December 3, 2023
(Men’s basketball photos by Mary Kahraman, Camilla Bedin and Maria Andrade; soccer photos by Gary Stallard)
As we head toward the holiday break, Angelina College’s Athletics teams are still in full stride, with the women’s and men’s basketball teams rocking full schedules, the women’s soccer team showing off some post-season honors and the Roadrunner baseball and men’s soccer teams offering upcoming tryouts for future Roadrunners.
Here’s a recap of the week, along with upcoming events.
Roadrunner Basketball Goes 2-1 for the Week
The Roadrunners showed they’re going to be contenders in a week filled with thrills and spills.
AC on Monday handed a ranked McLennan College team its first defeat, with the ‘Runners taking a nail-biting 68-65 win at Shands Gymnasium. AC trailed by double digits in the first half, only to fight back with a second-half rally to take the win. Patrick Johnson led the team with 20 points, followed by Xavier Owens with 13, Kai’Ree Murray with 12, and Kyle Morgan with 11.
On Wednesday, the Roadrunners opened conference play against No. 5 Trinity Valley Community College. AC gave the Cardinals fits all night long, only to fall 70-62 in overtime.
AC’s men bounced back with a huge road win on Saturday, hammering Tyler Junior College 75-60 in Tyler for the ‘Runners’ first conference win of the season. Murray finished with 15 points to lead AC, followed by Morgan Baldwin with 14, Owens with 13 and Eddie Evans with 11.
The ‘Runners (8-2, 1-1) play just once this week: Another conference matchup, this time against Panola College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Shands Gymnasium.
Lady Roadrunners Blast LSU-Eunice
AC’s ladies hit the road to Eunice, Louisiana on Wednesday, blasting the Lady Bengals by a 97-72 margin. Jade Fry (31) and Amyria Walker (29) combined for 60 points in the win, with India McMahon adding another 11 points.
The Lady Roadrunners (6-6) host Western Gulf Community College at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
Lady Roadrunner Soccer Players Earn Postseason Honors
Angelina College’s Lady Roadrunner soccer team landed several players on the Region XIV All-Conference list after AC’s impressive 2023 season.
Forward Marlene Flores and defender Ana Rendon earned 1st Team All-Region honors, midfielder Estephany Aguilar earned 2nd Team All-Region honors and forward Tannia Diaz earned Honorable Mention All-Region honors.
The Lady ‘Runners finished the season with an 8-4-1 record and an appearance in the Region XIV Conference Semifinals.
AC Soccer, Baseball Holding Evaluation Sessions in December
In hopes of finding some new Roadrunners, both the AC men’s soccer and baseball programs will host tryout/evaluation sessions in December.
The soccer program, fresh off back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament, will host its showcase starting at 9 a.m. and running until noon on Saturday, Dec. 9. The session includes a campus tour.
The event is geared toward providing high school students and college transfers the opportunity to train and experience skills evaluation from college coaches while learning more about the recruiting process.
The registration link for the soccer camp is https://www.angelinasoccercamps.com/.
Baseball’s showcase takes place the very next day: Sunday, Dec. 10 starting at 10 a.m. AC baseball long has served as a pipeline for players moving up to the upper levels of the collegiate ranks as well as the professional ranks.
Players at December’s session will be evaluated on their tools, (speed, arm strength, hitting, fielding, and power); there will be no scrimmage. Pitchers will throw brief bullpens to grade all of their pitches.
The link for pre-registration is https://www.eventbrite.com/e/baseball-evaluation-camp-december-9-2023-registration-755778402547?aff=oddtdtcreator.
One other note: Angelina College Athletics has contracted with the crew from TSBN Sports, which will handle streaming for all our athletics events moving forward. You can check out the schedule of upcoming events at TSBN.com, and we’ll be posting links for each game on our AC Athletics social media.
That’s about it for now. We’ll be starting final exams this Friday, Dec. 8, and next week will feature a very light schedule game-wise. Then we’ll all head out for the holiday break.
If there’s anything else I can do for you, please let me know.
I’ll see you at the games.
