DODEA generally has large turnover from year to year, and it shows on the mats with the number of new wrestling champions.

Yet the 2026 DODEA European wrestling championships at Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center in Wiesbaden, Germany, could see even more new winners than usual in the field of 154 athletes across 14 weight classes.

Sure, numerous athletes are back to pick up another individual crown, but they have struggled as they moved up weights. And newcomers have made their marks across Europe.

All will be decided Thursday through Saturday. At the end, 14 will be crowned champions.

Here’s a breakdown by weight class of athletes gunning for titles:

106 pounds

The lightest weight class generally is full of new faces, and this winter is no exception.

The race is wide open as well, with at least five favorites capable of running the table.

Alconbury freshman Leonardo Vega is hoping to follow in his older brother’s footsteps in claiming a European crown. The Dragon sits at 15-1 on the season after winning the West sectional competition.

A pair of Rota athletes, freshman Inapu Terlaje and Ayden Taylor, went first and second in Naples. SHAPE freshman Devin McGlothin took home the Central title and sits at 10-7 on the campaign.

113

One year after winning at 106, Reilly Tobias is hoping to do the same moving up a weight class.

The SHAPE sophomore has continued his success after transferring from Kaiserslautern, sitting at 14-1 this season.

His biggest competition is Ethan Holdren. The Royal senior returns to Wiesbaden after placing fifth last year, and he’s a perfect 16-0 after winning the West sectional.

Naples’ Keith Almond boasts a win at the South sectional. And don’t sleep on Ramstein sophomore Thomas Barcroft, who currently sits at 6-4 on the season, with numerous losses coming against his Royal teammate.

120

This weight class could be one of the most competitive at Euros. Seven grapplers could find themselves atop the podium come Saturday.

Rota freshman Matthew Iglesias Rodriguez claimed the South sectional crown, while Vilseck’s Cael Rowley ran the table in the Central tournament.

Ramstein’s Ulysses Sanner has overcome injury as well as the step up to the high school level to hit his stride at the right time. The freshman sits at 9-3 after his West sectional win.

Fellow Ramstein freshman Julius Kelly is 7-2 this winter, while Stuttgart’s Omar Ortiz enters Euros as the second seed at the Central region.

Aviano’s Adrian Perez has put together a stellar freshman campaign, going 14-5 and placing second in the South. And Alconbury junior Andrew Barbee also can make some noise, producing a 12-5 campaign so far.

126

This is Joshua Kim’s world and everybody’s just living in it.

The Kaiserslautern senior has seemed unstoppable this season, going 15-0. Kim is hoping to avoid last year’s Euros result, where he fell in the 132 semifinal and placed third.

Vilseck’s Aiden Walser and Vicenza’s Kyler Mukai lead the pack trying to rain on Kim’s parade, having won the other two sectionals.

Lakenheath’s Xavier Bautista has come on strong as the season has progressed. The freshman has gone 7-3 over his last three meets following a 2-4 start.

Wiesbaden senior captain Alejandro Rios Cueller (13-2) is looking to improve upon his sixth-place finish from last year, and Rota’s Elijah Koo will be in the mix after taking second in the South.

A wildcard selection, Alconbury’s Edison Vega has championship pedigree, having won at 113 last season.

132

Prior to the sectional tournament, the odds-on favorite at 132 would have been Ramstein’s Nate Greene. The 2025 winner at 120 had dominated up until that point.

Lakenheath senior Christian Dey handed the Royal sophomore his first loss in the West sectional final, highlighting this bracket will be more competitive than originally anticipated.

Dey is 15-2 on the year, with one of those losses being a 7-3 decision against Greene (10-1) on Jan. 10.

Greene himself will be motivated to show that loss was a small blip during the first half of his high school career.

Others in podium contention are Stuttgart’s Sammy Johnson, who placed fifth in this weight class last winter, and Vicenza’s Liam Dokos, the South sectional winner.

138

Hohenfels’ Benjamin Tocco is looking to take the next step in his quest for a European title. After qualifying for Euros last season but missing a podium place, the sophomore went to a monthlong camp in the offseason.

That work has paid off so far, with Tocco claiming the Central sectional. He also has wins over two of his closest competitors in Ramstein’s Darien Bidlack and Stuttgart’s Rucell Phillip.

Bidlack has turned in a good sophomore campaign, going 15-5 and winning the West sectional. Phillip, while coming second to Tocco on Jan. 31, finished runner-up at the weight class in 2025.

Naples’ Julian Parker won the South sectional to return to Wiesbaden, where he placed fifth at 126.

Rota’s Leo McFarland is a former Euros qualifier, and Ramstein senior Camren Carlson claimed the 132 throne a year ago.

144

Alconbury’s Jacob Stuhler, Naples’ Hayden Schmall and Stuttgart’s Preston Schnieders lead a stacked bracket.

