Plenty of questions exist ahead of the 2023 DODEA European track and field championships.

The girls team title winner probably isn’t one of them.

The Wiesbaden girls enter the meet on Friday and Saturday at Kaiserslautern High School as the favorites to defend their title. It helps the Warriors have two runners in junior Makiah Parker and senior Ava Stout, who swept the sprints and hurdles respectively last spring and also contribute to relay team success.

Still, the duo won’t be handed the titles again, as new opponents are ready to knock them off their perches.

On the boys side, things are wide open in the team race, as host Kaiserslautern seeks a repeat.

Here’s an in-depth look at each race, starting with the boys:

Boys

100 meters

Spangdahlem’s Javian Rivera sprinted himself to the top time in Europe this spring with an 11.09-second 100-meter finish at the Alconbury Invitational at Lakenheath on April 29.

The closest run came from Naples senior Christopher White, whose 11.16 came April 8 at Vicenza, and last year’s third-place winner, Brussels’ William Pierce, also comes into the 2023 European meet with the third-fastest time of 11.22, which he ran May 6 in Spangdahlem.

Last year’s fourth-place finisher, Stuttgart’s Josiah Doughty, has improved his time to 11.32 already this spring, but it’s the fifth-fastest qualifying time this spring.

200

Pierce and Doughty may have better chances finding gold in the 200, as they currently are the two fastest seeds. Pierce, who placed second last year, recorded a 22.38 at Spangdahlem on May 6. Doughty, who came in third, has a 22.60 time.

Four others have recorded times of fewer than 23 seconds – White (22.79), Stuttgart’s Ian Lewis (22.85) and Kaiserslautern’s Davis Martin (22.94).

400

Three runners could provide an exciting finish to the boys 400 race.

Naples’ Cameron Collins, Kaiserslautern’s Brandon Seyler and SHAPE’s Tudor Varvari all have seed times within 0.11 seconds. Collins, who took third last year, already has improved his 400 time by more than a second with a 50.94, Seyler’s best time is a 50.97 and Varvari ran a best 51.05.

Also within a second of seed times are Aviano’s Everett Taylor (51.37) and Pierce (51.71).

800

Crosstown rivals are the top seeds and seem to be peaking at the right time.

Seyler, who finished sixth in 2022, has the fastest time heading into this weekend with a 1:58.13, posted at Spangdahlem on May 6. Last year’s runner-up, Ramstein senior Max Furqueron, is fast on his heels with a 1:59.83, ran at Ansbach on May 13.

Behind that duo are Aviano’s Zach Taylor and a quartet of Panthers – William Morken (2:03.72), Carter Lindsey (2:04.70), Tobin McArthur (2:06.04) and Alexander Daniels (2:06.41).

1,600

Seyler could be in contention in another race, this time in the 1,600. The Raider senior posted a 4:36.76 at Wiesbaden on April 22.

Last year’s runner-up will face stiff competition in Wiesbaden’s Luke Jones. The sophomore sensation has followed up a European cross country title with the second-fastest qualifying time in the mile with a 4:37.56 – set at Vilseck on April 15.

Furqueron, who placed sixth last spring, has the third-fastest time with a 4:40.64.

3,200

Jones looks set to make it two in a row for the Warriors in the two mile – and not just in terms of bringing home a title.

The sophomore already has broken the DODEA Europe record twice this regular season – 9:36.29 at a home meet on April 8 and then again with a 9:33.98 in a May 6 meet at Frankfurt. Neither stands as a record because Jones didn’t run the times at the European championships.

He will look to follow in the footsteps of his former teammate Elijah Smith, who set the record of 9:44.64 in 2022.

Jones’ seed time is almost a full minute faster than Stuttgart senior Lindsey Carter, who has the season’s second-fastest time.

110 hurdles

Vicenza senior Zachary Denton will try to repeat as the European champion in the shorter hurdle run, and based on the regular season, he is the heavy favorite.

Denton is ahead of his fastest time at the 2022 European meet when he ran a 14.62 at a home meet the last week of the regular season. That’s 0.8 of a second faster than Kaiserslautern’s Jerrell Thomas in second (15.96). AFNORTH’s Connor Luminarias has the third-fastest time at 15.96.

300 hurdles

Ramstein hurdler Vincent Studer has improved drastically over his end-of-season performance from 2022.

The junior Royal took third place in the event with a 43.74 at Kaiserslautern High School. Just last week, Studer popped off a 40.99, which is almost two seconds faster than Luminarias’ 42.67-second performance on May 6 in Spangdahlem (42.67).

Thomas has not eclipsed his 2022 title-winning run, running a 42.98 at the end of April.

