The Gregorian calendar, generally speaking, begins on January 1 and runs to December 31 covering the length of 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, and 31,536,000 seconds.  In contrast, a typical calendar for an academic institute’s athletic program runs the course of nine months and is measured in upwards of 250 home and away competitions.

And while the two differ in length and time, each calendar shares a similarity: creating resolutions. Commonly referred to as “New Year’s Resolutions,” these goals ultimately surround around an aspiration to better one’s self or achieve a goal to hopefully bring one a sense of “accomplishment” or “happiness.”

Such was the case for the 12 teams and all involved with the 2013-14 athletic campaign at The Master’s College. At the onset of the year, the administration, coaching staff, and the 150-plus performing athletes of The Master’s College all resolved for Christ-centered excellence both on and off the field.

The 2013-14 athletic calendar at The Master’s College season yielded results measured by a treasure trove of student-athlete accolades highlighted by 21 scholar athletes and eight NAIA All-Americans, a conference championship, a conference coach of the year, eight NAIA playoff appearances, a redesigned logo, a refurbished gymnasium, and the addition of two new head coaches.

The 2013-14 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup final standings revealed that The Master’s College Athletics Department finished in the top 20% of NAIA’s institutions.

Below are summaries of TMC’s 12 teams and how each excelled throughout the 2013-14 athletic calendar…

Fall Sports:

Men’s Soccer:

Sometimes, it seemed like the goalposts were too close together.  Other times, the crossbar had the appearance of being too low.  One more goal here or there, especially in any or all of the five, one-goal defeats were most likely the difference between a sixth-place, GSAC finish, or a record north of .500 and a better conference seeding for the postseason.

However, the Mustangs did grab the last spot in the GSAC tournament and wasted no time in capitalizing on the opportunity, as they surprised the third place San Diego Christian Hawks with a 2-0 upset victory.

Although the season ended in the conference tournament semi-finals, the club still put a trio of players on the All-GSAC team led by freshman midfielder Zach Klindworth (Valencia, CA), who finished fifth in the conference with 26 points, senior midfielder Jorge Serrano (Sylmar, CA), and junior midfielder Brett Croft (Hesperia, CA).

Women’s Soccer:

Parlaying a record-breaking start with a strong GSAC showing, women’s soccer re-emerged on the national landscape with consistent Top 25 rankings throughout the season and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament for the second time in school history.  The club, piloted by seventh-year head coach Curtis Lewis, sprinted to a 10-0 start, beat a couple of Top 25 squads, earned a No. 11 national ranking along the way, and finished 15-6 overall, tying for the second-most wins in program annals.

A 6-4, fourth-place conference finish, their lofty ranking, and a first-round GSAC Tournament win gained the Mustangs an at-large berth in the national tournament for the first time since 2010.  Although, they lost in the opening round, the Mustangs wound up as the nation’s 18th-ranked team in the NAIA’s postseason poll.

Senior midfielder Jasmine Benson (Corona, CA) spearheaded the conference’s second-best offense, scoring a career-high 24 points (10 goals, four assists) on the way to All-GSAC and All-American honors.  Joining her on both postseason squads was junior defender Katie Farris (Newhall, CA) while junior forward Natasha Coyle’s (La Habra, CA) team-leading 11 goals earned her a spot on the all-conference team.

Volleyball:

Leading The Master’s College volleyball team during its historic 2013 season that culminated in the Mustangs’ second-ever NAIA National Tournament appearance was senior Samantha Dougherty. At the end of the season, Dougherty was named to the 2013 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball All-American Team.

The Madera, California, native landed a spot on the second team following a campaign in which she led the Mustangs to a 23-9 record, a No. 16 national ranking, and an impressive run at the national tournament.  Dougherty finished the year with 513 kills, 364 digs, 51 service aces, and 33 assists.  The Mustangs’ ace also finished the year first in the Golden State Athletic Conference in kills and third in service aces.

Recognized for her play at the national tournament, Dougherty also earned a spot on the 2013 NAIA Volleyball National Championship All-Tournament Team.

These accolades came on the heels of Dougherty’s selection to the All-GSAC squad two weeks earlier.  On the way to these honors, she earned the GSAC’s “Player of the Week” earlier in the season.

At the end of the academic year, Dougherty was named the Female Co-Athlete of the Year by The Master’s College Athletic Department.

TMC went 23-9 in 2013, finishing 8-6 and in fourth place in the GSAC.  For the second time ever, the Lady Mustangs qualified for the NAIA National Tournament, making it as far as the quarterfinal round of single-elimination play before being ousted by Wayland Baptist.

And while the Lady Mustangs welcomed much success, they also said goodbye to head coach Bobby Blanken who joined the women’s volleyball coaching staff at Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colorado.

