TMU Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of 10 stories highlighting moments TMU’s Sports Information Staff felt defined 2017.

7) Parada and Tembo sweep GSAC’s top honors
After leading their respective squads to successful campaigns on the field in the fall, juniors Benjamin Tembo and Jasmine Parada were named Golden State Athletic Conference players of the year, the second time in school history that Mustangs have earned the conference’s top honors in on both the men’s and women’s side.

Parada, a second-team NAIA All-America choice, paced the GSAC with 16 goals and 37 points, the sixth-highest, single-season point total in program history, while Tembo, a third-team All-American, led the GSAC with 17 goals and 42 points.

“We’re super excited about Jazzy being honored,” said women’s coach Curtis Lewis. “She has worked very hard and has allowed her work to be her worship this whole year.”

Enjoying a breakout campaign, Parada scored seven goals in an early-season, five-game stretch and then added five more scores in a three-match span in October as the Mustangs finished 15-6-1 and earned a trip to the NAIA national tournament for the second time in four years and a No. 17 postseason ranking.

Tembo’s sparkling season was highlighted by a four-match stretch in late September when he scored nine times, including back-to-back hat trick efforts. He led the Mustangs to a 12-win (12-6-2) campaign and a semifinal appearance in the GSAC Tournament.

“We are thrilled that Benji was recognized for a tremendous year,” said 27th-year head coach Jim Rickard.

8) Gama’s goal gives Master’s the go-ahead
It was a phrase befitting a bumper sticker, and its meaning drove the Mustangs all the way to Alabama for the first time since 2014.

“Birthday girl send us to ‘Bama,” said The Master’s University women’s soccer coach Curtis Lewis after Victoria Gama scored the game-winning goal in the NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round at TMU on Nov. 18, one day after the senior’s birthday.

The drama, in actuality, began back on Nov. 8 when the No. 15 Mustangs fell to No. 9 Westmont College in the Golden State Athletic Conference semifinals and then sweated out selection Monday in hopes of an at-large berth to the national tournament.

The team gathered in its locker room to watch the selection show. The Master’s was picked, and pandemonium — or at least excitement — ensued.

The Mustangs had to hold their breath again in the opening round, as Olivet Nazarene University brought a physical style of play and a competitive spirit across the country from Illinois.

The game was scoreless till the 38th minute, when Laura English lifted a pass into the 18-yard box where Gama gathered it, booted it into the net and pumped her fists in celebration.

Keeper Kaylee Poffek (three saves) and the Mustangs held off the Tigers the rest of the way, and the team advanced to the NAIA’s final site competition for the first time since 2014.

The Mustangs lost their first game in Alabama, capping a 15-6-1 season that saw Jasmine Parada (second team), Kayla Peterson and Hailey Gomillion earn All-American honors.

9) Mikesell makes waves in the mid-distance
Over the years, there’s been no shortage of success for long-distance runners at The Master’s University, in both cross country and track.

Be it John Gilbertson’s cross country national championship in 2012, or Karis Frankian’s national title in the 5,000 meters four years later, the Mustangs have regularly outpaced, or outlasted, the pack.

But Skyler Mikesell proved in 2017 that the Mustangs are making noise in the middle-distance, too.

Last spring, the then-junior became the first male in program history to earn All-American status in the 1,500 meters at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

“The 1,500 is arguably the most-competitive event in track and field in the NIAA,” said coach Zach Schroeder, “so having an athlete finish in the top eight in the nation is very prestigious.”

Mikesell finished eighth in three minutes, 54.40 seconds. Teammate Alec Franco came in eighth in the 3,000 steeplechase (9:32.65), good for an All-American honor.

On the women’s side, Morgan Pedrick won the GSAC championship in the 1,500, finishing the race in 4:43.98. She finished 12th at nationals; Abigail Frankian finished 11th in the 5,000; Rachael Ingoldsby was 12th in the 3,000 steeple.

10) Koch keeps All-American streak cooking
Four years ago, after taking the reins as The Master’s University women’s volleyball coach, Allan Vince had an important phone call to make.

Vince needed to know if Morgan Koch, one of the program’s top recruits, was still committed to stepping on campus. She left little doubt.

“Her response was unchanging because Master’s was where she felt called to attend,” Vince said recently.

Fast forward to 2017, and Koch leaves TMU as a prolific presence in the middle, a blocker whose height and long arms made scoring on the Mustangs a tall task.

Koch finished third in the Golden State Athletic Conference in blocks and second in hitting percentage this year.

As a result, she earned All-American status, extending the program’s streak of producing an NAIA All-American to seven straight years – a fact that fits right in at No. 10 on the Top 10 Mustang Moments of 2017.

“Morgan encompasses all the character traits that I try to incorporate into my training each day,” Vince said. “It makes her a natural leader on and off the court.”

It fits then, that she lead off our list.