Aviano's Oliver Ryan runs the anchor leg of the sprint medley relay Saturday, April 25, 2026, while coach Hannah Lally cheers him on and Naples coach Chip Noonan calls out the time at a DODEA-Europe track meet in Pordenone, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
PORDENONE, Italy – It often takes athletes years of sweat and pain to achieve success in a given sport.
That’s not always the case, though, as evidenced by a handful of precocious achievers Saturday at a DODEA-Europe track meet in the largest city close to Aviano Air Base.
Sophomore Bryan Lewis hadn’t competed in track in three years at Vicenza after moving from Texas.
“We weren’t sure if he was going to be a sprinter or a high jumper,” coach Anna Sansone said. “He cleared the bar and he became a high jumper.”
Saturday, Lewis became the first boy to clear 6 feet in DODEA-Europe this season, establishing a personal best.
He said he really only came out for the sport “to improve my basketball skills.”
The 6-foot Lewis hasn’t played for the Cougars but has participated in Italian leagues outside the base. He plans to try out for the defending Division II champs next year.
And he’ll still compete in track, which he now enjoys.
“Probably not as much as basketball, though,” said Lewis, who also finished second in the long jump.
Sigonella freshman Mozi Okechukwu appears to be following in the footsteps of Rickalia Goss, who graduated last year after four years of always contending for titles at the season-ending championships in Germany.
Okechukwu won all four events she entered Saturday, taking the 100 (12.83 seconds), 200 (26.98), 400 (1:03.58) and long jump (15 feet, 3 inches). And she probably would have a bit better times if she had run through the finish line in each race instead of slowing down before it. A few older teammates let her know that.
Then there was Sigonella sophomore Kane DeFrees, who won both hurdles events and finished third in the high jump.
Aviano sophomore Oliver Ryan transferred to the school this year from Tbilisi, the capital of the European nation of Georgia. He won the 1,600 in 4:52.43 and then anchored his school’s winning sprint medley relay team.
Sigonella freshman Mozi Okechukwu, left, won all four events she entered Saturday, April 25, 2026, including the 100 meter run at a DODEA-Europe track meet in Pordenone, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza sophomore Bryan Lewis became the first boy to clear 6 feet in the high jump this year in DODEA-Europe, establishing a personal best at a meet in Pordenone, Italy on Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Sigonella sophomore Kane DeFrees clears a hurdle on his way to winning the 110 hurdles Saturday, April 25, 2026, at a DODEA-Europe track meet in Pordenone, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Kelsie Torgesen leads three Vicenza runners as the Cougars dominated the 1,600 meters Saturday, April 25, 2026, at a DODEA-Europe track meet in Pordenone, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza senior Dylan Horrigan soars through the air in the long jump Saturday, April 25, 2026, at a DODEA-Europe track meet in Pordeone, Italy. Horrigan won both the long jump and triple jump. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples' Abrial Gracien sends the discus flying Saturday, April 25, 2026, during a DODEA-Europe track meet in Pordenone, Italy. Gracien took second in both the shot put and discus. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza's Jacob McGovern leads a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200 meters Saturday, April 25, 2026, at a DODEA-Europe track meet in Pordenone, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples' Hudson Selph, who will attend the Air Force Academy in the fall, won the 3,200 meters Saturday, April 25, 2026, at a DODEA-Europe track meet in Pordenone, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Kelsie Torgesen leads three Vicenza runners as the Cougars dominated the 1,600 meters Saturday, April 25, 2026, at a DODEA-Europe track meet in Pordenone, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
American Overseas School of Rome's Natalia DiMatteo won the girls shot put Saturday, April 25, at a DODEA-Europe track meet in Pordenone, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Underclassmen didn’t hog all the spotlight Saturday, though.
Vicenza senior Dylan Horrigan won the long jump and triple jump. American Overseas School of Rome’s Natalia DiMatteo won the shot put and high jump in her final meet hosted by Aviano. And numerous others won single events.
All coaches and athletes agreed on one thing, though. They didn’t want Saturday’s meet to be the highlight of the season. That should come at the season-ending championships May 21-22 in Kaiserslautern, Germany, for those who qualify.
“We’ll be using the next two weekends to try to get PRs (personal records) and then hopefully peak after that,” longtime Naples coach Chip Noonan said.
