By Mason Nesbitt, TMU Sports Information Director

In light of how far the group has already come, TMU track and field coach Zach Schroeder is confident his 4×800-meter relay can go a little faster.

“Between our four guys, I know we can find another .34 seconds,” said Schroeder, who was impressed with the performances of Keylan Meneses, Isaac Ventura, Cameron Fooks and Kevin Pacheco despite the foursome finishing just short of the NAIA nationals cut Saturday at the Westmont Collegiate Classic in Santa Barbara.

They recorded a time of 7 minutes, 48.34 seconds, which already represented a drop of 10 seconds from where they were three weeks ago. With the Golden State Athletic Conference championships still a month off, ample time to qualify remains.

“We just need to stay faithful these next four weeks,” Schroeder said.

One Mustang did make the NAIA cut Saturday.

Sophomore Seanna Nalbandyan, who last week qualified in the 400 hurdles, added the open 400 to her list of planned activities in Gulf Shores, Alabama, in late May.

Nalbandyan finished the race in 57.33, which marked a new PR and broke TMU’s record in the process. She also recorded a fresh PR and set a new Master’s record in the 200 with a time of 26.23.

Elsewhere, Chatham Van Wingerden matched his PR in the long jump, and his brother, Mak, debuted in the discus and performed well.

Emily Hess ran a sizable PR in the 400. Morgan Gregory, Autumn Nootbaar and Kayla Gray all ran new PR’s in the 1,500.

Gregory’s personal best was an improvement of 10 seconds.

“I’m so excited about the character and work ethic of this team,” Schroeder said. “As individuals see teammates performing well, it inspires confidence and belief that they too can do it and the momentum continues to build.”

The Mustang men and women will next compete at the Jim Bush Legends Invitational at UCLA on Friday.