Rota's Charles Everhart pulls down Kaiserslautern's Anthony Zamor in a 285-pound match match at the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. Everhart went on to win the match. (MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES)
Rota's Charles Everhart pulls down Kaiserslautern's Anthony Zamor in a 285-pound match match at the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. Everhart went on to win the match. (MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES)
Rota's Isaac Hagood, top, tries to turn Kaiserslautern's Ty Quinto in a 195-pound match at the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. Hagood won. (MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES)
Aviano's Nick Smith has the upper hand on Ramstein's Cameron Lebrun and went on to win the 170-pound match on the first day of action at the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. (MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES)
Ankara's Roberts Swart, left, grapples with Matteo Toliver of Naples in a 160-pound match on the first day of action at the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. Roberts won the second round bout. (MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES)
AFNORTH's Iosefa Palmer tries to drag down Naples' Choosen Lokombe in a 138-pound match at the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 14, 2020. Lokombe went on to win. (MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES)
Naples' Giancarlo Forero has Vilseck's Samuel Villasenor in his grip in a 132-pound match on the first day of action at the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. Forero went on to win. (MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES)
Alconbury's Becker Dunscombe, left, grapples with Stuttgart's Ivan Centeno in a 126-pound match on the first day of the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. Centeno won the close match 10-9. (MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES)
Spangdahlem's Carson Hicks puts the pressure on Seth Robles of Hohenfels in a 120-pound match on the first day of action at the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. Hicks went on to beat Robles. (MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES)
Wiesbaden's Reyder Rivera Sanchez, top, tries to turn Brussels' Adrian Caban on his way to winning a 113-pound match on the first day of action at the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. (MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES)
Brussels' Ethan Bell prepares to take down SHAPE's Nicolene Anduaga-Arias in a 106-pound match on the first day of action at the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. (MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES)
WIESBADEN, Germany – There wasn’t much doubt heading into the DODEA-Europe wrestling championships which two schools would be leading the way in terms of both scoring the most points and sending the largest contingents into the finals.
Friday, six-time defending champion Stuttgart and archrival Ramstein didn’t disappoint. The Panthers led the Royals 90-88 after the first four rounds of action.
“The secret to our success is our volunteer coaches, parent support group and the Child and Youth Services feeder program,” Stuttgart coach Norman Matzke said.
The fifth round of preliminary action will be held Saturday morning, with the semifinals as well as the battles for fifth, third and first following. More than 150 athletes, representing 18 different schools, are competing for the right to be the best in Europe.
The race for the Division II championship is being closely contested by defending champion Rota and Naples. At the end of Day One, Rota leads Naples 35.5-30.5. The contingent from Rota is led by the undefeated Brenon Colvin, who won all three of his matches by pin at 182 pounds. He also received a bye.
“We have never had an individual weight class champion, so if there’s any pressure on our team it’s to win an individual title,” Admirals coach Luke Spencer said. “Our motto this year has been process over product, we are more focused on the way that we wrestle and not our wins and losses.”
Going into the second day, Division III is being led by the defending champion Spangdahlem, with Sigonella just behind, 23.5-22.5.
At the opposite end of the spectrum from the large number of wrestlers that Stuttgart and Ramstein brought to the tournament are 152-pounder Jacob Caricato, representing the International School of Helsinki, and 160-pound wrestler Roberts Swart, representing George C. Marshall of Ankara, Turkey. Both were unbeaten as well on Friday.
“He’s doing very well, having won the central sectional and he’s currently undefeated for the season,” the former’s father and coach, Ed Caricato, said. “We’ve seen schools making adjustments and we are going to be facing difficult competition through the rest of this tournament.”
