Hundreds waiting for chances to shine in track finals

Hundreds of athletes head to the 2026 DODEA European track and field championships seeking to become DODEA-Europe’s next big name a la Makiah Parker or Rickalia Goss.

Plenty of candidates stretching from bigger schools such as Ramstein, Kaiserslautern Wiesbaden and SHAPE to a small but mighty squad at Hohenfels could put themselves among those recent stars.

In the team race, everyone is gunning for the Raiders, who claimed the Division I boys and girls title last spring and have won the last two girls crowns.

For the boys, Stuttgart is pushing to regain the championship, while for the girls, Wiesbaden has bested Kaiserslautern numerous times over the season.

All will be decided at Kaiserslautern High School on Thursday and Friday.

Here’s a breakdown of each event and the potential winners based on seed times and distances:

Boys

Michael Dozier quickly acclimated himself after joining the Wiesbaden team this spring.

The junior enters Euros as the only runner to break 11 seconds in the theater. Dozier posted a 10.93 at Black Forest Academy on May 9.

He will face stiff competition from Kaiserslautern senior Quincy Seaberry. The defending champion in the event has improved his time, posting a season-best 11.17 during the last meet of the regular season.

Lakenheath senior Demilo Stroman and Stuttgart senior Leif Moore are tied for the third seed at 11.28, and Panther senior Amari Smith-El is right behind at 11.29.

A pair of senior Raiders could go to a photo finish in this race.

Noah Perez has the fastest 200 this season at 22.56 seconds, while Seaberry, who lost at the line in 2025, trails his teammate by just 0.03 seconds.

SHAPE senior Logan Kimbrough is the third seed at 22.72. Dozier sits as the fourth seed at 22.82, and only 0.01 second behind is Sigonella senior Kaleb James.

Ramstein’s Rhett Dalling could have himself a big day in the middle-distance races.

The junior is just one of two runners to eclipse 51 seconds in the quarter-mile. He has the fastest time in Europe at 50.84.

The other one and his closest competitor is Stuttgart sophomore Andre Peterson, whose best time is 50.88.

Kaiserslautern senior Collin Higgins is the race’s third seed at 51.41.

Dalling is the favorite to pull off the 400-800 double. The Royal is the only runner in Europe to run in less than 2 minutes this spring at 1:59.56.

Higgins sits back nearly a second at 2:00.52, while Ramstein junior Adden Lowe has the third seed at 2:01.09. Kaiserslautern senior B’Angelo Drew-Carranza is the fourth seed at 2:02.41.

Lowe has earned the favorite tag in the mile. His 4:28.86 is nearly 9 seconds faster than the second seed – fellow Ramstein junior David Merrell (4:37.79).

A pair of Naples runners, senior Hudson Selph and sophomore Hayden Pursel, are the third and fifth seeds at 4:42.29 and 4:43.95, respectively. Kaiserslautern junior Emilio Geraci has the fourth-best time of 4:43.75.

The two-mile race could be more competitive than usual, with three runners’ season bests being within 3 seconds of each other. Naples junior Henry Collins has the first seed at 10:26.31, and 0.15 seconds behind is Lowe.

AFNORTH senior Logan Conrad looks to build off his cross country individual title in the fall with a long-distance win on the track. He enters as the third seed with a 10:28.15.

Kaiserslautern junior Davon Gann is hoping to top the podium this year.

The sophomore dropped a whole second from his runner-up finish last year when he competed for Vicenza. Gann has the first seed with a time of 15.64.

Stuttgart junior Jeremyah Reyes has the second-fastest time in Europe at 16.04.

Last year’s champion, Kaiserslautern senior Isaah Dykes, is the third seed at 16.28. Sigonella sophomore Kane DeFrees is dark horse at the fourth seed with a season best of 16.38.

Hohenfels senior Jacob Berkau has set his sights on winning the 300 hurdles after falling just short a year ago.

The Tiger captain holds the best time this season at 41.69, more than half a second better than his 2025 Euros performance.

Ramstein’s Jaedon Leblanc will push Berkau. The Royal sophomore is the lone other DODEA-Europe runner is get under 42 seconds at 41.88.

Stuttgart senior Jaden-Reed Williams has the third-best time in Europe at 42.88.

The Wiesbaden quartet of sophomores Kaden Doster and Micheal Tate and juniors Alexander Varela and Dozier have the top seed thanks to Europe’s only relay under 44 seconds at 43.91. With Dozier as the anchor leg, the Warriors will be the favorites to stand atop the podium.