4x100 relay

A three-team logjam at the top of the seeds for this sprint relay could lead to fireworks in Kaiserslautern.

The defending champion Raiders have the third-best time so far at 44.21, less than 0.2 seconds behind the squad from Stuttgart (44.02). Between them is the quartet from Naples at 44.18.

4x400 relay

The Wildcats’ individual sprinting prowess won them gold in this event last year, and repeating seems likely.

Naples has a four-second lead over Wiesbaden heading into the European meet, as the Wildcats have put up a 3:32.08 and the Warriors boast a second-best time of 3:36.64.

4x800 relay

Speaking of possible relay repeats, the Ramstein squad looks poised to stand atop the podium.

The Royals are 6.6 seconds ahead of Wiesbaden with a best time of 8:46.61 compared to the Warriors’ 8:53.24.

Vilseck’s squad is the only other team to get under the 9-minute mark with an 8:55.22.

Sprint medley

Kaiserslautern dropped a close one last year, as Naples won by 0.06 seconds.

The Raiders are hoping this year ends in gold, and they are in prime position to do so. They have a European-best time of 3:42.35.

In second is Ramstein at 3:53.13, followed by Lakenheath (3:53.79), Bahrain (3:54.00) and SHAPE (3:54.55).

High jump

Stuttgart’s Alex Guthrie and SHAPE’s Samson Tryon sprang their ways to the top of the chart, with both clearing 5 feet, 11 inches on April 29 at different meets.

Three others have gotten over the bar at 5-9: Pierce, Baumholder’s Caleb Pigge and Ramstein’s Angel Jones.

Long jump

Pierce leapt his way to a European crown in the long jump in 2022.

He looks well on his way to adding to that trophy haul to go with football and wrestling championships. The senior Brigand already has traveled 23-1 in the air before landing, 2 feet, 7 inches farther than Spangdahlem’s Makario Drummond (20-6).

They are two of six jumpers who have cleared 20 feet.

Triple jump

With near top leaps in the high and long jumps, it’s no shock Pierce is expected to be at the top or near the top for the podium in this event as well.

The senior Brigand won the triple jump in 2022 and has bested his leap there by 1.5 feet. He also is 2 feet ahead of Denton in second place at 43-5.

Shot put

The throwing event is wide open, as five athletes have tossed the stone more than 40 feet this season already.

Kaiserslautern sophomore James Oberg leads the way at 42-4, Vicenza senior Olaoluwa Adeleye at 41-6.25, Stuttgart junior Jack Gruver at 41-4, Ramstein freshman Javier Harrington at 41-0.5 and Naples senior Jack Thomas at 40-5.

Discus

Defending champion Gruver already is well ahead of his 2022 best mark of 118-1 by more than 12 feet (130-9 on May 13 at Ansbach).

The second-farthest mark in DODEA Europe also was recorded at the same meet. Kaiserslautern’s Dijhai McKinney launched the disc 127-8.

No other athlete has surpassed 120 feet.

Girls

100

Despite being the returning champion in three individual events, the 100 is the only one in which Parker has the top seed.

The Warrior junior posted the fastest time of 12.23 on April 29 at Black Forest Academy. That’s 0.14 seconds faster than Sigonella sophomore Rickalia Goss, who has the second-best time and also finished second at last year’s European meet.

Ansbach senior Tamia McLaughlin (12.54) and Ramstein freshman Natalie Kelley (12.73) have the third- and fourth-fastest times.

200

Parker has improved upon her title-winning 200 time from last season (25.84) with a 25.60 on May 6 at Frankfurt, but the junior has been surpassed Goss, the runner-up a year ago.

The sophomore Jaguar already is a second-and-a-half faster, running the 200 in 25.44 seconds. She ran 27.07 in 2022.

Aviano junior Jazzmin Spencer has the third-best time at 26.41 and Stuttgart junior Anika Smith with the fourth-best at 26.42 seconds.

Parker’s teammate, Stout, is seeded fifth at 26.57.

400

Goss may prove to be Parker’s biggest threat to pulling off the sprinting triple crown this weekend, as the Jaguar once again has beaten the Warrior to the top spot in the 400.

Both runners posted their best times of the season at separate meets in April. Goss went in 57.71 seconds in Italy and Parker sprinted to a 58.59-second quarter-mile at BFA.

Ramstein senior Claire Dalling is the only other DODEA-Europe runner to break the 1-minute mark at 59.82, while Stout came close with a 1:00.42.

800

Kaiserslautern’s Piper Parsells is back to defend her crown in the 800, and if the qualifying times are any indication, she will be atop the podium on Saturday.

