For the remainder of the week, the Ave Maria University athletic department will continue to honor the best performances by Gyrene student-athletes during the 2019-2020 season. Honors include eleven awards selected from the entire department, and will conclude with the recognition of the Gyrenes of the Year.

The Gyrene of the Year award is highest athletics award handed out each year. The award honors one male and one female student-athlete that excel in academics, athletics, spirituality, service and leadership. It honors a Gyrene that was not only an asset to their team, but an asset to the overall school community.

This year's male recipient of the Gyrene of the Year award is unquestionably one of the most decorated athletes in Ave Maria history, representing the Gyrenes in national competition four years in a row. He coupled that excellence with a nearly never-ending need to serve the school community, and was a three-year captain for his team. The 2020 male Gyrene of the Year is senior cross country runner Gabriel Hogan.

Hogan will depart Ave Maria as the most acclaimed runner in school history. The Oxford, Michigan native was a four-time First Team All-Sun Conference selection, which earned him four consecutive trips to the NAIA National Championships. He is the only athlete in AMU history to compete in a national championship event in each of his four seasons. 

The senior was the lead Ave Maria finisher in every race he competed in during his career, and was selected as a team captain in each of his final three seasons.. He owns 14 of the 15 fastest 8k times in school history, and set a new school record in the 5k in the 2019 season opener at FAU.

His accomplishments away from the cross country team are just as immpressive. During his time at Ave Maria, Hogan was a resident assistant for two years, and held a leadership position on the AMU Student Athlete Advisory Council. He represents AMU on the Sun Conference Association of Student Athletes, and is a member of the Ave Maria debate club.

His volunteer work includes time with EDGE youth ministry, working as a camp counselor at Camp Sancta Maria in Michigan, and working with the Totus Tuus program held by the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois. In the classroom, Hogan earned a 3.23 grade point average as a politics major.

Cross country head coach Elizabeth Feger said as good a runner as Hogan was during his AMU career, he was an ever better teammate and leader.

"He has dedicated his time at AMU to making others better, myself included," Feger said. "Whether it was a conversation with another student late on a duty night, the teammate he pushed to complete a brutal workout after 10 miles of his own, or the children he has mentored in various capacities; each example is further testament to his integrity and character."

Hogan, who is a two-time Athlete of the Year and a recipient of the Mark Doren Leadership and Character Award, left an indelible impact on Ave Maria, and is a deserving winner of this year's Gyrene of the Year award.

Coming Friday: The female recipient of the Gyrene of the Year award, the final award to be handed out.