LA MIRADA, Calif. ---  For the second-straight year, Biola Athletics is taking to social media and its website to announce its annual EDDIES awards. Since we were unable to announce our finalists and celebrate student-athletes in person with an end-of-year banquet, we will take the next two weeks to do so online and via social media to look back at the most memorable performances of Spring 2021.

The process continues today as we announce five finalists for the 2021 Male Newcomer of the Year award. Freshmen and first-year transfer student-athletes are eligible for the newcomer of the year award. Please note: newcomers are eligible for other awards and may also be finalists for other awards, such as student-athlete of the year and breakout performance of the year. The winner will be announced on July 13 via our @BiolaAthletics social media accounts. 

2021 Male Newcomer of the Year Finalists:
Lawrence Kwazema - Soccer - Junior
Kwazema joined Biola Soccer after competing in two seasons at NCAA Division I Northern Illinois University. Kwazema's success at the Division I level earned him Preseason All-PacWest honors in his first season as an Eagle. 

The Nigeria native's most impressive game of the shortened 2021 season saw him score his first goal as an Eagle, but he didn't stop there. Kwazema would score two more goals to secure a hat trick and added an assist as he led BU to a 6-1 victory over Bethesda University. 

Throughout his career Kwazenma has played mainly defense, his versatility on the field helped BU secure its first win of the 2021 season. Kwazema's performance earned him PacWest Player of the Week honors as well as a spot on the 2021 All-PacWest SoCal Pod Team alongside teammates Aidan Hill and Henry Reeves. 

Maximo Milovich - Basketball - Freshman
Milovich was the first player off the bench on a very successful Biola basketball team that won the conference title and made an appearance at the NCAA Division II Regional Championships. The Argentina native scored a season-high 21 points in Biola's final home contest of the season, an 82-65 victory against Concordia. 

Milovich's best overall performance came in the two-point regional victory over Fresno Pacific. The freshman secured a double-double with 12 rebounds and 11 points while adding two assists and going one-for-one from the free-throw line. As the season progressed, Milovich saw more playing time and earned a season high 28 minutes in the final game of the season against Colorado School of Mines. In his final game of the season, Milovich scored 10 points and was two-for-three from beyond the three-point line while leading the team in rebounds with six and adding two steals.

"He may be only a freshman, but plays and conducts himself like someone with much more experience," commented Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist. "Maximo made so many big plays for us this year at critical times. He's a fine student-athlete and a strong Christian."

Johnny Sage - Baseball - Graduate Student
Sage joined Biola Baseball after spending two years at NCAA Division I Purdue, where he was the starting right fielder in 2019 and 2020 and earned back-to-back Academic All-Big Ten honors. Sage proved to be a solid defender in the outfield, making SportsCenter Top-10 worthy grabs in both left and center field. He was fifth on the team in putouts with 61 and was tabbed for only one error on the season, tying him for the best fielding percentage amongst position players (.984) with catcher Ben Smith. 

The Pacific Northwest native added a solid bat to his strong defense, hitting for a .357 average while recording 11 extra base hits and driving in 14 runs for the Biola Boys. In his second-to-last game of the 2021 season, Sage was perfect at the plate, going five-for five with three doubles, an RBI and scoring twice in the Eagles' 14-4 win over Northwest Nazarene University. Sage also reached base after being hit by a pitch, allowing him to reach base six times in the contest.

Sage earned a spot on the All-PacWest third team, joining four other teammates being named to postseason all-conference teams while also being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America District VII First Team with a grade-point average of 3.89 as he works towards his Master of Business Administration.

Matthew Trejo - Swim & Dive - Freshman
In his first collegiate swim season, Trejo broke school record after school record starting with the 400-medley relay with a time of 3:25.87 alongside teammates Tanner Smith, James Gamette and Jonas Huckabay. After two runner-up finishes, Trejo would earn his first collegiate victory in just his second collegiate meet. The Manteca, California native outswam his competition from Simpson with a :51.79 to :52.07 to score nine points for the Eagles in the 100-butterfly.

With a few solid performances under his cap, Trejo was selected amongst a small group to go to the elite UNLV Invite. There, he broke the school record in the 100-butterfly with a time of :50.47, seven-hundredths of a second faster than the previous school record and a personal best for Trejo by about a half-second. Trejo continued to make history in Las Vegas, Nevada as the freshman helped set two more school records in both the 400-freestyle and 200-medley alongside his teammates with times of 3:04.00 and 1:33.64 respectively. 

Trejo earned his first career PCSC Weekly honor following his outstanding performance in the intrasquad meet at NCAA DI Pepperdine University where he placed first in the 500-freestyle (4:51.47) and 100-fly (52.72). Trejo's success continued at the PCSC Championship meet where he helped Biola Swim win the conference title for the first time with more record-setting efforts. 

Trejo's first school record of the championship meet was in the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:33.30. He went on to re-break the individual record in the 100-butterfly with a time of 49.35, good enough for a conference title. Trejo's final school record of his freshman campaign came in the 400-freestyle relay where the Eagles swam a 3:01.94 to beat FPU by three seconds and secure the PCSC Championship Title. 

Trejo's efforts in the pool this spring helped Biola launch itself into the top-25 programs in NCAA Division II, as measured by championship points.

Chase Williams - Track & Field - Freshman
Williams, one of three true-freshmen finalists in the category, got off to a hot start to his collegiate career. In his opening meet, Williams finished in second place in the 100m with a time of 10.95, just one hundredth of a second shy of the event winner. 

Williams was ranked second in the PacWest in the 100m with a time of 10.62 and also ranked fifth in the conference in the 200m with a time of 21.87, both of which were lifetime best marks. At the PacWest Championships, Williams finished second in the 100m and fourth in the 200m. He was a key part of the 4x100m relay team that set a new school record with a time of 42.24 at the championship meet. 

According to Head Coach Sean Henning, Williams is a quiet and humble personality who puts his nose down and works hard. "He always gave great effort and worked on his craft to be the best version of himself he could be," said Henning. 

EDDIES Release Schedule 
July 5 - Finalists Announced - Female Newcomer of the Year 
July 6 - Finalists Announced - Male Newcomer of the Year
July 7 - Finalists Announced - Breakout Performance of the Year
July 8 - Finalists Announced - Female Student-Athlete of the Year
July 9 - Finalists Announced - Male Student-Athlete of the Year
July 12 - Winner Announced - Female Newcomer of the Year
July 13 - Winner Announced - Male Newcomer of the Year
July 14 - Winner Announced - Breakout Performance of the Year
July 15 - Winner Announced - Female Student-Athlete of the Year
July 16 - Winner Announced - Male Student-Athlete of the Year
July 19 - Winner Announced - Dr. Dave Holmquist Career Achievement Award