🇬🇷SPORTS NEWS🇺🇸

Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis in week one led his team to a 44-7 victory over Howard. Kaliakmanis went 15-for-24 passing for 147 yards and three touchdowns. In week two Athan had 14 completions for 230 yards passing and three touchdowns in a 44-17 victory over Akron. Athan’s brother Dino Kaliakmanis is a talented wide receiver for the Scarlet Knights.

Athan and Dino are from Antioch, Illinois where they led their Antioch high school team to and undefeated 6-0 senior season. The Kaliakmanis brothers have a huge following in the Greek-American community throughout the country. The youth group members at Saint George Greek Orthodox Church in Piscataway are supporting Athan and Dino at every home game. They were all holding Greek Flags in the end zone.

The Northern Illinois Huskies upset Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish 16-14 in South Bend. NIU

freshman George Dimopoulos ran the football for four yards and also helped his team with a clutch 8 yard catch in the fourth quarter at wide receiver.

Dimopoulos is from Crystal Lake, Illinois and recently graduated from Crystal Lake Central High School. George a 6 foot-2 inch, 195 pound receiver was captain of his team,  was a First Team All-Conference Player, and named All-County. He showed his versatility as an athlete his junior year moving from wide receiver to quarterback due to injuries. In his senior year he had 42 receptions for 772 yards, and 8 touch downs. Dimopoulos again had to step in at quarterback, due to injuries sustained his senior year. Greek American Sports wishes him the best in his college career at Northern Illinois, on the grid iron and in his academic pursuits.

Nora Giannacopoulos, a junior from Canton, Massachusetts, is an outstanding three-sport

varsity athlete, excelling in lacrosse, field hockey, and indoor track. Her athletic achievements have earned her Hockomock League All-Star honors in both indoor track and lacrosse, and she was also named Hockomock Underclassman of the Year  for lacrosse. Playing as a midfielder for the Laxachusetts club team, Nora’s skills continue to develop as she pursues her goal of playing lacrosse at the collegiate level. With a remarkable 4.35 GPA, she balances her rigorous academic schedule with her athletic commitments, demonstrating her dedication on and off the field. 

Beyond her high school and club lacrosse success, Nora has her sights set on playing lacrosse in college. One goal is to represent Greece in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles as part of the Greek Olympic lacrosse team. Her deep connection to her Greek heritage plays an important role in her aspirations, as her family are members of St. Demetrious Church in Weston, Massachusetts. Nora's grandparents hail from the Spartan villages of Logganiko and Vresthena.

Sophia Papadopoulos, a spirited and active senior at Parsippany Hills High School

in Morris Plains, NJ, has a deep passion for sports and the outdoors. Whether on the soccer field, lacrosse field, or hitting the slopes, she's always on the move.  Beyond athletics, she dedicates her time to volunteering with Relay for Life, supporting the American Cancer Society, and assists at the Ss. Nicholas, Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church during festival season. Sophia, known for her warmth as a friend and her devotion as a daughter, is gearing up to decide on her college path, studying forensic science.

Yiannis Fotopoulos attended Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island where he played varsity baseball for four years. Yiannis is a talented left-hand pitcher with an impressive three pitch mix finishing this season with an impressive 1.9 ERA and opponents hit just .083 off him. Fotopoulos developed tremendously in his four years as a Hawk due to his tireless work ethic, attention to detail, and passion for the game. Beyond his talent, Yiannis is a great teammate, coachable and well respected by all around him. 

His varsity team won the Division 1 State Championships for the state of Rhode Island and also won the Connie Mack(Wooden Bat League) for the State of Rhode Island as well.

Yiannis academically carried a 3.8 GPA, a member of the Honor Roll and DECA. This Fall he

will attend High Point University for Exercise Science. He plans to walk on to the baseball team. 

The Cranston Rhode Island Greek community and the Annunciation Church are a big part of Yianni Fotopoulos’ life. He is in the GOYA, served as an altar boy, graduated from the Greek school program with honors, is also a member of the Odyssey dance troupe and is a volunteer at the yearly church Greek Festival.