Kaiserslautern’s squad of junior Lukas Hilburn and seniors Channing Skaradzinski, Perez and Seaberry will be hot on their tails. The second seed recorded its best time of 44.01 at home in the last meet of the regular season.

Stuttgart seniors Amari Smith-El and Moore, junior Devon Johnson and Reyes are the third seed at 44.20.

Ramstein has the top seed, but most of the team that posted the 3:34.29 isn’t on the qualifiers sheet.

Junior Noah Herman did run on March 21 for the Royals. He will be joined by any combination of seniors Christopher De La Torre and William Singletary, juniors Myles Howard and Isaiah Craft, and sophomores Leblanc, Skyler Hauck and Jesiah Pope.

Kaiserslautern’s team is a major favorite as well. The second seed set its time of 3:34.65 at the same March 21 meet as Ramstein. Perez, Skaradzinski, Drew-Carranza and Higgins could team up once more.

Stuttgart’s team has the third seed with 3:35.79. The quartet that ran that race – sophomore Andre Peterson, senior Jaykwon Williams, junior Devon Johnson and freshman William Cheviron – are available, while seniors Jackson Balfrey-Boyd and Samuel Johnson and junior Gerald Stokely II also could run the relay.

Three of the four legs of Ramstein’s heavily favored team – Dalling, sophomore Skyler Hauck and Lowe – will run, joined likely by junior David Merrell.

Their 8:29.67 time is 16 seconds faster than the second-seeded Raider squad of Higgins, Drew-Carranza, junior Emilio Geraci and sophomore Christopher Young.

Wiesbaden junior Jacob Weintraub, sophomores Peter Smith and Ian Leisinger and junior David Boyd also will push to hit the line first after producing a 8:47.34 during the season.

Kaiserslautern has an embarrassment of riches in this event.

The Geraci brothers, Cohen and Emilio, were a part of the group that set the standard for Europe at 3:46.59. Add Seaberry and junior Lukas Hilburn, and the Raiders should stand high on the podium.

Ramstein will be nipping at their heels. The second seed of juniors Jayvian Swanson and Noah Herman helped produced a time of 3:52.67, and sophomores David Pacurar and Dharion Polk will join them.

Naples sophomore Yoel Lord, junior Michael Rubado, senior Sam Reiss and Pursel aren’t too far behind at 3:53.13, while junior Oakley Neumann also could join them.

Stuttgart’s Linus Soto has made exponential progress during his sophomore campaign, improving his throw by more than 13 feet from last year’s Euros.

Soto broke the school record at Wiesbaden on April 11 with a throw of 50 feet, 7.75 inches. That also is the top mark in Europe this spring.

Wiesbaden senior Matthew Deich’s season-best toss of 46-5.75 would have won the 2025 crown, but this year it has him as the second seed. Lakenheath senior Caiden Graves is the third seed at 45-11.

Ramstein senior Javier Harrington likely will run away with the competition as he goes for the three-peat. The standout has launched a disc 162-4, nearly 22 feet farther than his closest competitor.

That athlete is Floris van Kampen. The Kaiserslautern senior posted a 140-6 for the second seed, and his Raider teammate, junior Noah Wagner, is the third seed at 128-8.

Six athletes will get a chance to build a great rivalry that could go beyond this season.

Junior Kaiserslautern Jalen Newkirk has set the high mark at 6-0.5. Vicenza sophomore Bryan Lewis trails slightly at 6-0.

Four jumpers – sophomores Makai Sinclair of Ansbach, Polk of Ramstein and Egon Gonzalez-Escalante of Wiesbaden and junior Zach Lachonce of BFA – have cleared the bar at 5-11.

This event, too, could be one of the most competitive.

SHAPE junior Lincoln Coley has set the bar at 20-9, but Stroman trails by just one inch and could bring the title back to Lakenheath.

Don’t sleep on Spangdahlem senior Kingston Sago (20-5.25), Reyes (20-4.5) and Baumholder senior Skylar Cooper (20-3.5), who could leap themselves high onto the podium.

Vicenza senior Dylan Horrigan and Kaiserslautern senior Isaiah Dykes are going head-to-head for the second year in a row, after placing fourth and fifth in 2025. They are the top two seeds with marks of 42-8 and 42-7.5.

Ramstein sophomore Brayden Claggett also is in the mix at 42-6.5.

Girls

Wiesbaden seems ready to unleash the program’s next great sprinter in Lana Winters.

