Vilseck's Mikhael Ragay lost this match against Patch's Matthew Bolduc, a defending DODDS European champion, by pin on Jan. 24, 2015. (Michael S. Darnell/Stars and Stripes)
Next weekend’s DODDS-Europe wrestling championship meet is where individual stars will claim their titles. But at this weekend’s sectional qualifiers, it’s all about the numbers.
As it did last year, the first week of the European wrestling postseason includes three meets, to be held this time at Aviano, Brussels and Kaiserslautern. The top three finishers in each of the 14 weight classes at each sectional, assuming that weight class more than three competitors, will advance directly to the European tournament, set for Feb. 13-14 at Wiesbaden.
Next week, a DODDS-Europe selection committee will round out the field for each weight class from among the near-misses at this weekend’s sectional meets.
The three meets, while based largely on geography, are well-balanced in terms of the number of wrestlers competing and the size of the participating schools. The overall fields range from a low of 91 at Aviano to a high of 97 at Brussels, with Kaiserslautern’s field in between at 95. With the exception of the 220 and 285-pound brackets at Aviano and the heavyweights at Kaiserslautern, every weight class at each meet has at least four entries, with no more than 11 in any one bracket. Each of the three meets holds three of DODDS-Europe’s nine Division I-level wrestling teams.
At Aviano, the 14-man Saints will again host weekly Italian rivals Naples, with a robust 21 wrestlers; Vicenza, with 11 entries; and a single contender from Sigonella, Division I Vilseck will travel with 23, while Bavarian neighbors Hohenfels (14) and Ansbach (seven) help beef up the brackets.
Three hefty Division I programs dominate the meet at Kaiserslautern, including 26-man teams from Wiesbaden and defending champion Patch and 21 homestanding Raiders. Baumholder will field 12, Black Forest Academy offers six and Incirlik will fly in a four-man squad from Turkey.
At Brussels, Ramstein’s roster of 28 and Lakenheath’s group of 21 make up the brunt of the meet, with double-digit squads from SHAPE and Brussels, small but promising teams from Alconbury and Bitburg and a handful of hopefuls from AFNORTH and Rota rounding out the field.
While team scores are incidental to the sectional meet, schools are hoping to qualify as many wrestlers as possible to increase their potential for team points at the European championships, where divisional team titles will be awarded.
Twitter: @broomestripes
