The Master’s College Athletic Department has announced that seniors Karis Frankian and Nick Covello have been pegged as the college’s 2015-16 Athletes of the Year.

Karis Frankian

Frankian, a local product from Saugus High School, capped off the most prolific long-distance running career in school history with conference and national finishes that earned her multiple post-season honors.

Running cross country in the fall, Frankian earned a spot on the All-GSAC team for the fourth year in a row and was named an NAIA All-American for the third time in her career. She was named the conference’s runner of the month for both September and October and finished second at the GSAC Cross Country Championships in November.

At the NAIA National Championships, Frankian’s fifth-place finish paced the Mustangs to a No. 7 ranking in the season-ending Top 25 poll.

Frankian performed in the classroom, too, earning scholar-athlete accolades on both the conference and national levels for the second consecutive year.

On the track in the spring, the senior took her performances to historical levels, starting with her fourth consecutive 5000/10000-meter double titles at the GSAC Track & Field Championships that stamped all-conference kudos for the fourth time in as many years.

A month later, Frankian put an exclamation point on her collegiate career by winning the 5000-meter final at the NAIA Women’s Track & Field National Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on May 28. With her victory, Frankian became the first athlete from the women’s track and field program to win an individual national title while claiming All-American honors in that event for the second straight year. Frankian also finished second in the 10000 meters and earned All-American accolades at that distance for the fourth year in a row.

Nick Covello

On the diamond, Covello finished off a remarkable two years at the plate and in the field. He hit .321, clubbed a team-leading 18 home runs, and drove in 51 runs while earning All-GSAC honors for the second year in a row.

Rewarded for the skills that made him one of the program’s finest-ever third baseman, Covello was also chosen as one of only nine players to the 2016 ABCA/Rawlings NAIA Baseball Gold Glove Team. That honor came on the heels of his second straight selection to the GSAC Gold Glove Team and marked him as the third Mustang in school history to earn national accolades.

The Skillman, New Jersey, native was superb once at the hot corner, committing only six errors in 179 chances en route to a .966 field percentage. His 119 assists were third-best on the squad and he participated in nine double plays. Covello’s play at third base highlighted a team fielding percentage of .972 that led the GSAC and was third in the nation.

Notably, while Frankian and Covello were awarded for the impact they had on their teams statistically, the two Mustangs received TMC’s Athlete of the Year accolades due largely due to their leadership. Frankian and Covello embody what The Master’s College stands for and specifically the Athletic Department, which strives to “…support the mission of TMC by strengthening a tradition of quality athletics through investing in the character formation and personal discipleship of student-athletes while challenging them to excel academically as disciples of Christ.” The awarded Mustang duo has left a legacy of doing just that.