Wiesbaden junior Luke Jones collapses in the arms of his jubilant coach Stephanie Escalante after breaking the course record with a time of 16 minutes, 8.57 at the boys DODEA-Europe cross country championship race Oct. 21, 2023, in Baumholder, Germany. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)
BAUMHOLDER, Germany – A returning champion set a new course record at the DODEA-Europe Cross Country Championships Saturday, and a second-place finisher last year claimed the crown this time.
Wiesbaden junior Luke Jones earned his second title after taking control of the boys race in the second half of the 3.1-mile course on the Rolling Hills Golf Course.
He crossed the line in 16 minutes, 8.56 seconds to establish a new course record by more than 7 seconds.
In the girls race, Lakenheath sophomore Abra Mills said she fought the course’s hills to earn her first European title in 19:58.71, after finishing last year as the runner up.
The team contests had Wiesbaden winning the boys Division I title, and Stuttgart winning the girls.
In the smaller-school boys, Aviano ran to a win in Division II, while Brussels won Division III.
In the Division II girls standings, the American Overseas School of Rome won, while a rejuvenated Hohenfels team stood atop Division III.
Wiesbaden junior Luke Jones pulls away in the final lap of the boys DODEA-Europe cross country championship race Oct. 21, 2023, in Baumholder, Germany. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)
Vilseck senior Jackson Cochran rushes out to an early lead over Wiesbaden junior Luke Jones in the boys DODEA-Europe cross country championship race Oct. 21, 2023, in Baumholder, Germany. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)
Vilseck senior Jackson Cochran (right) hugs Kaiserslautern junior Jacob Porter at the finish line of the last DODEA-Europe cross country meet of the season Oct. 21, 2023, in Baumholder, Germany. Porter said he was exhausted and also happy to have finished the season. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)
The boys DODEA-Europe cross country championship race kicks off Oct. 21, 2023, in Baumholder, Germany, with 124 participants. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)
Boys
Jones’ win came after a season of dominance. He started the season as reigning champion and the favorite. He finished it 42 seconds ahead of second place, after a disciplined race where he waited longer than usual for his finishing kick, this time down the last quarter mile of the course.
At the finish line, Jones collapsed into the arms of his jubilant coach Stephanie Escalante. “I’ve seen him run countless races, but I’ve never seen him feel so tired,” Escalante said later, her hands shaking from excitement after hearing Jones had broken the course record.
“I gave it my all,” Jones said later, taking time to shout out his teammates who gave Wiesbaden the team win as well as his individual title.
Vilseck senior Jackson Cochran, who shadowed Jones all season, finished second. He took a lead over Jones for the first half mile but could not hold him off.
Still, Cochran said he felt good after his race, but sad to be completing his final high school cross country meet. At the finish line, he embraced fellow competitor Jacob Porter, a junior from Kaiserslautern who finished third.
Porter said he and other competitors had many of the same feelings at the end of Saturday’s race. There’s physical exhaustion, Porter said, as well as a sense of accomplishment, happiness for friends and other competitors, and the bittersweet feeling of knowing the season is over. “Crossing the finish line, in that moment, there’s a lot of emotions happening all at once,” he said.
Lakenheath sophomore Abra Mills finished in 19 minutes, 58.7 seconds to win the girls DODEA-Europe cross country championship title Oct. 21, 2023, in Baumholder, Germany. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)
The girls DODEA-Europe cross country championship race kicked off with 98 participants on Oct. 21, 2023, in Baumholder, Germany. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)
Lakenheath sophomore Abra Mills runs out to a lead during the girls DODEA-Europe cross country championship race Oct. 21, 2023, in Baumholder, Germany. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)
Bahrain senior Maddie Armes sprints to the finish at the girls DODEA-Europe cross country championship Oct. 21, 2023, in Baumholder, Germany. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)
Hohenfels junior Malea Jobity recovers after crossing the finish line at the girls DODEA-Europe cross country championship Oct. 21, 2023, in Baumholder, Germany. “I really gave it my all,” Jobity said. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)
Girls
Mills also dominated this season. In last year’s championship, she got off to blistering start and pushed eventual winner Vanessa Alder until the final mile. This year, she beat her closest competitor by almost a minute. Mills said the course’s hills were tough, but she was excited to win her first title, which she said was worth the 20-hour trip from RAF Lakenheath in England.
Coming in at second and third behind Mills were two Stuttgart runners, Regan Stewart and Sophie Templeton, who said they had been having a friendly rivalry throughout the season.
Stewart, a sophomore who bested her friend by 12 seconds, said the two had beat each other three times this year, with the final race of the season giving her the 4-3 tiebreaker. Templeton, a junior, confirmed the two had been pushing each other all year. “I’m just so grateful to have that teammate to push me,” she said.
Twins Malea and Jalissa Jobity, both juniors at Hohenfels, finished fifth and ninth respectively. The Tigers started the season trying to bring the cross country program back to prominence, and roared back with a Division III title.
“It feels good have a team by my side and not be here by myself,” said Jalissa Jobity, who raced alone last year.
Maddie Armes, a senior from Bahrain, raced alone this year, as she was the only girl runner on her school’s team. Armes said just getting to the final race of the season has been her goal this year, as this was her last chance to compete after just missing out last year.
Armes and the boys team in Bahrain had to run countless laps around the hallways of the school, due to how hot the weather is outside.
After her race Saturday, Armes said she felt that mixture of emotions that other runners also described at the finish line.
“I’m so exhausted, I’m so sad for the end of my cross country career, but I’m so happy to be here,” she said.