During his four years at the helm of the Lady Mustangs’ volleyball team, Blanken amassed an overall win-loss record of 87-56, including 27-39 in the Golden State Athletic Conference – one of the NAIA’s elite volleyball conferences placing multiple teams in the Top 10 nationally.

He guided the Lady Mustangs to their first-ever appearance at the NAIA National Tournament in 2012 and followed with a repeat showing in 2013 when the squad made it to the tournament’s quarterfinal round.

Looking ahead, the Lady Mustangs welcome Allan Vince as their new head coach.

Vince, a native of South Pasadena, most recently served as California Baptist University’s first assistant coach to the men’s program.

Well trained in the sport, Vince’s resume is highlighted by being a first assistant coach for the United States Men’s National Volleyball Team for the Pan Am Games (2013), the head volleyball coach for San Marino High School’s girl’s varsity program (2009-11), first assistant coach for Pasadena City College’s women’s program (2006), and a UCLA Bruin Volleyball Camp Coach and Counselor (2003-11).

As a student-athlete, Vince refined his volleyball skills at Golden West College where he led the squad to a third-place finish in the OEC Conference. In 2002, Vince transferred to UCLA where as a student-athlete he led the men’s volleyball team to a second-place finish in the NCAA in 2005.  In his final year as a Bruin, Vince earned NCAA All-American Honorable Mention honors in 2006.

After earning his bachelor of arts in English Literature from UCLA, Vince produced an impressive career as a professional athlete, marqueed by being a member on the United States Men’s National Volleyball Team where he was a prospective competitor and a member of the training team leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.  From 2006-08, Vince was also a member of various professional teams in Puerto Rico, Argentina, and Latvia.

Elsewhere in his career, Vince was a representative athlete-coach in Brazil for Athletes in Action (2010), a sports ministry co-director for Youth With A Mission in Latvia (2008), and a member of the AVP Professional Beach Volleyball Association (2006-07).

Men’s Cross Country:

For the fourth consecutive year, The Master’s College men’s cross country team bagged the GSAC championship title while producing a quartet of All-GSAC cross
country athletes: Matthew Crichton, John Hurd, Joshua Sherfey, and Tyler Tockstein.

Head coach Zach Schroeder earned his fourth consecutive GSAC Coach of the Year award.

After placing 15th out of a field of 32 teams with a final time of 2:10:18.12 at the NAIA National Championships, the Mustangs earned a No. 15 national ranking on the post-season NAIA Top 25 Poll.

Women’s Cross Country:

The Master’s College women’s cross country team posted its finest season in program history after consistently placing second and third throughout the regular season.  Attesting to their success, the Lady Mustangs were a close second at the conference championships with a team time of 1:30:11.30 while GSAC rival Biola placed first at 1:29:56.78.

On top of Karis Frankian, Katrina Graham, Rachel Ingoldsby, and Hannah Kellerman earning All-GSAC honors, Graham, Ingoldsby, and Kellerman put on a great showing at the NAIA National Championships.

Graham led TMC by placing 39th overall at 18:40.45, Kellerman finished the race in 77th-place at 19:04.38, while Ingoldsby finished in 19:10.80, good for 92nd.

While the squad finished 14th nationally, the Lady Mustangs maintained a No. 7 ranking throughout the majority of the season.

Winter Sports:

Men’s Basketball:

It only makes sense that performing well in conference play impresses recruits and peers alike.  A winning record in the GSAC typically translates into a national ranking, a top-four seeding in the conference tournament, and a good shot at a berth in the NAIA National Tournament.  The Mustangs finished the season in a four-way tie for 4th place with a 6-8 record in the GSAC.

A late-season rush, highlighted by a four-game winning skein, put the club in position to finish alone in the top half of the conference standings. However, riding a roller coaster in a span of 11 days, the Mustangs dropped their two, final regular-season games, drew a poor seeding in the GSAC Tournament due to tiebreaker procedures, pulled off an unlikely road upset over the #2 seed, and then lost in the tourney semi-finals to finish the season at 19-12 overall.

Despite narrowly missing an at-large bid to the NAIA national tournament, the Mustangs placed junior Dominique Lanier on the All-GSAC squad.

During the off-season, a coaching change was initiated.  In late April, former TMC student-athlete and coach, Ken Sugarman was hired as the program’s new head coach.

On top of being an alumnus of The Master’s College (B.A. – Speech Communication, 1992) where he was a member of the men’s basketball team, Sugarman is no stranger to the campus since he previously served as the head basketball coach for the women’s basketball program from 1995 to 2008.  During that time, his teams posted a cumulative record of 265-151 and 88-52 in GSAC play.