The senior’s best time this year is five seconds faster than the second seed with a 2:21.2 800. It’s 4.5 seconds better than her winning time a year ago.

Dalling has the second-fastest time at 2:26.67, while fellow Royal senior Julia Harris posted a 2:29.22.

1,600

Parsells will try to defend her title in the mile as well, but the senior hasn’t reached the same speeds as last year.

Her best time this spring of 5:30.76, although she ran that a month ago at Brussels. It’s 9 seconds slower than her winning time last year.

Harris, meanwhile, comes into Euros with a 5:23.29 last weekend in Ansbach.

Lakenheath freshman Abra Mills also could be in the running, going 5:33.18 at home on May 13.

3,200

The same trio at the top of the mile are at the top of the two mile.

Harris once again has the best time heading into the European meet. She ran an 11:40.70 at Spangdahlem on May 6.

Mills produced an 11:58.92 last weekend at home, while Parsells put together a 12:04.87 at Ansbach on May 13.

100 hurdles

Stout blew past her opponents last year, winning by 2.7 seconds.

The senior Warrior is ahead by more than a second this year, as Stout has run the 100 hurdles in 14.66 seconds.

Behind Stout are a trio of freshmen starting with Kaiserslautern’s Leliah Guhn at 16.14. Aviano’s Addison Krajicek and Alconbury’s Saniya Townes follow at 18.12 and 18.26 seconds, respectively.

300 hurdles

Stout’s best time this spring has hovered around the same as her winning performance a year ago, but she’s still seconds ahead of the competition in the regular season with a 46.98.

Krajicek has the next fastest time at 50.54 seconds, while Ramstein freshman Makenzi Knox has the third-best time at 50.95 seconds.

4x100 relay

Four squads enter this weekend within a second and a half of each other.

Ramstein has posted the fastest time of 50.68 seconds, while Stuttgart is the second seed at 51.21. Kaiserslautern at 51.66 and Wiesbaden at 52.20 are third and fourth.

4x400 relay

If the Warriors field their strongest quartet, they could be seeking a European record.

Wiesbaden is seeded first at 4:07, just a few seconds off the mark. However, Parker and Stout could be reaching the limit of events, which is four.

The second seed is Aviano at 4:29.76, while Stuttgart has the third seed at 4:33.18.

4x800 relay

Three teams have gone under 11 minutes, including last year’s champion Wiesbaden.

The Warriors have the third-best time, though, at 10:58.17. Ramstein (10:41.96) and Hohenfels (10:50.09) are the top two seeds.

Sprint medley relay

A year after Baumholder won it all, it looks like a new champion will be crowned.

Kaiserslautern has the best time at 4:31.25, while Wiesbaden (4:40.39), Aviano (4:41.51) and Stuttgart (4:42.15) follow.

High jump

Ansbach’s McLaughlin seeks to repeat at the high jump champion, and the senior can boast of being the only DODEA-Europe athlete to clear 5 feet with a 5-1 on April 8 at Wiesbaden.

Her biggest competition comes from a trio of Royals who have come close. Sophomore Jodia Relojo and seniors Aliya and Orrin Jones have cleared 4-11 – the first two at Stuttgart on April on April 29 and the latter at Spangdahlem on May 6.

Long jump

While McLaughlin is the favorite to repeat in the high jump, the long jump is a different story.

The Cougar has improved by almost a foot from her European-winning jump last spring, going 17-1 on May 6 in Frankfurt. That jump was bested by Sigonella’s Goss, who produced a 17-5 on April 8 at Vicenza.

Ramstein senior Mia Williams leapt 16-8 on April 29 at Stuttgart for the third-longest distance.

Triple jump

A freshman sensation could find herself atop the podium this weekend.

Kaiserslautern’s Zenobia Davis recorded a 36-5 early in the season for the best leap this spring by almost 2 feet. Williams posted a 34-6 on May 6 for the second-best performance so far, while last year’s champion, McLaughlin, sprang 34-1 on April 8 for the third-best jump.

Shot put

2022 winner Sage Barnes seems likely to power her way to another crown, beating her Euros throw by almost a foot. The Kaiserslautern senior has thrown the stone 32-6.5 already.

Her closest competitor, Ramstein senior Alysha Edwards, sits 11 inches back at 31-7.25, while last year’s runner-up, BFA’s Kiki Dunette, is the third seed at 30-9.75.

Discus

Barnes will look to pull off the throwing double this weekend, as she’s on course to move up one place in the discus.

After taking second last year, the Raider senior has launched the discus more than 21 feet than last year with a 110-9 already. That throw would have won the 2022 event.

Edwards is close behind at 108-9, and Ansbach’s Allison Schuck has thrown a disk 89-4 this season.