Chaldean in Sports

They never lose. Never. The Shaya brothers — Pierce and Connor — each won a flight championship at the Division 1 boys tennis state tournament this fall in Midland to maintain their perfect record at the sport’s biggest stage.

As we approach the end of fall, Danny Shaba, Nick Hermiz, and I reflect on another season of golf, full of intense competition, thrilling finishes, and memorable moments. This was a golf season that included winning, losing, and most importantly, creating experiences—experiences that we try to build on every year within the Chaldean community. For Chaldeans, that was not always the case.

Ella Lucia is a teenage wonder woman. She’s a star girls hockey player and an outstanding student who has made a verbal commitment to take her hockey skills and academic acumen to Harvard University, a prestigious Ivy League college. Lucia announced July 31 that she has “committed to the admissions process” at Harvard.

Raegan Tomina. Kayla Nafso. Alana Hindo. Three Chaldean girls, three winners of high school state championships in tennis this past spring.

Adrianna “Adri” Kattoo was never in the starting lineup for the Birmingham Marian High School girls’ soccer team before this season. She never played forward for the Mustangs before; she was a center-back on defense. But the senior needed to be in the Marian starting lineup this season. And she needed to play forward.

Josh Garmo skated up the right wing, deked Brendan Danou, eluded two other players, and sent a perfectly placed shot into the top left corner of the net. It was a spectacular goal, and it gave Team Red a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over Team Green in the first game of the best-of-three Chaldean Hockey League playoff championship series.

Eevin Esho, 25, and his mother were shopping at the Dream Market Supermarket in Sterling Heights, at the corner of 15 Mile and Ryan roads, when suddenly they saw two people excitedly running outside with Iraqi flags. More people began rushing outside, cars started honking their horns, and people danced in the parking lot. Esho, too, bought a flag from the adjacent store and started celebrating with the crowd.