While at the helm of the Lady Mustangs, Sugarman served as the NAIA National Rater Oversight Committee Chair, achieved a program-best 28 wins on two separate occasions (1999, 2006), made seven NAIA National Tournament appearances, claimed two GSAC Tournament Championship titles, led the Lady Mustangs to an NAIA Top 25 ranking over 10 straight years, and coached the Lady Mustangs to an NAIA Fab Four appearance in 2006.  Academically, under Sugarman’s tutelage, the Lady Mustangs posted a 100% graduation rate for four-year attenders.

“The Master’s College has always held a special place in my heart, and the fact that I get to return to a place where I had a fantastic experience working as the women’s basketball coach for 13 years really excites me,” further assessed Sugarman. “I’m really excited because the thought of coaching (collegiate) men’s basketball always seemed really inviting … now that the opportunity has been extended, I’m thrilled to accept.”

When asked about the transition from coaching women’s college basketball to men’s college basketball, Sugarman responded by saying, “Quite honestly, to me it’s coaching a game I love and returning to a place I love.  But what excites me the most is a chance to mentor young men through the game of basketball and through academics at a place that holds biblical truth to a high esteem. We’re going to build leaders.”

Women’s Basketball:

All this team did was win 24 games (24-9), finish second in the GSAC (10-4), stay among the nation’s top 12 teams the entire season (reaching as high as No. 7), and qualify for a second straight NAIA National Tournament appearance.

Sure, they were expected to go deeper in the postseason considering their play during the regular season that featured a solid core of returnees, the dynamic emergence of several underclassmen, and the quality play of a couple of All-Americans.  However, high expectations aren’t always met or exceeded, at least in the minds of observers.

Make no mistake about it, Dan Waldeck won’t apologize for the performance of his Lady Mustangs last year. In retrospect, Waldeck could look back on one of the most successful seasons in program history with satisfaction as well as the thoughts of what could have been.

Another remarkable campaign was highlighted by outstanding performances from seniors Jacquelyn Marshall (San Clemente, CA) and Zoe Scott (Spokane, WA).  Marshall, who earned All-GSAC and first-team All-American honors made her second and final season in the Mustang frontcourt a memorable one, leading the team in scoring and rebounding, smashing a 27-year old single-season mark with 343 caroms. At the end of the academic year, Marshall was named the Female Co-Athlete of the Year by The Master’s College Athletic Department.

Meanwhile, Scott capped a stellar, four-year career with her first All-America (honorable mention) selection after shooting her way to the program’s all-time record for three-pointers (239) and becoming the 12th player in school history to reach the 1000-point plateau.

Women’s Indoor Track:

In its inaugural season, The Master’s College women’s indoor track team only competed in two competitions. And while the team’s schedule may have been small, this last season laid the foundation for something special: the formation of TMC’s first Distance Medley Relay team.

On a foggy morning in Santa Barbara in early February, Rachael Ingoldsby, Morgan Pedrick, Ayla Draper, and Hannah Kellerman represented the Lady Mustangs as TMC’s Distance Medley Relay team and produced a first-place finish in 12:29.71.  On top of winning the event, the squad hit the NAIA’s “A” standard for indoor track and set a school record along the way.

A few weeks later, those same girls went on to race at the CMS Rossi Relays where they finished second overall with a final time of 12:11.34.

Spring Sports:

Baseball:

In an era of parity, even on the collegiate level, it is a rare accomplishment for a team to repeat what it did the previous season.  So much has to go right, including roster cohesion or chemistry as some prefer to call it, freedom from debilitating injuries, a lack of prolonged slumps at the plate or on the mound, and clutch hits or outs, and more.

All of these came into play in 2014 when The Master’s College was unable to duplicate the incredible success of the previous season, keeping the Mustangs from pulling off the rare triple of winning both the GSAC regular-season and tournament championships, and the NAIA Opening Round, thus preventing them from a second straight NAIA World Series appearance.  On the other hand, a 37-18 record, a second-place GSAC finish, and year-long Top 25 rankings (finishing at No. 20) were nothing to sneeze at, although a season-ending, five-game losing skid put a damper on a campaign that started in dominating fashion.

There is no doubt this was another successful season, with many individuals playing an integral part, some of whom put together outstanding campaigns and were recognized locally and nationally.  Leading the way was junior outfielder/pitcher Steve Karkenny, who earned All-GSAC and NAIA All-American (honorable mention) honors for the second year in a row.

At the end of the academic year, Steven Karkenny was named the Male Athlete of the Year by The Master’s College Athletic Department.

