Ronnau proudly carried on family tradition on mat

Kaiserslautern’s Kaelyn Ronnau, right, prepares to throw Ramstein’s Leona Smith to the mat during the 152-pound final at the 2026 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2026, at Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern’s Kaelyn Ronnau and her four older siblings don’t hang out like most families do when they get together over the holidays.

Four of the five, including Kaelyn, are wrestlers. Among them are her brother Blaise, who won a DODEA European championship at 160 pounds as a freshman at Munich International in 2018 and competed at NCAA Division II program Fort Hayes State, and her sister Alleyah, a former national placer.

So, the family bought a wrestling mat and rolled it out when they lived in Wyoming. Since Ronnau and her parents Benjamin and Yolanda moved back to Germany ahead of her junior year, they head to the gyms to roll them out there.

Kaelyn, Stars and Stripes’ 2025-2026 Europe girls wrestling Athlete of the Year, cut her teeth on those mats.

“I always want to be better than them,” Ronnau said of her siblings. “Sometimes that happens; a lot of times it doesn’t.

“It creates a competition that I strive for and gets me the reassurance that I wanted from doing a sport that’s hard and mostly male dominated.”

After her senior year, it’s obvious that practice came in handy.

Ronnau finished her high school career with a 116-22 record and more than 100 pins. She went undefeated with two European titles over two seasons in DODEA-Europe, including a 28-0 mark her senior campaign.

She also earned tournament MVP honors at the European championships on Feb. 5-7 at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Ronnau credits all her success from what she has learned from her family.

“The knowledge has been passed down from my dad coaching them to coaching me,” she said. “But (it’s) also from the experience in the States and being aggressive when I go out on the mat and knowing that I just have to focus on myself and not other people.”

She was an unstoppable force in DODEA.

Ronnau’s matches rarely lasted long, securing pin after pin. Ronnau said she still tried to find ways to improve and prepare herself for the National High School Coaches Association High School Nationals, which take place March 27-29 in Virginia Beach, Va.

For instance, she tried various shots and moves while on top during matches.

“My strength is probably being confident when I go out there, but also, I focus on the technique of moves instead of trying to do it fast, like ‘Oh, this looks cool,’” Ronnau said.

Despite all her success on the mats in high school, wrestling in college might not be in her future.

Ronnau said a Division III school has reached out, but it doesn’t have a journalism program. The Cheyenne, Wyo., native said she wants to pursue sports or political journalism.

So, she’ll likely head to Kansas State University. Her sister Alleyah coaches at a high school in the city, and Kaelyn said the school reached out to her to see if she would help coach.

Kaelyn Ronnau got a chance to teach a few kids the sport last summer in what she called an enjoyable experience.

“I just like to help not necessarily the new generation but seeing the new generation build up through wrestling,” Ronnau said. “It gives me a sense of pride knowing that I helped them out.”