Ramstein’s Matthew Rutlege doesn’t appear to like Stuttgart’s Jack Gruver’s head to his back Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. Gruver won the match. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
WIESBADEN, Germany – There were probably as many specific messages issued to teams Friday as there were coaches. But a general one applied across the board: Survive to wrestle another day.
At the DODEA European Wrestling Championships, that generally meant avoiding two losses.
“It’s a two-day tournament,” Ramstein coach Thomas Wright said, brushing aside any talk yet of a Royals repeat atop the Division I standings. “I think overall, we had a pretty good day. Most of the D-I schools had pretty good days. But there’s a lot of wrestling tomorrow.”
Wrestling – which starts at 9 a.m. Saturday with the last round of pool action, followed by semifinals and the medal rounds – was center stage Friday. But there was plenty going off the mats as well, not unexpected when hundreds of athletes, coaches, parents and fans gather from around Europe.
Rota’s Leo McFarland pinned Naples’ Troy Ducon at 106 pounds at the DODEA European Wrestling Championshps on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Ramstein’s Jackson Eves defeated Sigonella’s Reagan Rosier at 132 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Stuttgart’s Zachary Call defeated Ramstein’s Jaxon Lundell at 144 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Stuttgart’s Andrew Morrow decisioned Ramstein’s Christian Spruill at 150 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano’s Aaron Smith topped Vilseck’s Donald Chase at 157 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Stuttgart continued its long tradition of going blond for the finals. “I think we used about 20 boxes” of hair coloring obtained from the local exchange, Panthers coach Frederick King said, noting he wasn’t the one who started the tradition. Not to be outdone, a few Lakenheath wrestlers had hair of a reddish-pinkish hue.
Don’t count on a mass wave of dark green anytime soon, though.
“That’s not what we do,” Naples coach Vito Vittuli said with a shake of the head and a smile. Four of his Wildcats went unbeaten and a few others were still alive for semifinal births entering Saturday’s first round.
AFNORTH’s Markuss Grebezs defeated Vicenza’s Elyas Tajeddine at 165 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Ramstein’s Lucas Hollenbeck and Lakenheath’s Wesson Roney are going in different directions in a 165-pound match Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. Hollenbeck won the match. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Ramstein’s Nathan Rutlege puts Ankara’s Giorgi Imerlishvili on his back at 175 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Stuttgart’s Jack Gruver needed 28 seconds to pin Vicenza’s Adrian Coert-Metcalf at 190 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Rota’s Leo McFarland, left, and Kaiserslautern’s Jaden Calixto get grabby at 106 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. Calixto won the match. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Though at times it seemed like it was hard to find a match that didn’t include a wrestler from Naples, Ramstein and Stuttgart – with more than a third of the field between them – plenty was at stake for other teams and individual wrestlers.
In fact, though the Royals and Panthers field a wrestler in every weight class, each likely will be shut out of several championship matches.
Four rounds of pool play were wrestled Friday and a bit more for the 138-pound class that was expanded by a few competitors. In general, the first and third rounds were the key ones. The first round saw the second and third seeds in each pool square off. And the third saw the first and second seeds meet. Because the top two seeds in each pool advance to the semifinals, those who won in those rounds likely are headed for a podium finish, barring major upsets. And there were a few of those.
Vilseck’s Johnathan Wissemann defeated Alconbury’s Edison Vega at 113 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples’ Joaquin Villescas topped Stuttgart’s Graham Falquet at 120 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Kaiserslautern’s Joshua Kim defeated Naples’ Liam Hicks at 126 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
The home crowd goes wild Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, as Wiesbaden’s Munro Davis earns a match-winning takedown in overtime in a tough battle with Stuttgart’s Aidan Morgan at 132 pounds at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Ramstein’s Jayden Andrews drags Stuttgart’s James Prudhomme across the mat Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in a match at 138 pounds at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
It wasn’t all just about reaching the podium, though.
Vicenza freshman Kato Goodfellow lost three times before winning his final match of the day against Wiesbaden’s Sage Kleisner. He then gave a quick smile up to his biggest fan – Mom – jumping up and down on the Wiesbaden Fitness Center’s second floor above the mat.
He won’t make the podium Saturday, but he’ll be back next year.
Naples’ Sam Pounds defeated Stuttgart’s Andrew Morrow at 150 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano’s Aaron Smith applies pressure on Stuttgart’s Alex Samler at 157 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples’ Kyson Fromm keeps Ramstein’s Isaac Martinez on the mat at 157 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. Martinez would go on to win the match in overtime. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Lakenheath’s Lucius Bowman defeated Stuttgart’s Jace Holmes at 165 pounds at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Kaiserslautern’s Freeman Allen rides Aviano’s Tyler Mellon at 175 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples’ Lucas Krumnow defeated Lakenheath’s Jaden DuBois at 190 pounds Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the DODEA European Wrestling Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
