New champions will sit on thrones in cross country

DODEA-Europe enters yet another season with no chance of repeat individual champions in cross country.

Last year’s winners, AFNORTH’s Logan Conrad for the boys and Wiesbaden’s Linden Pickler for the girls, are gone due to graduation and a PCS, respectively.

That leaves the door open for a new champion, and the fields for both might be even more stacked than usual.

Stuttgart has a pair of contenders on the boys side, though transfers and freshmen elsewhere could have their say in the matter.

SHAPE’s Cassandra Jarzabek is back for a vengeance after last year’s final race, while Lakenheath’s Molly Smith could give her a run for her money. Also, a Naples transfer could throw a wrench into the plans of the former DODEA-Pacific champion.

In the team races, it will take a lot to beat the Panthers in Division I, while the Naples boys and Vicenza girls will seek to defend their titles in Division II. AFNORTH, meanwhile, will have its hands full holding off the field in D-III.

All will be decided Oct. 24 at Rolling Hills Golf Course in Baumholder, Germany.

Here’s a team-by-team look around Europe, based on coaches’ responses:

Alconbury

Coach Mark Reichert said the Alconbury cross country team is trending upwards after struggling a year ago.

Just one Dragon, Nathan Lee, ran in Baumholder last fall. Reichert expressed his belief that a strong group of freshmen and other first-year runners will send more runners to Euros.

Other veterans are senior Jeremy Stein and juniors Arinna Free and Jude Venteicher. Sophomores Lily Quigley and Leo Vega and freshmen Ian Lee, Sincere Smith-Muroe, Alex Chavez and Conner Jewell are the problem’s newbies.

American Overseas School of Rome

Maintaining and strengthening the program is the main mission of new coaches Daniel Hopkins and Trish Roberts this fall.

The Falcons have three returning European qualifiers in juniors Lukas Hemling (22 minutes, 18.49 seconds) and Luca Perni (25:16.53) for the boys and senior Rebbeca Conchaud (28:44.60) for the girls. Maya Peters also brings experience back from last year.

New this year are Anita Conchaud and Henry Peters.

Baumholder

Mark Dube has seen the work his runners have put in over the offseason, and that has him excited about the team’s potential this fall.

Three Buccaneers with European championship experience have returned in sophomore No. 1 boys runner Bryce Gonzalez, senior Caiden Brech and junior Kimber Morgan. Non-Euros veterans include sophomores Alexander Bohon-Donalson and Jaiden Hernandez-Quisano.

Freshmen Bryce Oliva, Amadeus Byrd, Evan Buchanan and Corbin Rothenberger join the squad this fall.

Black Forest Academy

The Falcons could soar this season, despite losing some of their top runners on the boys side side.

Three boys have postseason experience. Juniors Isaiah Taylor and Jude Dawkins ran at Euros last fall, with Taylor taking 43rd place in 19:43.04 and Dawkins coming in 47th at 19:45.72. Senior Karsten Wong didn’t run Euros as a junior, but he did so as a sophomore, taking 43rd in 19:25.02.

They are joined by junior transfer Aiden Johnson, who boasts a personal best of 18:06.

The girls could find themselves competing for a European crown as a team.

Junior Lily Cox placed 23rd a year ago with a time of 23:33.80, while senior Jacqueline Kim and junior Katerina Wong also traversed the course at Rolling Hills Golf Course in 69th and 77th place, respectively.

Senior Abby Carlson qualified for the championships last season but was unable to run after a government shutdown paused the season and pushed the meet a week later than originally scheduled.

Track convert Grace Ishikawa and a few other new faces give BFA depth.

Frankfurt International

The Warriors were shut out of the European championships last year. Coach Manika Mookerjee has set the group for her runners to change that.

She has a relatively clean slate this fall. New to the team are Max Walde, Angel Pena Rolo, Angelica Pena Rolo, Ella Benzin, Jule Benzin, Ailin Weber and Lilian Hwu.

Hohenfels

First-year coach Robert Cypher has plenty of veteran leadership that he said he hopes can pace most of the team to Baumholder.

Sophomore Jason Burke was the Tigers’ No. 1 runner in 2025, placing 61st. Senior Emmitt Stewart took 87th in the boys race.

Senior Grace Dermody is the top returning girls runner after taking 51st.

Altair Houghton and Ava Zapata both competed for Hohenfels last year but fell short of European qualification.

New runners are Nathan Stellfox, Isabella Arellano, Olivia Honeycut and Lucian Finan.

Kaiserslautern

Expectations are high for the Raiders heading into this fall.

Kaiserslautern boasts a huge roster with a good mix of experience and youth with high potential, and first-year coach Karen Spitzer said the goal is build a program that can last well beyond this season.

Four of last year’s European squad are back on the boys side. Emilio Geraci posted a Top 10 finish as he completed the 5-kilometer European course in 18:16.01. The senior is expected to pace the Raiders again.

Fellow senior Cohen Geraci is the next-highest returning Euro runner after placing 54th in 19:55.94. Senior Ian Sevegney (57th, 20:08.83) and junior Christopher Young (66th, 20:19.36) are the other two Euro veterans.

