🇬🇷SPORTS NEWS🇺🇸

The Greeks believe H Mira Einai Gramanee that “Fate is Written.” This was so true this season for Yale’s men’s basketball team destiny. Yale star John Poulakidas 25-point performance helped defeat the Cornell Big Red, 90-84, in the Ivy League tournament championship game. This victory would qualify Yale for the NCAA March Madness. The eagle-eyed guard Poulakidas would shoot 7- for -7 the second half and win the Most Valuable Player Award.

After the game AHEPA Hellenic Hall of Fame Chairman Gregory  Stamos, introduced

present legend John Poulakidas to Yale past legend Steve Leondis. They both greeted each other with a hand shake and embraced each other as fate would have it. Poulakidas won AHEPA’S 2025 William Chirgotis Award for Most Outstanding Hellenic Collegiate Athlete. The sharp shooting Poulakidas scored 1,300 points in his career and ranks 10 th all time for the Yale Bulldogs. Poulakidas has teams from the NBA and Euro League interested in his talent.

Steve Leondis is a member of the AHEPA Hall of Fame and has an AHEPA scholarship in

memory of his father Anthony. Steve has received many honors in his lifetime, including being inducted into the 2022 Legends of Ivy League Basketball. Steve was selected three times All-Ivy,1980 Rookie of the Year and scored 1,540 career points ranking him 4 th on the Bulldogs all- time scoring list.

Steve Leondis a successful philanthropist founded “Hoops on the Hill,” a not- for- profit

organization that encourages and empowers at-risk teenagers and develops their God-given potential. Steve also works with Project Nyame Nsa, dedicated to expressing the love of God to orphans and vulnerable children in Ghana and Zambia, Africa.

This meeting of brilliant Hellenic talent, Poulakidas and Leondis, is one more glorious moment in Greek American Sports History.Special thanks to brother AHEPAN Gregory Stamos who made this meeting possible.

Angie Lalikos and her sister Sami Lalikos started side by side this past season for the

Masconomet Regional High School Lady Chieftans Varsity basketball team in the Northeastern Conference, located North of Boston, MA.  Angie, a senior center, led the team in rebounds and blocked shots, setting school records for most blocks in a game (6) and in her career (57).  Sami, a sophomore forward, led the team in scoring and steals.  Together, they led Masconomet to a perfect 13-0 record in winning the Northeastern Conference, and an overall record of 18-3.

Both sisters are members of the National Honor Society.  Angie, a team captain, plays basketball all year round, and is attending UConn this Fall.  In addition to basketball, Sami, who will be a team captain next year, competes in outdoor track, competing in the 100, 200,and 400-meter dashes and the discus, shot put and long jump.  She has placed first in several meets. 

Angie and Sami attend St. Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church in Peabody, MA, and play on their Church team in the Metropolis Youth Basketball League at Hellenic College in Brookline, MA. winning the championship three years in a row.  They are active in GOYA, including fundraisers for Church projects.

Angie and Sami have both won numerous awards and honors for this past basketball season, including both being named Northeastern Conference All-Stars (three years in a row for Angie), and both being named to the Salem (MA) News All-Star team.  The sisters showed a real connection on the court, and both agree that they will cherish the memories of playing together for the rest of their lives.

Gabrielle Orfanos, a senior point guard from Belmont, MA, has emerged as one of the most impactful two-way players in the region. Known for her relentless energy and high basketball IQ, Gabrielle has led her team in scoring across multiple key games and opened her senior season with a statement, dropping 21 points in a dominant debut. Her presence on the defensive end is just as strong as she led the conference in steals, consistently disrupting opposing offenses with quick hands and sharp instincts. Gabrielle’s tireless work ethic sets her apart, always the first in the gym and the last to leave, constantly pushing herself to improve. Her coaches praise her leadership, dedication, and coachability, calling her the heartbeat of the team. As the floor general, Gabrielle controls the tempo, sets up her teammates, and leads by example with toughness, poise, and an unselfish style of play that makes everyone around her better.

In addition to her high school success, Gabrielle has played AAU basketball for B2L and

competed in various Greek basketball tournaments. She is proud of her Greek heritage, which traces back to Tripoli, Kalamata, Megalopolis, and Sparta. These cultures are known for their strength, resilience, and pride—qualities Gabrielle brings to the court every game. Off the court, she also excels academically as a straight-A student, demonstrating the same discipline and commitment in the classroom that she brings to basketball.

