Sigonella’s Rickalia Goss crosses the finish line in the girls 100-meter dash ahead of Wiesbaden’s Lana Winters, left, and Kaiserslautern’s Trinity Seaberry. Goss’s winning time at at the 2025 DODEA-Europe track and field finals, in Kaiserslautern, Germany, was 12.33 seconds. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Rickalia Goss’ origin story didn’t begin when she stepped onto a track in middle school.

At her elementary school in Jamaica, the Sigonella senior competed in “sports days.” Goss and her classmates ran in “houses,” or teams, barefoot in relays, saw who could get dressed for the day fastest, had sack games, etc.

Those school events foreshadowed her success a few years later and thousands of miles and a continent away. The Jaguar pulled off the sprinting sweep at the 2025 DODEA European track and championships at Kaiserslautern last month, winning the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes while placing second in the long jump.

Along with the meet’s girls running events MVP, that performance earned Goss Stars and Stripes girls track and field Athlete of the Year for Europe.

“It means a lot,” said Goss, daughter of Rick and Desiree Goss and Nesha William, on her success. “I’ve had a lot of people to push me during the season and help me achieve my goals so I could be at the place I am now.”

As much as the Sigonella track program helped Goss get to the top of Europe, the Jaguars can thank her for resuscitating a program on life support.

Due to low numbers and the coronavirus pandemic, the school didn’t have a track team when Goss talked to the principal about it during her eighth-grade year.

Four years later, not only do the Jaguars have a track program – it’s thriving. More than 30 high schoolers joined the team, and Goss single-handedly delivered Sigonella another girls Division III European title with 38 points to Hohenfels’ 32.

“Her impact is much more than winning,” Sigonella coach Shannon Burcham said. “Because of her and her willingness to communicate and talk and advocate for herself, we have a program.

“She’s the foundation, so we’re very blessed and fortunate to have her with us and her family.”

Rickalia wasn’t the only Goss to help resurrect the team. Her father became a Sigonella assistant during his daughter’s freshman campaign.

It creates an interesting dynamic between the two, one of which Burcham finds himself in the middle at times. Yet the father-daughter connection helps push Rickalia to the heights she has hit.

The elder Goss had sought getting Rickalia into the 400 based off her performances in practice, but it took until her junior year when she decided to give it a go at a meet in Aviano and she qualified for Euros.

That became the gateway for adding the longest sprinting race to her load that included the 100 and 200.

Rick praised Rickalia’s perseverance and dedication, saying most people don’t see the extra work she puts in training. She’s in the gym every evening, and early on weekends, the father and daughter will be found running in a field.

“She’ll be like, ‘Daddy, I’m tired.’ I keep on telling her, I said, ‘This is what’s going to make you stronger. Whenever pressure comes your way, this is what’s going to help you to overcome whatever pressure, especially going into college,’” Rick said. “Now, she actually sees why from all of that hard work.”

That effort culminated in a nearly perfect European meet.

After years playing second fiddle to former Wiesbaden standout sprinter Makiah Parker, Rickalia was the top dog this spring. She headed into the finals as the favorite in all four of her events.

The Jaguar said she tried not to let the pressure get to her on the line, but one moment stood out. When she was in the starting block for the 100 finals, Rickalia heard somebody jeer after her name was announced.

She used that to fuel her to win in 12.33 seconds, 0.15 seconds ahead of Wiesbaden’s Lana Winters in second.

“I turned to one of my friends, and I was like, ‘Did you hear that booing?’ She was like, ‘All you need to do is show them who got that 100,’” Rickalia said.

“I got really excited after the 100 because I started cheering, but I was like, ‘I got to stay a little humble and finish all my races and I can celebrate afterwards.’”

The schedule kept Rickalia too busy to mark the occasion.

She got no respite after the 100, needing to compete in the long jump before returning to the track for the 400 – which she won in 57.76. She returned to the long jump pit to finish, where, due to a change in spikes, she twisted her ankle.

Not that the injury stopped her in her final event of her high school career. Rickalia held off Winters again in the 200, winning in 25.08 seconds to 25.16.

The lone “blemish” was the runner-up place in the long jump to Wiesbaden’s Alanna Donahue. The Warrior leapt 18 feet, 8.5 inches in her third attempt, while the Sigonella star couldn’t surpass the 18-2.75 in her first jump.

“I saw my chance and I took it, ran with it,” Rickalia said of her Euros performance. “It was really special, even though I got second in the long jump. I wasn’t too hurt about it.”

Now, Rickalia Goss turns her attention to college, where she will compete at Maryville University. The Saints are a NCAA Division II program near St. Louis.

It will mark the first time Rick won’t be her coach, and he said that will help Rickalia.

“Sky’s the limit for her,” her father said. “Right now, she don’t really tap into her true potential yet.”