Editor’s Note: This is the final installment of a series in which Sports Information Director Mason Nesbitt ranks the Mustang moments he feels were most memorable from 2018.

1) Reaching New Heights

TMU men’s basketball left us with too many memorable moments in 2018 to choose just one.

The Master’s University men’s basketball team reached new heights in 2018 behind a do-it-all wing and a deep, talented lineup. As such, it was hard if not impossible to choose just one moment.

The Mustangs earned their first-ever No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Division 1 top 25 on Feb. 13. They won the program’s first Golden State Athletic Conference regular season title on Feb. 17, and they repeated as conference tournament champions on March 5 in Phoenix.

Lawrence Russell, who led the Mustangs with 16.7 points a game, 6.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists, in addition to being the team’s best defender, was named a first-team NAIA All-American. It was TMU’s first first-team selection since Joey Penberthy in 1999-2000.

Tim Soares was named a third-teamer, while Hansel Atencia was an honorable mention.

Even TMU’s upset loss to Peru State on March 14 in the first round of the NAIA national tournament was memorable.

The Mustangs trailed by two with five seconds remaining when Russell hurtled the length of the court and laid the ball in at the buzzer to force overtime. Master’s eventually fell 106-104.

2) A Dramatic Turnaround (Nov. 10, 2018)

TMU women’s volleyball caps historic turnaround with win over Westmont in GSAC title game.

Had the Mustangs not found themselves on the cusp of their first-ever GSAC tournament title, the season already would’ve been considered one of the greatest turnarounds in school history.

Master’s won 11 matches in 2017. And by the time it lined up to face Westmont College on Nov. 10 in Fullerton, it had 27 wins and a regular-season conference crown under its belt.

Still, the Mustangs were left with something to prove after the Warriors swept TMU in Santa Barbara in October.

Was Master’s fading on the way to its first NAIA nationals appearance since 2013 — or would it rise up, beat Westmont and all but secure a bye through the NAIA’s first round?

Master’s beat Westmont 3-1 that night by scores of 25-19, 24-26, 25-22 and 26-24.

Regan Tate led the way with 16 kills, and Kayla Sims added 11 kills, 16 assists and 10 digs.

Sims (honorable mention) and Jane Cisar (third team) were both named to the NAIA All-American team.

3) Nine And Counting (Nov. 3, 2018)

TMU men’s cross country turned the tables on Westmont at GSAC finals to win its 9th straight title.

This was the year the streak was supposed to end. Or so went a narrative spun by consecutive head-to-head losses to Westmont College during the regular season.

As a result, The Master’s University men’s cross country team entered the GSAC Championships in Santa Clarita in an unusual spot: as definitive underdogs.

The Mustangs left Central Park on Nov. 3 as nine-time defending GSAC champs nonetheless, the team’s three, four and five runners serving as surprise heroes on a day Master’s beat the Warriors by nine points.

Stephen Pacheco and Wes Methum finished third and fourth place, respectively, but it was Josh Nunez (seventh place), Davis Boggess (12th) and Justin Harris (15th) who pushed Master’s over the top, securing an automatic bid to NAIA nationals in the process. Each member of the Mustangs’ top five finished before Westmont’s fourth.

“We knew Westmont had beaten us twice,” said Pacheco. “But I think with the experience we’ve had winning so many times, we are always able to pull through when it really matters.”

4) Tembo Takes Two (Oct. 30, 2018)

Benji Tembo cemented himself as one of TMU’s greatest men’s soccer players.

As a player, Benji Tembo possesses a rare blend of ability.

“He just has another gear,” said TMU coach Jim Rickard. “It’s one thing to run fast, it’s another thing to run fast with the ball, it’s a whole nother thing to run fast with the ball and make a composed shot.”

The midfielder capped his TMU career with a second straight Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year honor this season, becoming the first player since Azusa Pacific’s Eric Winblad (2008, 2009) to win the award in back-to-back years.

Tembo led the GSAC in goals (17), points (42) and game-winners (six). His 39 career goals are 10th most all-time at Master’s, tied with fellow Malawi native Humphrey Mahowa. Tembo’s 100 points are fourth most in the 28 years Rickard has coached the club.

On Dec. 5, Tembo was named a second-team NAIA All-American. He was a third-team selection in 2017.

5) A Fantastic Freshman (May 26, 2018)

Seanna Nalbandyan did something in track and field that no Lady Mustang had done in five years.

TMU coach Zach Schroeder was unequivocal on the topic of Seanna Nalbandyan’s future after the freshman’s performance at NAIA nationals in Alabama last spring.

“Seanna is the future of track and field at TMU,” he said after Nalbandyan posted a time of 1 minute, 2.74 seconds, finishing seventh in the 400-meter hurdle finals and becoming the first Lady Mustang to earn an NAIA All-American distinction as a freshman since Karis Frankian in 2013.

The buzz began sometime in the summer of 2017. Nalbandyan was coming to The Master’s University, and she was exceptionally talented.

Then she crushed TMU’s record in the 400 hurdles in March (1:01.81), hitting the NAIA’s A qualifying standard in the process.

