Europe
Upstarts hold out hope they can crash the semifinal party
Stars and Stripes
February 6, 2025
Baumholder's Leilanni Slye pulls Wiesbaden's Carmen Lima onto her back during a 110-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
WIESBADEN, Germany – Two years ago, the Baumholder wrestling program was on life support, in real danger of being discontinued.
During the first day of the DODEA European wrestling championships Thursday at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center, the Buccaneers showed just how healthy they are now through Leilani Slye.
The sophomore swept all three of her opponents in the girls 110-pound weight class to book her ticket to the semifinals, which begin Friday afternoon. Slye faces Rota’s Akira Terlaje in her final pool-play bout to decide her knockout-round opponent.
“It helps us build our program,” Baumholder coach Mark Dube said of Slye’s performance. “People will see (her success) and want to be a part of that.”
A late-season switch set up Slye’s postseason run.
She began the season in the 105-pound weight class but wasn’t having the results she expected, recording three losses. Slye and her coaching staff moved her to 110, and she’s only lost once since – in the sectional tournament.
Slye mentioned she was too tall to compete at 105. Against athletes of a similar size, she has found more leverage on the mats.
“It’s easier to break (opponents) down,” Slye said of the heavier weight class. “When they’re just so small, they compact themselves, and then my body’s just so long. So, I’m trying to break them down and it doesn’t really work.”
On Thursday, the third-year wrestler pinned all three of her opponents, starting with Stuttgart’s Emi Toone at 3 minutes, 50 seconds. She followed that up by finishing Wiesbaden’s Carmen Lima in 2:58.
In her last match of the day, though, SHAPE’s Freja Rasmussen gave the Buccaneer fits. Rasmussen led by one point in the second frame and even nearly pinned her before Slye recovered.
The Baumholder sophomore led 16-7 and then produced a fall at 5:01.
“Her third match, she got a little sloppy, so she got fortunate to get out of that,” Dube said. “But that’s what a good wrestler does. They make mistakes and get in situations and then they work themselves out of it.”
Now, Slye turns her attention toward the next step.
She said she doesn’t hold high aspirations but instead will look to enjoy the ride.
“I want to say I want first, but at the same time, I know my limits,” Slye said. “Anywhere in the Top 3 I’m looking at.”
Ramstein's Matthew Schmermund controls Ankara's Daviti Japaridze during a 106-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Ankara's Arai Mukhametkarim holds Baumholder's Alyssa Meas against the mat during a 105-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano's Angelisse Griffin grabs onto the left leg of SHAPE's Ilaria Chierchia during a 155-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Naples' Brady Price pins Wiesbaden's Phillip Garcia during a 144-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Stuttgart’s Aslan Elmas brings Naples’ Deshaun Bowie down during a 120-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Ansbach's Abigail Castillo tries to overpower Rota's Julianne Maruskas during a 110-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Wiesbaden's Taylor Grace Westcott tries to pin Vicenza's Allie Torgesen during a 140-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Admiral sinks top seed
Rota’s Leonidas McDonald earned one of the final berths in the boys 126-pound bracket via a wild card and had a record of just above .500 heading into the European championships.
Waiting for him in the first match of pool play was Spangdahlem’s Caleb Truscott, one of the pool’s top seeds with a 12-4 record and a sectional title under his belt.
That didn’t faze the Admiral freshman. McDonald pulled off the upset 12-8 to bring chaos to group.
“I didn’t think I would do good here,” McDonald said. “So, it definitely was a huge boost, a great start for me.”
Things went downhill for McDonald from that point. He lost to defending European champion Mitchell Horrigan of Vicenza via a technical fall, 17-2, and then Wiesbaden’s Alejandro Rios Cuellar pinned him at the 2:46 mark.
McDonald faces an uphill battle to advance to the semifinals, but he has seen flashes of what he needs to do.
“I need to regain what I was in the first match,” McDonald said. “I’ve got to be offensive. The second match, I did lose, but I had great defense in that match. So, I feel like if I combine those two, I can do good tomorrow.”
Spangdahlem's Hudson Hulet tries to keep his balance as Hohenfels' Nehemiah Baleto attacks during a 215-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Sigonella's Terra Love tries to keep her back off the mat as Vilseck's Jayla Webb tries to pin her during a 170-plus-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Spangdahlem's Troy Truscott and Hohenfels' Ben Tocco grappled during a 132-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder's Alyssa Meas holds onto SHAPE's Ella Guerrero during a 105-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Rota's Leonidas McDonald looks to his coaches for advice while grappling with Spangdahlem's Caleb Truscott during a 126-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Naples' Phoenix Go-Oco fends off an attack from Wiesbaden's Wyatt Massey during a 165-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano's Andre Sunia tries to gain position against Ramstein's Pierson Lee during a 165-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Spartans show girl power on bench
SHAPE coach Bridget Clevinger had her Spartans rank the five coaches in order of whom they wanted to be on the bench during their matches.
For many of the girls, the top two were Clevinger and assistant coach Arissa Beaver. That meant multiple times, for what is the first time anyone in the building in Wiesbaden can recall, the coaching bench was filled only by women during a European tournament.
What made it special was Thursday marked the start of the first DODEA-Europe girls wrestling championship.
“It means a lot to us, but it’s pretty great that female coaches can be supporting female athletes,” Clevinger said.
Clevinger is in her second season in charge of the Spartans, while Beaver joined the staff this year.
Beaver wrestled on a mixed high school team in El Paso, Texas, and even represented the city during a national meet. Clevinger explained how her knowledge has helped the team, which qualified nine athletes to Wiesbaden.
“Female athletes tend to gravitate toward female coaches,” Clevinger said. “They see that it’s not just somebody telling them what to do, but somebody who could physically get out there and do it with them.”
Naples' Audrey Pounds twirls SHAPE's Ilaria Chierchia during a 155-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Ankara's Alfarid Ongalbek struggles as he's pinned against his stomach by Kaiserslautern's Davyn Meno during a 144-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Spangdahlem's Emily Simpson holds onto Stuttgart's Violet Tomko during a 140-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Stuttgart's Sammy Johnson and Ankara's Nurbek Rakhmedulla attempt to gain the upperhand against each other during a 132-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Kaiserslautern's Joshua Kim avoids a lunging Jack Findlay of Vicenza during a 132-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Lakenheath's Peyton Caranta puts Vilseck's Ayanna Tennial on her back during a 130-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
AFNORTH's Logan Conrad and Naples' Julian Parker open for openings during a 126-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
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