A dozen North Shore student-athletes, including those from Salem, Marblehead, Swampscott, and Lynn, have been selected for Agganis Foundation scholarship recipients. Collectively, they will receive a total of $90,000 over the next four years.
Named for legendary Lynn athlete and former Boston Red Sox outfielder, Harry Agganis, the foundation has been awarding scholarships in his name since 1958. Including this year’s recipients, the foundation has given $2.68 million to 1,086 student-athletes. Scholarship recipients receive $2,000 per year each year they are in college. There is also a President’s Scholarship, a one-time $2,000 award.
There are three endowed scholarships, named for George D. Behrakis, Thomas L. Demakes and Attorney Charles Demakis. This year, the foundation’s board of trustees voted to add an 11th scholarship, named for Paul Halloran, the longtime executive director of the Agganis All-Star Games who has been affiliated with the foundation since first covering the football game as a (Lynn) Daily Item sportswriter in 1985.
Mia Silva of Salem High, a volleyball superstar who will be taking her talents to Amherst College in the fall, was awarded the Atty. Charles Demakis Scholarship.
Breydan Callahan of Marblehead High, who starred for the Magicians’ football team and is headed off to Johns Hopkins University, received the George D. Behrakis Scholarship.
Those locals capturing Agganis Foundation scholarships include Marblehead’s Sydney Ball, who will attend Temple University; Peabody High three-sport star Lizzy Bettencourt, who is bound for Bates College; and Swampscott High’s Nico Croft, who will attend the University of Michigan.
Awan Awan of Lynn Tech High School, who will go to Cornell University, received the Paul K. Halloran Jr. Scholarship. KIPP Academy’s Joseph Beato, who will attend Rice University in Texas, was chosen for the Thomas L. Demakes Scholarship, while St. Mary’s of Lynn student Samuel Phelps, who will make his college home at Tufts University, earned the Agganis Foundation President’s Scholarship.
Other Agganis Foundation scholarship winners included Salem State-bound Madisen McHale of Lynn English High School, as well as three St. Mary’s of Lynn students in Calli Allaire (Vanderbilt), Cameryn Dunn (Stonehill), and Micah Hashikawa (Michigan).
The Agganis Foundation scholarship is open to students who live or attend school in Lynn, Lynnfield, Marblehead, Nahant, Peabody, Saugus, Swampscott or Salem. Applicants must play an MIAA-recognized varsity sport and accepted to a 4-year college. Applications are graded on academics, athletics and extracurricular activities by a nine-member Scholarship Committee that includes school superintendents, principals, athletic directors and coaches.
“The Scholarship Committee continues to be impressed with the quality of applications we receive from across North Shore every year,” said Salem native David Angeramo, chair of the committee. “Not only are these students getting the job done in the classroom and on the field, they are also making a difference in their schools and in the greater community.”
“We are proud to recognize another group of outstanding student-athletes,” added Agganis Foundation President John Meklis. “The foundation takes great pride in honoring the legacy of Harry Agganis by presenting scholarships in his name.”
The 2026 Agganis All-Star Games will be played on Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June 28 in Lynn.