Coming Wednesday: DODEA-Europe wrestling preview.

The past two seasons, Ansbach and Kaiserslautern hit the bull’s-eye at the DODEA European marksmanship championships to win their first trophies, ending a dominant decade for powerhouse Stuttgart.

DODEA-Europe will be hard-pressed to continue that trend of new winners in 2024-2025. The Cougars and Raiders bring back talented squads. While the Panthers placed sixth at Euros last winter, they have a good mix of returners and newcomers to shoot back to the top.

Alconbury has become a mainstay at qualifying for Euros and is looking to take the next step, and Ramstein has shown steady improvement over the past few seasons, hoping to crack into DODEA-Europe’s upper echelon.

In the end, 12 programs will seek to become one of the six that qualify for the European meet on Feb. 1.

Here’s a team-by-team look at the marksmanship scene, based off responses from coaches:

Alconbury

Coach John Pardo’s Dragons have gotten themselves to the European championships the past couple of seasons, creating an expectation of making it a yearly occurrence.

That goal hasn’t changed, as he expressed his hope of making the Top 3 for the Western Conference.

To do so, Alconbury will turn to captain Ana Alejandro Diez and Alan Smith. Those two spent last winter on the varsity squad, with Alejandro Diez coming in seventh and Smith placing 26th.

Rosco Brady, Atlas Grant and Noelle Steele competed with the varsity team at least once last season, while Logan Ballew and Dionisia Dobson were regulars on the JV roster.

The Dragons have a strong freshman contingent, all of whom were with the JROTC program as eighth-graders. Anderson Steele, Orlando Milionis, Adriana Alejandro Diez, Gideon Boyd and Evan Houser are making the transition to the high school team.

Ansbach

The Cougars’ roster looks like a family affair this season.

Team captain Laysha Bobbitt, who placed 23rd at Euros last winter, enters her fourth season joined by her younger sister Vanessa. The Serna brothers, David and Ethan, are in their third years, while Chance Duplessie follows in his two older brothers’ footsteps – including Kenton, who finished eighth in 2023-2024 – in his third season. Minka Larson sees her sister Pashmina enlist in the squad.

Continuing the family connection are newcomer brothers Micah and Alexander Cook.

Also new to the squad are Violet Richard, August Bolinski, Jamie Berger, Sadie Craig, Caylee Wright, Wylea Tanouye, Loch Wollenzein, Marley Shackleton, Teddy Mansell and Rian Rivera-Mojica.

Baumholder

The Buccaneers are an inexperienced bunch, but that won’t stop them from pushing for European qualification.

Siblings Ashlyn (senior) and Cadien (sophomore) Brech are the lone returners. Junior Gabby Zdunczy, sophomore Adrian Maldonado and freshmen Savannah Khadka and Elizabeth Short round out the squad.

Kaiserslautern

The Raiders completed their meteoric rise under coach Bill Conley last season by winning the DODEA European title and the JROTC Air Force crown at Camp Perry, Ohio.

The mission for 2024-2025: Proving last year wasn’t a flash in the pan.

Gone is European runner-up Katelynn McEntee, but coming back is Noah Truschinski, who came in fifth overall last campaign. Another with European experience is Amanda Garcia, who shot well enough for 13th place individually.

Also returning for Kaiserslautern is Noah’s sister Joyce Truschinski, Amanada’s sister Aubrey Garcia, Korah Franz and Auriana Davis.

New faces expected to have an impact are Isabelle Nicolae, Daniel Mackie, Annalyn Higgins, Channing Skaradzinski, Victoria Mauldin and Ryan Kosterman.

Ramstein

The Royals are still a relatively young program, but they keep getting closer to Europe’s elite.

Helping coach Doug Havin this year is 1st Lt. Theresa Sawicki, who has seven years of shooting experience. The duo oversees a group that Haven described as a strong mix of veterans and rookies.

The veterans include Diego and Mateo Cardenas, Charles Kretz, Dylan Matthews, Sophia Pinero, Grayson Schmidt and Leni Taylor. The rookies include Isabella Arias, Scarlett Hosey, Aleksey Knapp, Taben Pfeifer and Maksym Tsyhankov.

Spangdahlem

Coach Doug Cobb sees a bright future for the Spangdahlem program, as he said the Sentinels will be competitive this year.

He pointed to freshman Al Roman and transfer Amicay Farrer as key additions to a squad that returns Isabel Garver, Adriana Tijerina, Garrett Tanksley and Mason Knight.

Stuttgart

The Panthers will try to claw their way back to the top this season.

To do so, they will turn to two-time European qualifier Kathryn Gillooly (24th last year) and one-time qualifier Aurora Mayo (28th). Also back are Jaqueline Polkowski, Avery Gerhauser, Madeline Moonan and Emma Adamson.

New to the team are transfer Erica Logan, Charlotte Gerhauser, Ryan Schuneman and Rhegan Orrell.

Vicenza

The Cougars are looking to build off their fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference in 2023-2024.

To do so, they are banking on veterans Philip Cirillo and Rielyn Casper to shoot consistently in the 270-280 range. Coach Philip Paniagua said he hopes to get everyone else in the 260-270 range.

Also returning to the squad are Finnegan McCann, Liam Miguel and Sofia Reed. Joining the team this season are Benjamin Irwin, Lela Loughney, David Spencer, Matthew Chichester, Triston Thornton, Russell Casper and Gabriel Heningburg.

Vilseck

The Falcons were decimated by PCS, losing three top sophomores and having just one varsity returner from last year’s sixth-place squad.

That one veteran, Ulric Bridges, placed 20th at Euros. The four-year shooter is co-captaining with junior Jasmine Tetterton, who’s in her second year.

JV and sporter-class shooters who coach John Sabala said must take a step forward are senior Noemi Rosario, junior Jonathan Talbot and sophomores Camdyn Deese and Justin Friebe.

Entering their first season shooting are senior Hector Arias, junior Landon Hill and freshmen Russell Beargeon, Noah Tucker, Brilee Grenier and Karter Kullerud.

related stories

• 2024-25 DODEA-Europe marksmanship schedule