The junior knocked on the door last year with a runner-up finish. This spring, she’s the top seed in the 100 dash with a time of 12.36.

Last year’s bronze medalist, Kaiserslautern junior Trinity Seaberry, is right behind her at 12.54. A pair of freshmen, Raider Lyric-Janee’ Stepnay and Sigonella’s Mozi Okechukwu, trail as the third and fourth seeds at 12.71 and 12.75.

Spangdahlem junior Isabella Greenidge rounds out the Top 5 at 12.76.

Winters and Seaberry will take on each other once again in the 200. The duo make up the first and second seeds, with Winters posting a 25.38 and Seaberry a 25.77.

Another freshman, Aubrey Dent of Wiesbaden, enters as the third seed with a time of 26.34, while Okechukwu has made waves as a sprinter with the fourth-fastest time in Europe (26.40).

Dent could claim a European title as a freshman in the quarter-mile dash, which she enters as the fastest in Europe so far at 1:00.48.

Blazing behind her is Hohenfels’ Mazie Lorcher at 1:00.90. The senior broke the 1-minute barrier last year, when as a Vilseck Falcon she got a silver medal with a 59.37 at Euros.

Greenidge sits as the third seed, which was her placement in the event last year as a Ramstein Royal. Her best time this spring is 1:01.51.

American Overseas School of Rome senior Virginia De Santis also could end up high on the podium, with a best time of 1:02.42.

After dominating the Pacific theater, Cassandra Jarzabek has taken her talents on a European tour.

And the SHAPE junior isn’t missing a step. The Pacific record holder in the 800 and 1,600 is the top seed in this year’s half mile with a best time of 2:17.53.

Just 2.5 seconds back is DODEA European cross country champion Linden Pickler. The Wiesbaden sophomore has a season-best time of 2:20.01.

AFNORTH junior Kerli Klesmann (2:23.58) and Ramstein senior Caroline Swinson (2:26.00) also will push the two top.

With the extra 800 meters to run, Jarzabek holds a sizable gap over her main competitors heading into Euros.

The Spartan has her aim toward crossing the line in less than 5 minutes, with her best time of 5:03.31 at Wiesbaden on April 11 – the second and last time she has run that race this season.

Pickler is the second seed in this race as well, with the Warrior sophomore’s fastest time at 5:15.42.

Lakenheath’s Molly Smith continues to turn heads. The freshman has the third-best time at 5:18.37.

Swinson rounds out the Top 4 with a seed time of 5:22.30.

Jarzabek could sweep the distance events.

She’s the only runner in either of the Pacific or European theaters to run under 11 minutes in the two mile, as in her lone attempt at it this spring she ran it in 10:57.85.

Smith and Pickler are the second and third seeds at 11:28.03 and 11:28.97, respectively.

Hohenfels senior Kenya Tucker has a big Euros ahead of her with the possibility of multiple podium placements, including standing at the top on a couple.

The 100 hurdles is her best shot to bring home gold. The Tiger is the first seed and leads by more than a second with a time of 15.09.

Kaiserslautern senior Kaelyn Ronnau has the second-fastest time in Europe so far at 16.35, and Spangdahlem senior Alanis Figueroa is right behind the Raider at 16.67.

Ronnau has a big gap between herself and the rest of the field in the longer hurdle race. The Raider has the best time in Europe at 47.41, a second better than her runner-up finish in 2025.

Lorcher is the race’s second seed at 49.02, and fellow Hohenfels senior Isabella Porto is the fourth seed at 49.73. Between the two is Vilseck junior Lyla Ingram at 49.52.

The rest of the field needs great races to catch the defending-champion Raiders.

Senior Kaziyah Boone-Gee, Stepnay, Ronnau and Seaberry are the top seed at 49.61, which they ran in Frankfurt on May 2. Seaberry and Ronnau also ran for the opening and anchor legs for last year’s winners.

Wiesbaden’s group has the firepower to give it a go. A trio of juniors lead the way in Ireland Heatherly, Alanna Donahue and Winters, who helped the Warriors get their second-seeded time of 50.14 on April 25 at Kaiserslautern.

The other leg could be junior Nevaeh Fortner or sophomores Carmen Lima, Kynzie Martin and Gedalia Dzobi.

Stuttgart seniors Elli Boom and Micaah Evans and juniors Isabella Rodriquez and Joselin Tate are the third seed with a time of 50.81.

The Warriors have some choices to make.

