Ramstein's Genesis Esparza flips Kaiserslautern's Uno Tate on her back during a 115-pound girls wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – Sophia Seaburgh already had enough butterflies before stepping onto the mat at Ramstein High School on Saturday.

The Royals senior’s contest against Stuttgart senior Camille Acosta was her first wrestling match. She admitted to being nervous and excited right before the match was announced to the crowd.

But then came the tidbit that Seaburgh and Acosta’s 105-pound match was the first girls wrestling match ever at Ramstein High School and one of the first ever in DODEA-Europe.

Seaburgh felt the entire gym shift onto them.

“It was a lot for me to have on my mind,” Seaburgh said. “I had everybody’s eyes on me in the room, and I was so nervous. I had to uphold their standards they have for me.

“I was going to doing everything I could to take her down and make everybody proud.”

Seaburgh accomplished that goal and started off girls wrestling in DODEA-Europe on the right foot.

She handled Acosta with a pin at the 3-minute, 14-second mark. She dominated from the opening whistle, jumping out to a 10-1 advantage in the first frame and pulled a reversal in the second period to make it 12-1 before producing the fall.

Acosta, too, experienced nerves after hearing the announcement. The match wasn’t her first rodeo, as she competed against the boys last year and recorded a pin toward the end of the 2023-2024.

“It was quite a lot of pressure once they announced it, but I knew that in my head, I had to play it out like it was just another match that I’d been seeing all morning,” Acosta said. “Having that mentality was what kept me running through the entire time.

“I know that I lost and it was a hard loss, but I have the whole season ahead of me to work on it.”

Seaburgh lacked the experience Acosta had, although she didn’t come into the sport completely blind.

She was around the Ramstein program last winter, working as a towel tapper, or the person who alerts the referee that time has expired by hitting them with a padded stick.

Seaburgh said she picked up the ins and outs of the sport, which intrigued her.

“I was looking at the moves … and I’d think, ‘I can do this. I can learn this,’” Seaburgh said. “That gave me the inspiration.”

While being alone on the mat, Seaburgh credited a teammate with guiding her through the match.

Lily Greene, another 105-pound wrestler who qualified for the European championships last year against the boys, sat along the edge of the mat and offered advice. Numerous times against Acosta, Seaburgh looked to Greene and listened.

The two wrestled later in the day, with Greene pinning Seaburgh at 3:19.

“She is a soldier,” Seaburgh said. “Just to have her support is really good. It really helps.”

Ramstein's Sophia Seaburgh and Stuttgart's Camille Acosta listen to advice from the crowd during a 105-pound girls wrestling wrestling on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The bout was the first girls' match contested at Ramstein High School. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart's Dane Westberry looks up while holding Ansbach's Lucas Hendrixson to the mat during a 150-pound boys wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ansbach's Derek Richard is pushed back by Stuttgart's Zach Patterson a 190-pound boys wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern's Joshua Kim holds down Ramstein's Micah Rothas during a 132-pound boys wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart’s Dominick Welsh and Ramstein’s Rhys Barlow tussle for position during a 138-pound boys wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Vilseck's Jackson Witham tries to avoid the pin from Ansbach's Nathan Arreguine during a 165-pound boys wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ansbach's Abi Castillo pins Vilseck's Leah Yamachika to the ground during a 115-pound girls wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

While girls wrestling celebrated its opening, another program marked a rebirth.

For the first time in more than a decade, Ansbach Cougars hit the mats.

No one on the roster had experience wrestling before the season, according to coach Justin Ernest.

That didn’t stop the team from having success Saturday. While no Cougar won a weight class, Sarah Felice and James Colon placed second at 170-plus in the girls division and at heavyweight in the boys division, respectively.

Colon said he heard about the possibility of wrestling coming to Ansbach after Ernest, the football team’s conditioning coach, brought it up with the players during the fall.

“Essentially people who wanted to do wrestling thought it would be a fun winter sport,” Colon said. “We all just got together and said, ‘Hey, we should try to make this happen.’”

Felice mentioned giving wrestling a try because she was looking for a winter sport to stay in shape.

The junior said she never imagined she would begin her career by going 3-1 with pins against Vilseck’s TaLea Ferguson (1:52), Stuttgart’s Rylea King (2:42) and Ramstein’s Rhianna Elliot (1:24).

Her lone blemish came when Kaiserslautern’s Kaelyn Ronnau flipped the script and pinned her in 22 seconds.

“I was very surprised,” Felice said of Saturday’s results. “(My opponents) were really strong. I didn’t think I was going to win. I was really happy I got a pin.”

Colon, meanwhile, said the hardest aspect has been conditioning, and he learned of its importance Saturday against Ramstein’s Dorian Braun.

The senior was ahead by five points in the third period but became visibly tired as he tried to fend off Braun’s advances. It proved futile, as Braun turned it around and pinned the Cougar with 16 seconds remaining in the match.

“I could have absolutely used my time better, paced myself better, caught my breath,” Colon said.

Still, Colon has raised his expectations after he managed to place second in the round-robin format. He said a European berth is possible.

“I’ve never made it to Euros in any sport ever,” Colon said. “I really want this to be my benchmark.”

Hohenfels’ Ileana Rodriguez pulls Vilseck’s Daria Echeverria to the mat during a 110-pound girls wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Hohenfels' Kylejames Sigrah and Kaiserslautern's Josh Mosteiko grapple during a 150-pound boys wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ansbach's Sarah Felice spins Vilseck's TaLea Ferguson to throw her to the mat during a 170-plus-pound girls wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein's Liberty Snyder pulls Stuttgart's Emi Toone during a 110-pound girls wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Vilseck's Jayden Cruz picks up Kaiserslautern's Micah Miller during a 120-pound boys wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein’s Isaac Martinez controls Vilseck’s Maverick Chase on the mat during a 157-pound boys wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Black Forest Academy's Maris Means can't break free from the grasp of Ramstein' Kyleigh Duboise during a 140-pound girls wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein's Kydan Echard holds off an attack by Stuttgart's Andrew Morrow during the 165-pound boys wrestling final on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein's Lily Greene goes for a better grasp of fellow Royal Sophia Seaburgh during a 105-pound girls wrestling match on Dec. 7, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)