Emily Koufos fell in love with running during her freshman year of high school, when she joined spring track to get in shape for field hockey season in the fall. Before her high school career came to an end, Emily broke multiple school records, won the Massachusetts Division 5 Cross Country State Championship in 2016, and was team captain for cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track her senior year. She also was part of the power house Watertown Field Hockey team who won multiple state championships. She continued her track and cross- country career running Division I at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. Here, Emily won Track Athlete Rookie of the Year, broke the school record in the Distance Medley Relay with her teammates, made multiple Patriot League Championship appearances, and was team captain for all three seasons her senior year. After graduating from college, she knew she wanted to eventually run the Boston Marathon. This year, Emily ran the 129th Boston Marathon for Boston Children’s Hospital with a time of 3 hours and 50 minutes. She chose Children’s Hospital because they were instrumental in treating her twin brother Christopher when he had leukemia at age 7. She raised $17,485 dollars with the help of her friends and family. Emily’s Greek heritage hails from the small village of Vassara in Sparta Greece where her Dad and grandparents were born.

Mia Nikolakopoulos graduated from St. Mary’s Lynn in 2018 and was a Junior and Senior girls’ soccer captain. Mia then went on to play Division 1 soccer at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut and was a Junior and Senior Captain as well. Mia graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science. Mia began her Master’s in the fall of 2022 at Simmons University and played her fifth final year of soccer in the fall of 2023. Mia graduated Simmons University with a Master’s in Nutrition and Health Promotion and a Certificate in Sports Nutrition this past May. Mia ran this year’s Boston Marathon for Boston Medflight and raised over $18,000. Mia’s Greek heritage is from Logganiko, Sparta and Kalamata.

Craig Theros, at the age of 65 years old, just completed two marathons in two months! On

January 5 th , he ran the C&D Xiamen Marathon in Xiamen, China, where he ran in memory of his father-in-law, Yang Qingshan, who passed away four months before. On March 2 nd , in pursuit of running all six World Major Marathons, Craig ran in the Tokyo Marathon in Tokyo, Japan. There he ran in memory of his father, Milton Theros, who passed away just 25 days before. After the races, Craig realized that dedicating a race to someone you love makes it easier to get through a grueling marathon, since one is not only running for self-gratification but for a worthy cause. Both races were completed in times that will qualify him to once again run The Boston Marathon in 2026! Craig has now run eight marathons in his short career, all beginning in 2017 at the “Original” Athens Marathon from the City of Marathon to Athens, Greece.

The Alpha Omega Council will host The Red Sox 2025 Greek Heritage Night at Fenway Park on June 10TH in honor of Harry Agganis, “The Golden Greek.” 

Harry Agganis will be inducted into the United States Marines Sports Hall of Fame, making him the first Greek American to be inducted. Harry will join his Red Sox teammate Ted Williams as the only two players to be inducted with this honor. The Marine Corps will be represented by high-ranking officers. The Marines will present Harry Agganis nephew Mike Agganis and grandnephew Gregory Agganis on the field a plaque and  Trophy honoring Harry Agganis induction into The United States Marines Sports Hall of Fame.

Congratulations to all the seniors that finished high school and college this year. Greek American Sports would like to thank every person and organization that reached out to us from so many communities in the USA, Canada, Greece, and Cyprus. We are proud to see so many Greek Americans and Hellenes from all over the world on our social media platforms. A Megalo Euxapisto to all the collaborating Greek sites sharing our posts and videos. We also are proud to have our Social Media being shared by so many leading universities. Our staff has worked long hours and produced great content in all forms to promote our young athletes in high school and college. We have built a dynamic sports community and have shown how intelligent and athletic our next generation of student-athletes are all over the United States. We will do our best to overcome the challenges it takes to keep Greek American Sports site alive. To our GAS Fans take another look at this post and see how many of our youth are represented, just look at their happy energetic faces.

ΣΥΓΧΑΡΗΤΗΡΙΑ ΣΕ ΟΛΟΥΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΑΘΛΗΤΕΣ!

Congratulations to all our Greek School Graduates!

Also Sinharitiria to all the parents, Papou’s, and Yiayia’s for understanding and

supporting the importance of keeping the Greek Language alive and Hellenizing them with

history, culture, song, poetry and dance.

AXIOS-AXIA

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