Joining Karkenny on the all-conference squad again was junior shortstop Jon Popadics and first-time honoree, Ryan Shackelford.  In addition, Karkenny, Popadics, junior second baseman Sam Robison, and senior pitcher Andrew Klausmeier were recognized for their work in the field, earning GSAC Gold Glove honors.  Later, Robison became the second Mustang in program history to be named to the NAIA Gold Glove team.

Golf:

At the end of the 2013-14 season, The Master’s College men’s golf team said goodbye to four seniors (Thane Ringler, Nolan Sand, Matthew Kim, Joshua Oakes) who helped win an NAIA Regional Championship title in 2013 and contributed to an NAIA National Championship appearance in 2011.

The duo of Ringler and Sand earned academic honors by being named 2014 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Ringler was also named to the NAIA PING All-American golf team and the NAIA PING All-Region team.

Looking ahead, head coach Jason Semelsberger replenished his roster by signing four freshmen looking to make an immediate impact alongside the squad’s two returners- Joshua Gardella and Joey Downey.

Men’s Track:

It was a banner year for freshman standout Joshua Sherfey. After earning all-conference honors at the end of the cross country season, the Valencia native made program history by becoming the first freshman to earn NAIA All-American track honors.

Sherfey competed in the 5000m finala and finished the event with a sixth-place finish in a time of 14 minutes and 57.55 seconds. Notably, Sherfey was the only Mustang to earn All-American honors for track in the 2014 season.

Not to go without notice, Matthew Crichton capped-off an incredible four-year career with the Mustangs in which he made four consecutive appearances in both the cross country and track NAIA national championships–a feat never before accomplished at The Master’s College.

Women’s Outdoor Track:

At the conclusion of the 2014 season, The Master’s College women’s track and field bagged a total of five GSAC titles in the following events: the 4×800-meter relay, the 10,000 meter, the 5,000 meter, the 1,500 meter – won by Hannah Kellerman, and the 100-meter hurdles, which was won by Ayla Draper.

After winning both the 10,000 meter and the 5,000 meter events in the conference championships, Karis Frankian went on to earn NAIA All-American honors in the 10,000 with a fifth-place finish at the NAIA Track and Field National Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

A New Look…

New Logo:

Last May, at the final student chapel of the academic year, The Master’s College unveiled its new logo – the bust of a stately-looking horse staring resolutely over the word, “Master’s.”

The lettering was new, the horse was unique, the entire feel was transformed.

The moment was punctuated by a school-wide give-away of t-shirts bearing the new image. The student body of roughly 1,000 young men and women along with all faculty and staff left chapel that day carrying the college’s new look into their respective communities.

For TMC Director of Marketing Kirk Linahan and Director of Athletics Steve Waldeck, the unveiling marked the end of an arduous process that took months and involved members of the TMC community at just about every level.

There were many reasons to create the new logo, but the driving force behind the change was the college’s need to distinguish the logo and the look from other schools.

“Whenever I saw the ‘M’ [in Master’s], I saw it as the Michigan University ‘M,’ Linahan said. “That ‘M’ is so well known. It was hard to distinguish it from ours. In focus groups, even our own students would see it and default to Michigan. What really started the ball rolling, though, was when Steve Waldeck was approached by a friend from another school who said the horse in our logo looked just like theirs. Our logo wasn’t distinct.”

So in August of 2013, Linahan and Waldeck got approval from TMC leadership to begin pursuing a new look. They anticipated an involved process, but it became much more involved than even they had envisioned.

Linahan began by hiring Kaya Design, a graphic design company that specializes in logo design, to walk them though the process. What the college wanted, in addition to something fresh and distinct, revolved around the image of the horse.

“There are a lot of horses on logos out there,” Linahan said. “We wanted ours to indicate something about us. We wanted people to see the logo and say, ‘That’s Master’s.’ It needed to be true to who we are.”

The new logo will make its debut this fall on the Mustangs’ various athletic uniforms, gear, and fan paraphernalia.

The MacArthur Center Addition:

The Master’s College student body, faculty, staff and special guests were on hand for the official dedication of The MacArthur Center on Jan. 31.

The dedication marked the completion of a project that broke ground last spring and provided major upgrades and a new look to the TMC gymnasium, which is where the college hosts chapel services, conferences, as well as athletic events.

Among the upgrades are a new outdoor courtyard with a fountain and a walkway along Placerita Canyon Road, a remodeled foyer with separate concession and conference room facilities, new bathrooms and heating and air conditioning to the entire building.

Conclusion:

With 2013-14 in the books, the many student-athletes of The Master’s College will look to continue the success in 2014-15.  The first athletic competition for the coming season will take place August 15 when the women’s volleyball team squares off against Viterbo University (WI) at 3:00 PM on the campus of Biola University in La Mirada.

To learn more about The Master’s College Athletic Department, click here.