Kaiserslautern runner Samantha Ramsey leads SHAPE's Iveta Stefancinova to the line during an Oct. 14, 2023, race at Rolling Hills Golf Course at Baumholder, Germany. Ramsey held off Stefancinova to win the girls race in a time of 21:24. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

BAUMHOLDER, Germany – It may lack the monstrous hills that other European courses – namely Wiesbaden and Stuttgart – have, but the Rolling Hills Golf Course’s name gives away the terrain.

Home to the Baumholder cross country team, it also has been the longtime host of the DODEA European cross country championships. The next edition comes Oct. 21.

One week prior to that final, four teams – Kaiserslautern, SHAPE, Brussels and Baumholder – took the chance to get their qualifiers and non-qualifiers a feel for the non-forgiving profile.

“It’s definitely a harder course than most courses,” said Brussels’ Cade Wedekind, who won the boys race Saturday in a time of 18 minutes, 22 seconds. He estimated the course is 30 to 60 seconds slower than flatter routes. “To have a practice run right before Euros … it’s great to run so you can work out your race plan.”

That plan includes having to navigate the inclines and declines, which Kaiserslautern coach Amy Mathews-Soto said taxes athletes mentally as well as physically.

Another part of the plan is one that feels more natural for the sport. While some courses include numerous or extensive paved sections, Rolling Hills Golf Course almost exclusively is grass and dirt. Runners traverse two loops across the landscape before turning into the finish line.

“This terrain is perfect for cross country,” Brussels coach Dirk Vander Hulst said. “We never have a course that is 95 percent grass. It’s fantastic.

“Some of the footing – slanted left, slanted right – is tricky, but I love coming out here to lace up the spikes and really grip at it and go.”

Brussels senior Cade Wedekind runs ahead of SHAPE's David VanWagenen during a race at Rolling Hills Golf Course on Oct. 14, 2023, in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern's Noah Lutz looks to the side during an Oct. 14, 2023, race on Rolling Hills Golf Course in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Brussels' Damion Rogers looks ahead during an Oct. 14, 2023, meet at Rolling Hills Golf Course in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

For all the talk about the hills, the course has its flat sections, which is where Kaiserslautern’s Samantha Ramsey finds comfort.

The Raider junior took control of the girls race in the first loop and held off a late charge to the line from SHAPE’s Iveta Stefancinova to win on Saturday. Ramsey finished in a time of 21:24, while Stefancinova crossed with the same time.

Ramsey, who took 13th place at the 2022 European meet, survived the hills.

“I think hills probably are the biggest issue for me, but the flat parts are where I think I can use the opportunity to get ahead,” she said.

Her coach warned her and the rest of the Raider qualifiers about not going all out and trying to save legs for the big meet.

Mathews-Soto said Ramsey’s Saturday performance showcased her continued improvement. Ramsey struggled with some injuries early in her career, but just last week she broke the 21-minute barrier for the first time with a 20:53 at Wiesbaden.

“Before we came here, I did mention to (Ramsey) that Euros are next week, we don’t want to push too much – think of it as a workout,” Mathews-Soto said. “She made a decision, ‘I feel good today, I’m not overtaxing myself.’”

On the boys side, Wedekind is no stranger to the Rolling Hills course. The senior has qualified for the European meet twice already, and he used Saturday to fine-tune his strategy for a week later. He began with the front pack and pulled away throughout from SHAPE’s David VanWagenen and Kaiserslautern’s Noah Lutz, who took second and third with times of 18:40 and 19:14, respectively.

His time was about two minutes faster than his first run-in with the Baumholder course and a minute faster than at last year’s European meet, when he came in 24th place. His coach said Wedekind has come a long way from that race.

“He came on as a kid who didn’t know anything about cross country and caught the running bug early on,” Vander Hulst said. “He’s grown to appreciate the art of running and pushing himself further than he thought he could.”

Both coach and runner said the Brigands are hoping to contend for the Division III title, and after winning the team race Saturday with 29 points, they like their chances.

Kaiserslautern, meanwhile, has tempered expectations somewhat, especially after Mathews-Soto said the Raiders lost one of their top girls to injury. Jacob Porter, who didn’t run Saturday, should place highly on Oct. 21 with the seventh-fastest time in Europe heading into this weekend and the third-fastest runner behind Wiesbaden’s Luke Jones and Vilseck’s Jackson Cochran.

No matter the result, Mathews-Soto said her young squad should enjoy the experience.

“It’s fun to be here,” Mathews-Soto said. “It’s special.”

Brussels' Haley Mitchell and Kaiserslautern's Owen Porter run side by side during a race on Oct. 14, 2023, at Rolling Hills Golf Course in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

SHAPE's Rhianna Bender runs during an Oct. 14, 2023, meet at Rolling Hills Golf Course in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Runners from Baumholder, Brussels, Kaiserslautern and SHAPE sprint off the line during an Oct. 14, 2023, race on Rolling Hills Golf Course in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)