The top seed set the best time in Europe of 4:18.08 April 11 at Wiesbaden with Heatherly, senior Annastasia Berghammer, Winters and Dent. They could go with that same group or insert junior Arianna Buttram, Lima or Fortner.

The Royals have the second-seeded team at 4:22.20, but they will see some shuffling in the lineup. Swinson; juniors Madeline Moga, Deliah Grandham, Madison Williams and Adriana McNeil; sophomore Alexis Hall; and freshmen Madeline Haris and Chyanne Ealey could run the race.

Ealey, Harris, Grandham and McNeil were the team that set the best time.

This relay is a two-horse race.

The Warriors have the top time of 10:07.75. The team that set it – freshman Johanna Sawser, junior Rebecca Ewers, sophomore Clara Curtis and Pickler – ran it on March 21 at Vilseck and have competed together three times this spring – but not in the last month.

The second-seeded Royals, meanwhile, have competed together more recently. Sophomore Ava Kavanauagh, Grandham, Williams and Swinson crossed the line in 10:09.05 on May 9 at BFA.

This race will be difficult to predict because teams are shuffling their lineups from the ones that qualified for Euros.

The Warriors have the first seed with a 4:21.40 on April 25. Heatherly was the opening leg in that race.

She will be joined by any combination of Lima, Fortner, sophomore Emmah Wetherwax, Martin, sophomore Kadence Halley, freshman Eva Scheel and Buttram.

The second-seeded Ramstein relay also is making changes. Moga, junior Bria Fisher, Ealey and Swinson combined for the best time at 4:27.65 on May 2 in Lakenheath.

Ealey, Moga and Fisher could run later this week, as could McNeil, junior Sarah McCaa, Williams and freshmen Madeline Harris and Hadley Schwamburger.

SHAPE, meanwhile, recorded a 4:33.07 on March 21 at Lakenheath, but just two from that quartet, freshman Gabriella Campos and junior Wiktoria Rybka, are on the qualifier sheet.

Others who may represent the Spartans are senior Kairi Hall; sophomores Kennady Ruddell, Elia Guerrero and Danai Orfanou; and freshmen Lara Moro Lopez and Adya Buckland.

Wiesbaden sophomore Aoife Wallin struggled to reach her freshman campaign’s success until the last meet of the regular season. At BFA, the Warrior threw a personal record of 32-3.25, just the second time this spring she’s gone over 30 feet.

That result had her leapfrog Kaiserslautern junior Rylee Baker, the 2025 runner-up in the event whose best throw has been 31-6.5, and Ansbach senior Elizabeth Agudzi-Addo, the fifth-place finisher last spring whose best toss this year has been 30-11, into the top seed.

Ingram and Lakenheath freshman Alexis Buchanan are the only other athletes in Europe to break 30 feet at 30-9.25 and 30-2.5.

Agudzi-Addo is the favorite to repeat, entering Euros with the top throw this spring of 112-3.

Baker, last year’s runner-up, is the only other discus throw to go over 100 feet with a 100-7. SHAPE senior Kairi Hall is the third seed at 97-8.

Hohenfels’ Tucker and Wiesbaden’s Donahue should provide plenty of sparks in the jumping events, beginning in the long jump.

Donahue is the defending champion, while Tucker took bronze a year ago.

They come into the European championships as the top two seeds. They are separated by just 1.5 inches – Tucker at 17-11.5 and Donahue at 17-10. The Warrior hasn’t hit the same numbers she did last year, when she won at 18-8.5.

Behind those two is Sentinel junior Talia Burse, whose season best of 17-2.5 puts her as the third seed.

Ramstein’s Danica Johnson will be trying for more than just a repeat title this week.

The sophomore has cleared the bar at 5-5, tying the European record held by Drisane McDaniels of Hahn in 1993 and Tynniesia Wilson of Vilseck in 2018.

AOSR senior Natalia DiMatteo also could be shooting for that mark, having cleared 5-2 earlier this season.

Vicenza senior Taylor Kirsch enters as the third seed at 4-11, while Ansbach’s Agudzi-Addo and Ailee Sinclair, BFA’s Nya Wiens and Campos have gotten over 4-9.

Here’s another Tucker-Donahue matchup in which the Tiger will try to unseat the Warrior.

Tucker has the top seed at 37-2, while Donahue’s best leap this spring is two inches shorter than her title rival. It’s also 6 inches shorter than her winning jump last spring.

Kaiserslautern senior Zenobia Davis is the third seed at 35-8.