Ramstein sophomore Ava Fontaine tries to pin Kaiserslautern's Gabriella Baltazar during a 138-pound round-robin match at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Alconbury’s Leonardo Vega was experiencing déjà vu during the 106-pound final at the DODEA European sectional tournament on Saturday afternoon.

The last time the freshman had wrestled at Kaiserslautern High School, he dropped the final – his lone loss of the season.

Saturday, he found himself trailing Ramstein freshman Levi Lesher by 13 points in the third period, and he looked dead in the water.

“I thought I was going to lose, but when I saw my brother (former Euro champion Edison) cheering me on, it gave me the motivation to try harder,” Vega said.

That motivation proved to be all the young Dragon needed. Vega came back to pin Lesher in the closing seconds to win the sectional crown at 106.

Depending on the number of competitors in each weight class, the top placers at Kaiserslautern as well as meets in Naples and Vilseck automatically qualified for next week’s European championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. The rest will go through a wild card process.

Vega’s turnaround began with a reversal to get on the board. Then, he and Lesher traded points before Vega got on top of the Royal.

Trailing 14-8 late, though, Vega’s only chance was to put Lesher on his back. The Royal resisted for a few seconds before the Dragon managed to turn him over and get the referee to slap the mat to signal the pin.

The turnaround sent his Alconbury teammates and coaches into a frenzy.

“I had a simple half, just lifted his head up and put my little 103-pound weight on him,” Vega said.

Lakenheath senior Christian Dey prepares to flip over Ramstein's Nate Greene during the 132-pound final at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern center Broc LeRoy pins Lakenheath senior Wesson Roney during a 190-pound round-robin match at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Baumholder senior Aaliyah Lott controls AFNORTH junior Marcy Daniels during a 126-pound round-robin match at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein sophomore Nate Greene pulls AFNORTH senior Logan Conrad toward him during a 132-pound semifinal at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Vega wasn’t the only wrestler from England to pick up a huge win Saturday.

Lakenheath’s Christian Dey upset Ramstein’s Nate Greene in the 132 final with an 11-6 decision. The Lancer senior handed the Royal sophomore his first loss of the season.

Dey said he anticipated needing to bring his A-game against Greene. He was aware of Greene’s European title at 120 as a freshman, and Dey already dropped a 7-3 decision against the Ramstein grappler earlier this season.

“I knew this guy is bringing it – I have to bring it back,” Dey said. “I knew he’s really strong. He could turn the tide of the match easily. So, I had to put all of my energy out there.”

Greene took an early 3-0 lead but couldn’t build up a larger advantage.

Midway through the second frame, things turned in Dey’s favor, and he produced a takedown that gave him the lead. In the third frame, Dey kept Greene at bay as the Royal became more desperate to get points of his own.

The Lancer put the match to bed with a takedown late.

“His starts are really good,” Dey said of Greene. “He’d get deep in, so I knew I had to scramble.”

Ramstein senior Lilly Greene throws teammate Hadley Schwamburger to the mat during a 105-pound round-robin match at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein freshman Ulysses Sanner holds Alconbury junior Andrew Barbee against the mat during a 120-pound semifinal at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern senior Kaelyn Ronnau and AFNORTH senior Avery Sweeney move to grapple each other during a 152-pound round-robin match at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern sophomore Davyn Meno looks to the side after getting slammed to mat by Alconbury senior Jacob Stuhler during the 144-pound final at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Alconbury freshman Leonardo Vega looks to gain control against Ramstein freshman Levi Lesher during the 106-pound final at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Greene’s loss meant he didn’t replicate his sister Lilly’s feat, as she won the 105 girls bracket.

That didn’t stop the Royals’ day from looking like a family affair, though. Two pairs of siblings – freshman Ulysses and junior Alejandra Sanner and sophomore Lucy and senior Lydia Cox – won their respective weight classes.

For Ulysses, Saturday’s victory at 120 marked his first meet title of the season. His sister couldn’t hold in her excitement for him after seeing the struggles he’s had adjusting to high school wrestling.

“Seeing him succeed, it gives me peace of mind,” Alejandra said. “It’s so uplifting for me to keep pushing forward like he pushes forward. I’m so proud of him.”

Alejandra continued her unbeaten run in the girls 126 bracket on Saturday as she marches toward her goal of winning a European crown. The junior didn’t qualify against the boys in 2024, and she finished runner-up at 130 in 2025.

Alejandra credited Ulysses with giving her pointers on the mat. And it’s clear the duo holds each other in high esteem.

“I have a lot of respect for her wrestling,” Ulysses said. “I think our relationship gets stronger because of wrestling.”

The Cox sisters don’t have as long of a connection via wrestling as the Sanners, but that’s only because Lucy hadn’t picked up the sport until this year. Lydia convinced Lucy to give wrestling a try during the offseason, and the sophomore ended up enjoying it.

Now, the sisters are working on their craft nearly nonstop.

“After practices, I’m always like, ‘Lydia, let’s work some more or let’s do some drills,’” Lucy said. “Every time I wrestle, I’m like, ‘I got to keep up with her.’”

Lucy took first at 132, while Lydia claimed the 145 bracket as she improved to 18-0 on the season.

The younger sister just moved to 132 last week at the behest of her coaches. Lucy hasn’t lost since the switch.

Lydia said she can’t wait to compete with Lucy at Euros.

“It’s going to awesome,” Lydia said. “I can’t wait to see what she does.”

Ramstein senior Lydia Cox pushes teammate Kyleigh Duboise against the mat during a 145-pound round-robin match at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein junior Alejandra Sanner pins Baumholder senior Aaliyah Lott during a 126-pound round-robin match at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Spangdahlem sophomore Kiriel Dulin goes high while Lakenheath junior Johnathan Mihalyi goes low as they grapple during a 285-pound round-robin match at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein junior Kyleigh Deboise looks up as she controls Baumholder sophomore Kimber Morgan on the mat during a 145-pound round-robin match at the DODEA wrestling sectional tournament on Jan. 31, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)