Hey, sports fans,
This week featured an absolute whirlwind of activity on our campus, beginning with the return of our faculty and staff (and our annual Convocation on Monday), along with student move-in days (and a welcome dinner from the president) and some intense soccer pre-season matches. We had athletes running around the campus passing out schedules and helping with various setups. We even had the softball team greeting kids on their first day at an elementary school.
The big news of the week came in the form of some national recognition, with two of our teams earning national rankings in pre-season polls.
We also held the 18th Annual Guy Davis Golf Tournament on Sunday, followed by our Meet the Roadrunners banquet on Sunday. We’ll include more info and photos from those events in next week’s newsletter.
Classes begin Monday (Aug. 18), and we have another week filled with plenty of game/match action.
We are AC, and we’re ready to Run ‘Em.
Here’s a quick rundown of the past week’s events, along with what’s coming up next:
Men’s Soccer, Basketball Earn Pre-Season National Rankings
AC’s head men’s soccer coach Martin Melchor said when he first arrived her two years ago that his dream was to “build a dynasty” with the Roadrunner soccer program. In his first two seasons, Melchor’s squads have helped boost his dream, earning national rankings in both seasons, including a final ranking of No. 13 following the 2024 season.
Heading into this new year, the Roadrunners again enter with a number in front of their names. In this week’s pre-season poll, the Roadrunners came in at No. 15 in the nation.
Over on the basketball court, the Roadrunner men’s team behind head coach J.J. Montgomery wrapped up last season with the best performance in program history, advancing to the Elite Eight at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament and eventually finishing as the No. 12 team in the nation (and No. 1 team defensively). All that after a pre-season coaches’ poll had the ‘Runners predicted to finish seventh out of eight teams in their own conference.
There won’t be any such surprises this season. Montgomery’s squad just learned they’re ranked No. 4 in the nation in the 2025-2026 pre-season polls.
The ‘Runners open the regular season at Shands Gymnasium (where the team finished 15-0 in 2024-2025) against Hinds College at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Soccer Teams Show Promise in Scrimmages
Both the Lady Roadrunner and Roadrunner soccer teams got in some game action against four-year schools this past week, and the AC teams showed they won’t be backing down from any opponent, no matter the size.
On Tuesday, the Lady ‘Runners hammered visiting Wiley College by a 7-0 final score, with newcomer Anne Vandaële notching four goals. Paula Suarez, Beatriz Galvão Almeida and Michelle Naderman also found the net for the Lady ‘Runners, while the AC defense backed goalkeepers Sara Andino and Callie LaChance-Herman on the way to a clean sheet
The Roadrunner men also handled Wiley College on Tuesday, pulling away early to finish the match with a 4-1 advantage. Christian Castaneda, Jhosua Jury, Adrien Ebersbach and Ange Seka accounted for the Roadrunners’ scoring.
Finally, on Friday, the ‘Runners took on NAIA powerhouse LSU-Shreveport, eventually falling 4-1 despite leading for much of the match. Diego Ramirez posted the lone goal for AC.
The Lady Roadrunners will host Louisiana Christian University at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Larry Phillips Family Sports Complex. On Friday, the Lady Roadrunners travel to the University of Texas-Tyler for another 6:30 p.m. match.
The Roadrunner men host Jarvis College this Wednesday (August 20) at 7 p.m.
Both AC soccer teams open the regular season at home against Northeast Texas Community College on Friday, August 29. The ladies will kick off at 5 p.m., with the guys following at 7:30 p.m.
Those matches will be live-streamed on TSBN Sports.
Meet the Lady Roadrunner and Roadrunners Soccer Players
Attached to this email, you’ll find the final Fall 2025 rosters for both the Lady Roadrunner and Roadrunner soccer teams. While both rosters feature key returners from the 2024 season, each team has a long list of new faces, and we’re excited to introduce them to our fans.
Both rosters (with official headshots) are up and running on the AC website: www.angelinaathletics.com.
Coming Soon: Big Events for Angelina College and AC Athletics
AC’s Sixth annual “Dinner at the Diamond” event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 27 down on the baseball field at Poland Stadium on the AC campus.
Dinner at the Diamond is a major fund-raiser for Angelina College and its students – not to mention just a lot of fun for everyone involved.
We’ll have a registration link and other information for the event to send out in the coming weeks. We just wanted to give you enough time to mark those calendars.
All AC Teams Have Schedules Up and Running Online
Lady Roadrunner and Roadrunner fans can now find their favorite teams’ schedules on the Angelina College Athletics website (www.angelinaathletics.com). For now, only the fall schedules for baseball and softball are in place (with the potential to add more events later), but all other teams, including both women’s and men’s basketball, are ready for viewing and planning.
We’ll update any changes as we receive them.
We can’t wait to see you at the games.
Live Streaming Reminder:
All AC Athletics regular-season home games are live streamed on TSBN Sports (a free streaming service for fans), with most of the conference road games also available for streaming. (This does not include baseball and softball fall games, as those are not considered official games.)
Once TSBN posts its schedules, AC fans simply need to visit the AC Athletics web site, look at the scrolling schedule in the middle of the page and click the blue “Video” link.
TSBN also offers an app great for smart phones, devices and smart TVs. (You’ve GOT to see those matches and games on the big screen.)
Reminder II: Admission to ALL Angelina College Athletics sporting events is free, as is the TSBN live streaming. Any other links offering streaming are scams.
Reminder III: For the most current schedule updates (especially for potential weather issues) visit the official Angelina College Athletics website (angelinaathletics.com). Fans can also receive updates on the AC Athletics Facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram pages.
Upcoming schedules:
Tuesday, August 19:
Lady Roadrunner Soccer vs. Louisiana Christian University (scrimmage), 6:30 p.m. at the AC Soccer Stadium/Larry Phillips Family Sports Complex.
Wednesday, August 20:
Roadrunner Soccer vs. Jarvis College (scrimmage), 7 p.m. at the AC Soccer Stadium/Larry Phillips Family Sports Complex.
Friday, August 22:
Lady Roadrunner Soccer at the University of Texas-Tyler (scrimmage), 6:30 p.m. in Tyler.
For any other information, contact Sports Information Director Gary Stallard at gstallard@angelina.edu.
We’ll see you at the games.
Gary Stallard
Email: gstallard@angelina.edu.
Phone: (936) 465-4614
