SHAPE's Logan Kimbrough, center, eeks ahead of Kaiserslautern's Quincy Seaberry, left, and Stuttgart's Leif Moore during the boys four-by-100-meter relay event at the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. SHAPE took gold in the event with a collective time of 43.59 seconds. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
The DODEA-Europe track and field championships wrapped up in familiar fashion on Friday, with Kaiserslautern taking the team title for both boys and girls for the second year in a row.
The Ramstein girls, however, almost stood in the way of the Raiders’ repeat.
Both teams scored 99 points to sit atop the team standings after two days of competition at Kaiserslautern High School. The tiebreaker went to the Raiders, since they earned more gold medals than Ramstein, said Kaiserslautern head track and field coach Jason Steadman.
“This is three years in a row for the girls, two in a row for the boys, and this is the second straight year we’ve won girls and boys at the same time,” said an emotional Steadman, as he was mobbed by his athletes after the meet.
“I see their grind, I see how hard they work,” Steadman said. “They’re willing to try new things, they’re willing to push themselves and put it all on the line for their team.”
Most competitors put it all on the line on Friday with the prize being a place on the podium, a personal best or the prospect of a new European record.
In the girls’ 3,200-meter relay, both Wiesbaden and Ramstein took down a record that had stood since 2012, when a team from Patch clocked 9 minutes, 55.02 seconds. Wiesbaden edged Ramstein to take the title, running 9:51.26 and 9:51.66, respectively. The Warriors’ distance-ace, sophomore Linden Pickler, turned on the after burners in the last 150 meters to clip Ramstein senior Caroline Swinson at the line.
“I was thinking about my teammates, and how badly we wanted that,” Pickler said of what motivated her down the home stretch. “We’ve been working all season, and it brings me so much joy that we could finish like this because a lot of us are moving, so we needed to have a strong finish.”
Rounding out the rest of the relay for the Warriors were junior Rebecca Ewers and freshmen Johanna Sawser and Evan Scheel. Scheel ran as an alternate in place of sophomore Clara Curtis, who was not able to compete.
Stuttgart's Linus Soto, center, poses for photos along with Lakenheath's Caiden Grove, left, and Wiesbaden's Matthew Deich during the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. Soto took gold in the shot put event with a distance of 50 feet, 7.75 inches. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
Wiesbaden's Alanna Donahue competes in the triple jump during the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserlautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. Donahue took gold in the event with a distance of 36 feet, 11.5 inches. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
Ansbach's Elizabeth Agudzi-Addo poses for photos upon being named winner of the girls discus event at the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. Agudzi-Addo took first with a distance of 111 feet, 7 inches. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
Kaiserslautern's Kaelyn Ronnau smiles after winning the girls 100-meter low hurdle event at the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. Ronnau took gold in the event with a personal best time of 15.59 seconds. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
Kaiserslautern's Davon Gann, center, and his teammate Isaiah Dykes, right, compete in the boys 110-meter high hurdle event at the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. Gann took gold in the event with a personal best time of 15.44 seconds. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
Another European record almost fell in the girls’ 3,200-meter run. SHAPE junior Cassandra Jarzabek missed the mark by just over two seconds, with a 11:09.57. Jarzabek set a record in the 1,600 and also won the 800 on Thursday. The heat, some headwind on the backstretch and running out front all alone may have cost Jarzabek a few seconds. But after having to drop out of the European cross country championship in the fall, Jarzabek said she was just happy with a win.
“I told myself right after that, that I’m going to come back stronger this track season,” she said. “I’m going to avenge myself. I’m really happy how the season played out.”
Jarzabek was named the meet’s top track athlete for girls, while Ramstein’s Adden Lowe earned the top track athlete on the boys’ side. Lowe racked up four gold medals in two days, including two on Friday in the 800- and 1,600-meter races.
For the field events, the meet’s top athletes for the boys and girls went to Kaiserslautern’s Floris van Kampen and Ansbach’s Elizabeth Agudzi-Addo, respectively. Agudzi-Addo, a senior, won the European title in the discus on Friday for the third straight year. She hopes to continue throwing the discus at the University of Albany in New York, where she plans to attend this fall.
Other multiple winners on Friday included Kaiserslautern’s Kaelyn Ronnau, who nabbed gold in both the 100 and 300 hurdles. She also anchored Kaiserslautern’s winning 1,600-meter relay in edging top-seeded Wiesbaden, 4:12.69 to 4:15.35.
Wiesbaden junior Michael Dozier swept the sprints, winning the 100 and 200, in just his first year running track.
He signed up for the sport to make his mom proud, he said. He had an inkling he could run fast, he said, “I just didn’t think I was championship fast.”
Wiesbaden Warriors Johanna Sawser, Rebecca Ewers, Eva Scheel and Linden Pickler pose with their gold medals following the girls 3,200-meter relay event at the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. The team won the event by 0.40 seconds. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
Kaiserslautern's Lyric-Janee' Stepnay poses with a plaque following the girls 100-meter dash at the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. Stepnay won the event with a personal best time of 12.41 seconds. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
Wiesbaden's Michael Dozier, center, takes the lead in the boys 100-meter dash during the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. Dozier took gold in both the 100- and 200-meter events, logging personal best times of 10.76 seconds and 22.13 seconds, respectively. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
Ramstein's Adden Lowe, right, leads the pack during the boys 1,600-meter run at the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. Lowe ran the event in 4 minutes and 30.05 seconds, netting himself a gold medal. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
Stuttgart's Joselin Tate, Isabella Rodriguez, Ellie Boom and Micaah Evans pose with plaques following the girls four-by-100-meter relay event at the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. The team took gold for their collective time of 50.71 seconds. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
Kaelyn Ronnau, anchor runner for Kaiserslautern High School, participates in the girls four-by-400-meter relay event at the 2026 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe track and field championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 22, 2026. Ronnau, along with teammates Kaziyah Boone-Gee, Chloie Hawkins and Olivia Seelbinder, took gold in the event with a time of 4 minutes, 12.69 seconds. (Zade Vadnais/Stars and Stripes)
Other first-time European champions landed atop the podium after several years of trying.
In the 400, Hohenfels senior Mazie Lorcher finally earned gold after finishing fourth in the event as sophomore and second as a junior. She clocked a 59.15 for the win and was the only athlete in the finals to break 60 seconds.
“This was my last time running the 400,” said Lorcher, who plans to enlist in the Air Force after graduation. After working hard for six years, “I needed this first place to end the season.”
Kaiserslautern junior Trinity Seaberry ran a personal best of 25.43 to win her first Europeans in the 200, improving on her third-place finish as a sophomore.
“My coaches gave me some motivational quotes,” she said. “It really helped me: ‘OK, I can do this, this is my race’ – and it was my race.”
Some returning athletes improved by leaps and bounds. Or, in the case of Stuttgart sophomore Linus Soto, by about 13 feet. Soto as a freshman was ninth in the shot put. This season, he threw about 13 feet farther, he said Friday, after winning with a toss of 50 feet, 7.75 inches, which tied his personal best.
He credits “rigorous training and a lot of blood, sweat and tears” for the improvement.
“I feel amazing,” he said, after accepting his gold medal. “I’m thankful for my coaches, my parents and all of my teammates for supporting me.”