Stuhler is 16-0 and dominated the West sectional tournament with a pair of first-period pins. The senior placed fifth at 138 last year.

Schnieders also has plenty of European experience. The Panther placed third at 126 last year and has carried that form into this winter, winning the Central sectional.

Schmall placed fourth at 132 last winter as well.

Rota’s Leland Colangan and Hohenfels’ Emmitt Stewart enter Euros after placing second at their respective sectionals.

Kaiserslautern sophomore Davyn Meno’s lone three losses this campaign have come against Stuhler, including in the West sectional final.

Even Ramstein sophomore Talon Keeton, the West’s third seed, boasts a 14-8 record.

150

A pair of European returners could be on a collision course to face off for the title should things go as planned, which rarely happens.

Vilseck’s Andrew Pickel has built off his fourth-place finish at 144 last year. The Falcon won last Saturday’s Central sectional.

Ramstein senior Rhys Barlow also placed fourth – at 138 – last winter. He is unbeaten on the season at 16-0.

Vicenza’s Austin Anderson, the South sectional winner, will look to spoil the party, as will Rota’s Aiden Cruz; Wiesbaden’s Laydon Munoz (6-4), who’s made big strides in his second year of wrestling; and Ramstein senior Ryan Parvin, a Euros veteran who’s 14-6 this campaign.

157

This is another bracket that should be entertaining.

Stuttgart’s Dane Westberry, a Euro veteran, enters the tournament undefeated, and he’s joined by fellow sectional tournament champions Brady Price of Naples and Ryan Cassem of Ramstein.

Wiesbaden captain Wyatt Massey dropped down a weight class after earning runner-up honors at 165 last February, and his 11-5 record has him as the Central section’s second seed.

Included in the field are Lakenheath junior Parker Grimm, who placed sixth at 150 in 2025, and SHAPE junior Michael McGlothlin, who received a wildcard after being unable to compete at sectionals because of an illness. McGlothlin also is moving up a weight class after competing at 150 most of the season, where he went 13-2.

165

Good luck trying to figure out who will come out on top in this weight class.

Stars and Stripes’ 2024-2025 boys wrestling Athlete of the Year, 2025 Euros MVP and 157 champion Kai Lewis of Stuttgart placed third in the Central sectional.

Ramstein sophomore Xavier Schumacher has just one loss all campaign and is riding a West sectional victory from Jan. 31.

SHAPE junior William Smith (12-8) bested fellow junior and team captain Liam Kennington (14-5) at the Central sectional, highlighting the unpredictability of the field. Kennington took bronze at 175 a year ago.

And then there’s Andre Sunia. The Aviano senior has handled every opponent thrown at him, going 19-0 so far.

175

This weight class is top heavy, with the three sectional winners combining for just one loss all season.

Two of the three – Cruz Cottingham of Aviano and River Foulks of SHAPE – have podium experience at Euros. Cottingham (15-0) placed fifth at 190 and Foulks (14-0) took fifth at 165.

The other sectional champ, Ramstein senior Noah Filmore, sits at 9-1 on the season.

Ramstein sophomore Rutger Nelson (7-5) has made great strides over the season, and he showed it during the West sectional with a run to the final.

Naples’ Aden Lafontaine and Stuttgart’s Ethan Long and Zac Patterson (sixth at 190 last year) also will be in the mix.

190

Senior Tyler Mellon rounds out a trio of undefeated Saints heading into the European championships, and the Aviano grappler will have a great chance to bring home gold at 190.

Mellon took fifth at 215 in 2025.

Stuttgart’s Hayden Waller and Ramstein’s Sawer Nelson (10-1) also are coming off sectional titles and will be seeking to be top of DODEA-Europe.

Kaiserslautern senior Broc LeRoy, at 12-4, could make a deep run as well.

215

Ramstein senior Chris Farrington knows what it takes to be a European champion after winning at 190. This year, he’ll be a favorite to win at 215, sitting at 15-0 after a West sectional win.

Joining him as co-favorites are Naples Hans van de Mortel, the South sectional champ and the 2025 sixth-place finisher at 175, and SHAPE sophomore Aldas Pasvenskas (5-2), the Central sectional winner.

Lakenheath senior Jessiah Cruz (14-2) also could find himself on the path to the top of the podium.

285

Wiesbaden’s Dan Garin seems unstoppable heading into the weekend. The defending heavyweight champion has continued an unbeaten run that stretches back to the 2024-2025 season, sitting at 13-0 this campaign.

Leading those tasked with stopping the Warrior big man are Naples’ Xavier Crowson and Ramstein sophomore Trevor Jones (12-5). Lakenheath junior Johnathan Mihalyi (15-5) and Stuttgart sophomore Linus Soto could push for a top spot as well.