Coach Rick Pitino and Saint John’s have landed Greek outstanding 6 foot, 5 inch guard Lefteris Liotopoulos. Liotopoulos was a top player from Greece that was also being pursued by many division 1 universities including Virginia, Stanford, and Princeton.

Super League Athletic Academy Director James Pristouris is planning to have a mini basketball camp in Long Island, Queens,New York featuring Lefteris Liotopoulos  and introducing Lefteris to the Greek American Community of New York and New Jersey. James Pristouris has done amazing community work for our youth running first class basketball camps, tournaments, taking boys and girls team to Greece. SLAA is a is connecting Greek Americans and making a difference for our youth.

Caden Rakes  is an outstanding goalie at Anna Maria College in Massachusetts. Rakes is a multi sport athlete playing both hockey and lacrosse for the MACATS. Caden a native of Holbrook, Massachusetts has received many awards for his outstanding play especially in lacrosse. Among his awards are NECC two times champion,CSAC champion, and Nabil champion with paper city oaks. Rakes is very proud to be a member of Team Greece Lacrosse and is looking forward to representing Hellas as the sports keeps growing. This year 2025 will be his senior year and he is a draft prospect for the NLL and ALL Draft.

Greek Boxer Andreas Katzourakis (14-0, 10 Ko’s) defeated Robert Terry (12-1-1 4 KO’s) to advance to the semi-finals to the OTX middle weight competition finals. The finals will be held in the OTE Arena in Atlanta and the grand prize will be 100,000 dollars. Katzourakis 26 years old has been training in Houston and has been embraced by Houston’s Greek-American community.

Katzourakis goal is to be a world boxing champion and wants to be an inspiration to younger fighters that have talent in his native Greece. His goal is to also draw more attention to Greece which has many athletes that would like to pursue a career in boxing in the United States. Katzourakis understands how difficult it is to get into the United States and then be able to find a coach that is willing to believe in your ability.

Anton Christoforidis (Greek: Αντώνιος Χριστοφορίδης; 26 May 1917 – 19 October 1985) was the last Greek to win the Light Heavy Weight Championship of the World in 1941. Katzourakis has made it well known that Christoforidis was the first Greek to become a world boxing champion. 

Standout student athlete George Vomvolakis was presented with the Agganis Family-Galatis Most Outstanding High School Athlete trophy by Atty. Greg

Stamos, AHEPA National Athletic Awards Chairman in Ansonia, Connecticut.

George had an outstanding football career at Greenwich High School in Connecticut as a star running back. In his junior year he helped lead his team to a CIAC Class LL Championship. George (5-foot-10, 186 pounds) rushed for 1,033 yards and 12 touchdowns. Leading the blocking for him was his brother Peter(6-foot-2 inches, 280 pounds) which made this state championship very special. 

George Vomvolakis accepted a football Scholarship to Stonehill College in Massachusetts after his senior year graduating in June 2024. Peter his brother was a New Haven Register first-team All-State pick as a sophomore and junior. Peter currently is playing in his senior year and has committed to the Naval Academy after his graduation in 2025.

Miltiades Tentoglou Long Jump athletic odyssey includes a gold medal in Tokyo Olympics

2020 and leaping 8.48 for a second gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic games.

Tentoglou Titles:

2017 Gold in Europeans U20, Gold 2018 Europeans, 2019 Gold European Indoors, Gold 2020

Olympics Japan, 2021 European Indoors, 2022 Gold Europeans, 2022 Gold World Indoors,

2023 Gold European Indoors,2023 Gold World Championships, and Gold World Athletics

Indoor Championships Glasgow 2024.

Congratulations to all the athletes that represented Hellas in the Paris 2024 Special

Olympics. Every athlete made us all so proud and a Megalo Euxapisto-Thank you

Hellas sent 37 athletes to the Paris Paralympics competing across ten different sports. The proud Greek Flag bearers were Manolis Stefanoudakis and Theodora Paschalidou two Paralympian champions.

