lead the Eagles to six shutouts, a 6-3-2 conference record and a 6-2-2 mark at Al Barbour Field. Munivez was a regular target on free-kick and corner kick opportunities for the Eagles, resulting in eight shots and one on-goal this year. And His 6-foot-3-inch frame made him a defensive wall in the penalty area for Biola, an asset he leveraged alongside his tactical IQ that helped him cut off attackers before they ran past him. 

Gabe Plendcio - Gabe Plendcio capped off his remarkable Biola career with another standout season during the full fall cross country season. He led the men's cross country team to its second-straight PacWest Conference title. Men's Cross Country is the only team at Biola with a league title so far in the NCAA era. This fall he also helped the team become the first at Biola to qualify for an NCAA Championship event. After winning his second consecutive individual PacWest Conference title and earning all-region honors by placing fourth at the NCAA West Region Championship Plendcio led his squad to an appearance at NCAA Cross Country National Championships in Sacramento, where Biola finished 25th overall. He managed to finish 75th overall in a field of nearly 270 runners, leading the Biola effort that day. The track & field season was just beginning when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but Plendcio was clearly primed to continue his great form. In his one event of the season, he finished second in the 3,000m with a new collegiate-best time of 8:27.57. Plendcio will also earn Academic All-PacWest and D2ADA Academic Achievement Awards.

Gabe Weber - Throughout the entire 2019-20 swimming & diving season, Gabe Weber's name kept on popping up. He was a part of a group of newcomers who all did their part to continue to put Biola's name on the map in the NCAA Division II swimming landscape. The distance specialist had a phenomenal first year at Biola - earning a PCSC Conference title in the 1,000-freestyle and finishing on the podium in the 500-free and 1,650-free. Through the season he set school records in both of the longer races and should have a shot at the 500-free mark next season. Weber scored 85 points for Biola in his three individual events at the conference meet. Those points helped the Eagles bring in 1,378 total points to finish a program-best third-place. He hit provisional NCAA qualifying times throughout the season and earned PCSC Swimmer of the Week honors. In addition to his strong effort at PCSC, Weber won the 1,650 at the Collegiate Winter Invite and had 13 other podium finishes or wins in middle-distance/distance freestyle events over the course of the season. 

The winner will be announced via @BiolaAthletics on social media on Thursday, April 30. Head on over to our @BiolaAthletics Instagram account to leave some love for these five finalists.

Tomorrow (Fri. April 24) we plan to announce the 2020 recipients of the Dr. Dave Holmquist Career Achievement Awards.

Mon. April 20 - Finalists Announced - Female Newcomer of the Year - Grace Catena, Kellynn Hayes, Stephanie Lee, Liza Parahnevich & Raegan Tjepkema
Tue. April 21 - Finalists Announced - Male Newcomer of the Year - Jack Kilgallon, Alexei Prokopchuk, Chris Rossow, Ben Smith & Patrick Waggoner
Wed. April 22 - Finalists Announced - Female Student-Athlete of the Year - Madyson Brown, Colbeyshae Emery, Mackenna Mason, Jennifer Morinishi & Sami Penor
Thur. April 23 - Finalists Announced - Male Student-Athlete of the Year - Michael Bagatourian, Larson Kindreich, Jake Munivez, Gabe Plendcio & Gabe Weber
Fri. April 24 - Winners Announced - Dr. Dave Holmquist Career Achievement Awards
Mon. April 27 - Winner Announced - Female Newcomer of the Year
Tue. April 28 - Winner Announced - Male Newcomer of the Year
Wed. April 29 - Winner Announced - Female Student-Athlete of the Year
Thur. April 30 - Winner Announced - Male Student-Athlete of the Year
Fri. May 1 - Winner Announced - Team Community Service Award