Several other experienced runners – Ryan Anderson, Lukas Carter, Cortan Johnson, Cooper Geraci, Oliver Flores and Aedan Reichert – have made great strides over the offseason.

Of the newcomers, sophomore Emmett Polzer has placed himself among Kaiserslautern’s top runners.

The girls team has similar potential.

Of the returners, senior MaiLinh Guckeyson placed highest at last year’s Euros in 56th place, followed closely by sophomore Acadia Stewart in 59th. Senior Addison Stotz crossed the line in 79th.

Ilaria Vestal and Arianna Bryson also bring back a veteran presence.

Sophomore newcomer Aniyah Robinson has emerged as a runner to watch for the Raiders this season.

Lakenheath

The Lancers may have numerous new faces, but they also have one of the best girl runners in DODEA-Europe.

Smith is coming off a big freshman season that saw her finish runner-up at the cross country championships in a time of 20:38.50. She followed that up with a silver in the 3,200 at the track championships in the spring.

Joining Smith on the watchlist are veterans Jordan Freeman, Emma Burrows and Landon Marcum and newcomer William Guest, according to first-year coach Rita Oglezneva.

Other returners are Kirra Aguan and Ellen Parks. Landon Brimley and freshmen Ainsley Parks, Lily Roberson and Jaylen Draughn are new to the Lakenheath team.

Naples

The Wildcats should be in the running to repeat as the boys Division II team champions as well as competing on the girls side one season after not qualifying as a team.

Starting with the girls, Naples picked up a huge transfer in Kelly McIntire.

While at Point Loma, Calif., the senior took 20th in the Division II race at the California Interscholastic Federation state cross country championships with a time of 17:58.6 as she led her team to a third-place finish on Nov. 29, 2025.

Longtime Naples coach Chip Noonan understandably has gushed over his newest runner, and he said McIntire should push for a DODEA individual title this fall after shattering Naples’ home course record by nearly a minute with an 18:03 on Sept. 5.

She joins a Wildcat team that brings back Sonja Gottlieb. The senior placed 36th overall last year in Baumholder.

For the boys, senior Henry Collins and junior Max Viterlla are the top returners from last year’s D-II winners. They placed 29th and 31st overall with times of 19:14.68 and 19:15.60. Collins followed that by taking 11th in the 3,200 at the track championships in May.

Another newcomer could eclipse the veterans. Freshman Anthony Fuoco trained the last two years as a middle schooler, and Noonan said his times match the Wildcats’ best runners.

Ramstein

The Royals have many athletes entering their third or fourth season under coach Reagan Etherton, and they will be banking on the veterans to show the younger athletes the ropes.

Of the veterans, Adden Lowe stands out. After taking 19th place at last year’s cross finals, the senior dominated on the track in the spring, sweeping the distance events with gold in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. He also was the anchor leg on the European record-setting 4x800 relay squad.

David Merrell also has European experience with a 75th-place finish in cross country last November as well as a runner-up finish in the mile and a victory in the 4x800 in the spring.

Two veterans will pace the girls as well. Junior Ava Kavanaugh took 16th place in 2025, and sophomore Amaya Klein crossed the line in 54th place.

Freshmen expected to make an impact this fall are Anderson Skasa and Taylor Ruiz for the boys and Sophia Medina and Brielle Bloomquist for the girls.

Sigonella

The Jaguars are expecting more success after 2025, in which the boys team took silver in Division II.

Sigonella has three returners who ran at Euros: junior Sean Rivers (30th, 19:14.97), junior Evan Caraveo (73rd, 20:50.82) and senior and team captain Weston Frank (74th, 20:52.82).

According to coach Luis Caballero, newcomers Isaiah Callejas, Gabriel Bedard, Yorian Pierek, Ernesto Caraveo, Sophia Roman, Madeline Murr, Amelia Harpel, Hannah Hoyt, Cameo Doblack, Henry Murr, Malwina Soja and Maya Caraveo have much potential as runners.

Stuttgart

The Panthers are a powerhouse for a reason.

They enjoy running the hills around Stuttgart, and their depth allows them to reload almost every year.

This year should be no exception, third-year head coach Lisa Welsh said.

The boys team is the favorite to take home its third consecutive Division I crown. Stuttgart has five of the seven varsity runners from a year ago back and another eight to 10 who are trying to break into that group.

That allows the Panthers to go for gold this year while setting themselves up for the future.

The top two runners from last year, Ethan Cohen and Nathan Kaley, are back. Cohen came in second in a time of 17:31.70 but is coming off an injury during track. Kaley, meanwhile, took third in cross country in 17:39.21 and ninth in the 3,200 during track.

Sophomore Aiden May will look to build off a fine freshman campaign that saw him come in 15th in cross country with a time of 18:37.10 and 12th in the 3,200 in track. Juniors Henry Arnold and Jayden Jobi crossed the finish line in Baumholder in 35th and 36th place in 19:21.41 and 19:21.56, respectively.

Senior Aidan Reukema and sophomores Emerson Weeks, Joehan Ortiz Santiago, Logan Tylor and Orion Balfrey-Boyd are knocking on the Top 7’s door.