Team Hellas won 13 medals at the 2024 Summer Paris Paralympics  including three golds, three silvers, and seven bronzes. Hellas ranked 33rd in the Paralympic medals table.

Every Kuriakee ON AIR WNTN Grecian Echoes WNTN1550AM from Boston “The Athens of

America” The one and only Greek-America Sports show “THE BENCHWARMERS” Hosted by

Greek radio legend Ted Demetriades, Bill Galatis, Nick Ypsilantis, and Nick Markopoulos. They are serious and hilarious. They brilliantly discuss all sports along with the Three Stooges, the koutala and pantofles.

Family, Oikogenia - A Big High Five to all the grandparents Papou, Yiayia, and Parents taking their children to Greek School and Sunday School. 

Greek Idiom - Kavώ τό πάν aνώ-κάτώ = I leave no stone unturned

Greek Philosophy-  Aristotle - "A fool contributes nothing worth hearing and takes offense at everything." 

We want to thank all GAS followers for your kind comments. Special thank you  to AHEPA Executive Director Basil Mossaides and Executive Administrative Director Stephanie Maniatis for carrying GAS ON AHEPA'S E-News website. Please keep sharing posts and spreading the GAS News  Also thanks to all other Greek sites that have shared GAS.Submissions must be sent to greekamericansports@gmail.com. This is the only form of submission. Please also follow our Facebook page Greek American Sports and be sure to turn on post notifications. For GAS fans that have Instagram follow GAS on Instagram and tell your friends and parea.

GAS has already connected athletes and our youth throughout the United States with each other through our GAS Instagram, as well as received wonderful feedback from parents and elderly grandparents who have commented how proud they are of their grandchildren from the U.S.A. and Greece. We are celebrating our One Year Anniversary what a robust and vital community we have in the USA and world wide.What really stood out to us was how proud the Greek-American high school and college athletes were to be recognized. For some of these athletes this was the first time they were honored and acknowledged. The parents were thrilled. We have been contacted by colleges,high schools, professional teams in Greece, sports organizations,and quoted in newspapers.We have so much great material we have trouble keeping up with it.

Some of our discoveries that are highlights for our first year include:

• Shout out  to Greek American Sports from 2 time Super Bowl Champ George Karlaftis prior  to Super Bowl. 
• Helen Maroulis most decorated female wrestler US Olympic History winning her 3rd  Olympic medal.
• 4 Greek-Americans on Women's Navy Team: Toni Papahronis, Gia Pissott, Morgan Demos,and Maren Louridas
• 3 Greek-Americans on Stonehill College Men's Team:Chris Melis, Charles Diamantis, and Panagiotis Pavlidis
• Boston University Alex Giannaros leading D1 women in 3 point percentage
• John Poulakidas of Yale 28 point performance in NCAA win over Auburn 73-72
• Rutgers  Star Football QB "The Greek Rifle" Athan Kaliakmanis, 2 games 6TD Passes to start 2024 season.
•  Congratulations  to our outstanding high school and college  student-athletes to many to mention  for carrying on the Greek Ideal of excellence, "A Sound Mind in a Solid Body."
• Bravo to our  National Hellenic Society, AHEPA  FAMILY, Alpha Omega Council, American Hellenic Institute,Super League Athletic Academy,  GOYA, GREEK BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS,and all sports and Hellenic community events GAS  has covered.
• ΓΙΝΕΤΑΙ GINETAI-It can happen!  Our community leaders that BELIEVE in their initiatives  to start Greek Women's Softball Team for The 2028 Olympics, Hellas Baseball, Greek Heritage Ice Hockey Team, Greece Lacrosse Association, and Greek Football will happen with support.
• And one more event: Father Panteleimon hitting a  half court shot  to inaugurate the brand new gym at Holy Resurrection Church in Brookville,NY was definitely a highlight.

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