She won the 400 hurdle title at GSAC finals in a photo finish and won her heat during prelims at nationals. It appears there is plenty more to come.

6) Leaving It All On The Course (Nov. 3, 2018)

Mikala Tockstein’s performance at the GSAC cross country championships was something worth witnessing.

Mikala Tockstein crossed the finish line at Central Park in Santa Clarita and collapsed into the arms of her husband. The senior left it all on the course on Nov. 3, winning the Golden State Athletic Conference individual title and setting a new collegiate record for TMU’s course at Central Park (17 minutes, 34 seconds).

Tockstein (formerly Fairchild) was the second straight Mustang to win the event, Abigail Frankian taking home the crown last year, and this effort had special significance because it was Tockstein’s last race in the city where she grew up.

She competed for Hart High School in Newhall, which runs its league meets at Central Park.

Two weeks after conference finals, Tockstein competed at NAIA nationals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, along with Arianna Ghiorso, a TMU freshman whom Fairchild mentored.

“She’s definitely shown me all the ropes,” Ghiorso said. “She has pushed me so much in practice. I know I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for having her as a training partner.”

7) Forrar For The Win (Jan. 25, 2018)

Hannah Forrar found a rhythm early against No. 2 Vanguard, leading TMU women’s basketball to a momentous win.
For Hannah Forrar, the moment was rather simple. “I shot my shot and it felt good tonight,” Forrar said on Jan. 25 after scoring a career-high 34 points in a win over then-No. 2 Vanguard University.

The Mustangs entered the home game below .500 in Golden State Athletic Conference play, while Vanguard had lost all of once in 15 games.

It didn’t matter.

Forrar made 8-of-11 shots, 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. She was 14-of-19 from the free throw line.

In the first half, she tossed in 18 points as the Mustangs built a 34-23 lead over the Lions, who went on to advance to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division 1 national tournament.

Forrar hit a 3-pointer on TMU’s first possession of the second half, and Master’s led by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter.

TMU qualified for the NAIA Division 1 national tournament for the sixth straight season, and Forrar was named an NAIA All-American honorable mention pick after averaging 12.9 points a game, a team high.

8) A Furious Finish (April 27, 2018)

Stephen Pacheco saved his best for last, taking a GSAC track and field title in stunning fashion.
Over the last couple years, when you talk about Golden State Athletic Conference distance running, the conversation starts with Westmont’s Michael Oldach.

The junior is the conference’s two-time defending men’s cross country champion and a national contender in track and field.

So, when TMU’s Stephen Pacheco surged to the front of the pack in the 5,000 meters at conference finals on April 27, it was no small thing.

Pacheco won the race in 15 minutes, 51.55 seconds — more than seven seconds ahead of Oldach — and made the moment all the more iconic by spreading his arms wide as he crossed the finish line at Westmont’s track. His teammates swarmed him in celebration of his first GSAC individual track and field title.

Pacheco went on to compete in prelims at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and figures to be a major contributor for TMU on the track this season as a senior.

9) Captain Clutch (Nov. 3, 2018)

Hailey Gomillion netted her first career hat trick when Mustang women’s soccer needed her most.
Something easily forgotten about the day Hailey Gomillion recorded the first hat trick of her career is that the Mustangs actually trailed at halftime. That’s because the final score on Nov. 3 was 5-2 — Master’s seemingly cruising into its third straight Golden State Athletic Conference tournament semifinal.

But that wasn’t the case.

The Mustangs trotted off Reese Field and into the locker room with Arizona Christian ahead 2-1 after the quarterfinal’s first 45 minutes. Gomillion had scored in the second minute, but otherwise Master’s appeared headed for an early offseason.

Then Gomillion put the ball into the net in the 48th minute, and she did it again nearly two minutes later.

Her heroics were not unexpected, nor were they unprecedented. Three times early in the season, the senior captain scored in the 80th minute or later to tie the score or give Master’s a lead.

This game played to that narrative: She was Captain Clutch.

Gomillion finished the year with a team- and career-high nine goals en route to being named an All-GSAC pick and an NAIA All-American honorable mention selection, each for the second straight season.

Fifth-year senior Kellian Ahearn was also an honorable mention NAIA All-American for a Mustang squad that reached double digit wins for the ninth time in the last 11 years.

10) Opening With A Bang (Jan. 19, 2018)

Josh Robison put together one of the best single-game performances in Mustang baseball history.

When Monte Brooks can’t remember an offensive performance quite like this, you know it belongs among the year’s most memorable.

The 22nd-year manager watched from the dugout at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton on Jan. 19 as Josh Robison homered in each of his first three at bats. The senior closed the day with a triple, going an immaculate 4-for-4 with five RBIs in the 15-7 win over Marymount California University.

The home runs were the first three of Robison’s career, and they narrowly missed matching TMU’s single game record for home runs (four), set by Andy Martin in 1992.

Robison went on to finish second on the team in home runs with eight. Aaron Shackelford led the squad with 11 homers and earned All-Golden State Athletic Conference honors.