Junior Ethan Long was a late transfer last fall. Sophomore Isaiah Brower transferred from homeschooling in Virginia, while freshman Mason Snow moved to the heart of Swabia from Ohio.

Fellow freshman Ronin Phillips has produced good times while in the Stuttgart CYS program, and Welsh expects him to make the jump.

The girls, meanwhile, lost the core of their squad. Welsh said the Panthers have their work cut out for them to win their fifth-straight team title with 11 brand new runners.

Still, Stuttgart can bank on a pair of Top 10 finishers to pace the squad. Sisters Kendall and Cora Cancel went sixth and 10th at last year’s Euros in times of 21:16.60 and 21:36.22.

Kendall, a junior, placed eighth in the 400 in track this spring, while Cora, a sophomore, took fifth in the 3,200 and sixth in both the 800 and 1,600.

Sophomore Jada Gould came in 42nd place last fall.

Senior Joselin Tate and junior Charlotte Ng will seek to make an impact. And sophomore Adrianna Phillips is coming over from the track team after placing fifth and ninth in the 800 and 1,600 this past spring.

SHAPE

The Spartans have big goals as a team and individually, and they might have the pieces to accomplish them.

Perhaps no one is more motivated than Jarzabek. After dominating the Pacific’s long-distance scene, the senior posted the fastest time in Europe last fall at 18:14.94. When it came to the championships, though, she dropped out 1.8 miles into the race.

Jarzabek came back with a vengeance during the track season to win the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 races at Euros. Her 5:01.09 mile broke the previous European record.

She will hope to carry that form over into the cross country season.

One year after winning the PCS lottery with Jarzabek, new SHAPE head coach Matt Howard has received a few more gifts for the boys team.

Junior Luke Anderson moved from Pennsylvania to Le Mons, Belgium, this year. He brings plenty of experience, and his personal record is 18:10.

Another junior transfer, Aaron Zamarripa competed in Alabama last year, posting a best time of 18:12.

Freshman Carl Howard made waves prior to joining the high school team. As an eighth-grader, he posted a best road 5K time of 18:14.

Vicenza

The Cougars have the core of their Division II-winning girls squad back, while coach Anna Sansone said a strong group of transfers hope to power the boys back to the top.

For the girls, junior Kelsie Torgesen will lead the way after taking eighth last October in 21:32.39. Sophomores Shieka Cox and Anna Lacy made their presence felt as freshmen, qualifying for Euros and placing 31st and 38th, respectively. Senior Ilinca Gordon finished in 52nd place.

The Top 5 boys runners in 2025 are back. It starts with senior Jack Findlay, whose 18:11.18 time at the championships put him in ninth place. Seniors Luca Stutgart (46th) and Devlin Platt (49th), sophomore Brett Woodward (69th) and junior Kolton Riley (88th) are the others.

Ranya Boubetana, Audrey Herrera, Liam Miguel and Triston Thornton are the team’s other veterans.

New to the team are Steven Abadia, Cameron Barnes, James Dean, Aliyah Gonzales, Henry Grady, Mason Kang, Liam Lawson, Nathan Lubba, Tristan Macy, Porfirio Mendoza-Hildreth, Amelie Sansone, Nicola Santos, Sarah Santos and Mason Stringer.

Vilseck

First-year coach Sabina Maxwell said the Falcons still are trying to find their footing as the cross country season begins.

Just four runners are back – European qualifiers Gadiel Agostas and Cael Rowley for the boys and Euro qualifier Scarlett Boersma and Aaliyah Mikeal Barcenas for the girls.

Heading into the season, Agosto, a junior, looks to be the top boys runner. He’s followed by senior newcomer Shooter Jaymes, junior Jake Thomas, Rowley and sophomores Amgalan Dojsuren and Amirlan Dorysuren.

For the girls, sophomore Eva Shumski could be the team’s top runner. Kimberly Contreras and Skye Gutierrez already have shown the ability to run finals qualifying times, while Nora Broyles has come close in the lead-up to the season.

Other newcomers include Paul Balum, Tevin Beavers-Pierce, Lydia Bednar, Cai Bemis, Elyas Bencheda, Hunter Dahle, Madison Duran, Estevan Hargrove, Brody Ly, Jack Lynch, Brayden Orvin Culata, Ava Richter, Jake Thomas and Brianna Thomasson.

Wiesbaden

The boys could be in store for a great season, according to new head coach Chris Evans.

The Warriors have four guys back from last year’s Euros squad. Senior David Boyd returns after a sixth-place finish in 17:54.12. Senior Peter Smith took 25th in 19:00.04, while fellow senior Jacob Weintraub crossed 45 seconds later in 48th place. And Ian Leisinger came in 59th.

Nephi Phillips also will try to impact the squad this year.

The girls lost a huge chunk of their Division I-runner-up squad to PCS. Only sophomore Johanna Sawser, who placed ninth in a time of 21:36.18, is back. Freshmen Kayla Bengtson and Olivia Crain transferred to Wiesbaden over the summer and should complement Sawser.