DODEA-Europe Cross Country Championships
Saturday at Rolling Hills Golf Course, Baumholder, Germany
Boys
Team
Division I
Wiesbaden 47, Ramstein 51, Stuttgart 75, Kaiserslautern 125, Frankfurt International 139, Vilseck 145, Lakenheath 174, SHAPE 183
Division II
Aviano 25, Vicenza 34, Black Forest Academy 39, Naples 59, Marymount 77, Bahrain 106, American Overseas School of Rome 119
Division III
Brussels 19, AFNORTH 29, Ansbach 31, Hohenfels 42, Sigonella 45, Spangdahlem 50, Alconbury 65, Baumholder 72
Top 40 finishers
1. Luke Jones (Wies) 16 minutes, 8.56 seconds, 2. Jackson Cochran (Vil) 16:50.69, 3. Jacob Porter (Kais) 17:04.32, 4. Frank Lozano (Ram) 17:08.14, 5. S.Leishman (Fra) 17:26.10, 6. Jax Watson (Wies) 17:42.38, 7. Gavin Falquet (Stu) 17:46.12, 8. Adin Evans (Avi) 17:46.39, 9. Jake Mason (Wies) 17:46.43, 10. Spencer Jackson (Ram) 17:55.04, 11. Zachary Taylor (Avi) 18:02.25, 12. Spencer Johnson (AFN) 18:13.40, 13. Nathan Johnston (Stut) 18:19.25, 14. Hudson Selph (Nap) 18:20.87, 15. Rhys Martinsen (Sig) 18:28.50, 16. Cade Wedekind (Brussels) 18:30.69, 17. Tyrell Downs (Ram) 18:31.97, 18. Cooper Swain (BFA) 18:32.88, 19. Andrew McGovern (Vic) 18:46.52, 20. Mitchell Horrigan (Vic) 18:48.34, 21. Rhys Thayer (Wies) 18:49.04, 22. Preston Jackson (Ram) 18:52.67, 23. Adden Lowe (Ram) 18:57.23, 24. Logan Conrad (Lake) 18:57.76, 25. David Van Wagenen (SHA) 18:58.02, 26. Tyler Jones (Ram) 18:59.74, 27. Henry Talcott (Stut) 19:00.99, 28. Patrick Bailey (Stut) 19:01.64, 29. Nicholas Hernandez (Wies) 19:02.63, 30. Jackson Balfrey-Boyd (Stut) 19:03.62, 31. Charles Stewart (Stut) 19:04.50, 32. Tudor Varvari (SHA) 19:08.39, 33. J.Glanz (Fra) 19:15.85, 34. Noah Lindee (Nap) 19:20.72, 35. Tony Parilli (Stut) 19:22.24, 36. Desmond Boone (Wies) 19:23.86, 37. Joshua Kim (Kais) 19:24.64, 38. Cole Soderstrom (Lake) 19:25.65, 39. Kamdyn Moncur (Avi) 19:28.66, 40. Noah Lutz (Kais) 19:29.36.
Girls
Team
Division I
Stuttgart 40, Kaiserslautern 78, Ramstein 86, Wiesbaden 90, Vilseck 108, SHAPE 118, Lakenheath 170
Division II
AOSR 32, Naples 46, Rota 49, BFA 55, Marymount 62, Vicenza 62
Division III
Hohenfels 11, Brussels 13, Sigonella 21, AFNORTH 35
Top 40 finishers
1. Abra Mills (Lake) 19:58.71, 2. Regan Stewart (Stut) 20:49.70, 3. Sophie Templeton (Stut) 21:02.85, 4. Samantha Ramsey (Kais) 21:12.98, 5. Malea Jobity (Hoh) 21:20.31, 6. Iveta Stefancinova (SHA) 21:24.62, 7. Kristin Baird (Brus) 21:34.03, 8 Rhianna Bender (SHA) 21:41.82, 9. Jalissa Jobity (Hoh) 21:57.84, 10. Isabella Lyon (Sig) 21:58.29, 11. Lilian Austin (Stut) 22:00.32, 12. Jade Saunders (Wies) 22:02.38, 13. Eva Bangerter (Vil) 22:03.60, 14. Haley Mitchell (Brus) 22:21.60, 15. Addison Bleile (Rota) 22:29.10, 16. Alina Carney (Kais) 22:30.23, 17. Katharina Storch (Kais) 22:33.02, 18. McKenzie Welsh (Stut) 22:33.79, 19. Bryce Watts (Wies) 22:36.07, 20. Cecelia Thompson (Ram) 22:49.88, 21. Idaly Lozano (Ram) 22:49.97, 22. Isla Balderson (Stut) 22:52.58, 23. Mazie Lorcher (Vil) 23:02.83, 24. Iliana Echard (Ram) 23:06.18, 25. Natalia DiMatteo (AOSR) 23:07.16, 26. Mya Loringer (Ram) 23:13.47, 27. Caroline Swinson (Ram) 23:13.54, 28. Annastasia Berghammer (Wies) 23:14.16, 29. Kayla Lubba (Vic) 23:16.55, 30. Emma Washburn (Nap) 23:19.17, 31. Sydney Zufelt (Vil) 23:22.78. 32. Evelyn Campbell (AOSR) 23:25.13, 33. Arete Croteau (Wies) 23:30.74, 34. Jade Hernandez (BFA) 23:36.07, 35. Ava Langbein (Vil) 23:36.86, 36. Angelica Shea (Wies) 23:45.41, 37. Miah Snyder (Kais) 23:47.21, 38. Ryann Phillips (Kais) 23:50.68, 39. Katie Shea (Wies) 23:58.14, 40. Zuzanna Hebda (SHA) 24:01.07.
