Vilseck's Jayden Freeman looks toward the referee while trying to pin Vicenza's Paul Sturtevant during a 150-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitnes Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

WIESBADEN, Germany – Vicenza’s Mitchell Horrigan and Liam Dokos spent perhaps too much time watching film of their opponents at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships.

Horrigan said he should have been doing his homework some of that time.

But that scouting has paid dividends. The Cougars each qualified for the 126-pound title bout by winning their semifinal matches on Friday afternoon at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne.

Dokos, who came into the tournament as the second seed in his pool, pinned Stuttgart’s Preston Schnieders in 25 seconds. Horrigan outlasted SHAPE’s Julyan Serrano-Garcia in the other semifinal with a 9-3 decision.

“It was a big thing for us to study and to look at all the film that we could pull from all the different livestreams,” Horrigan said. “I was 100 percent confident that we were going to make finals together.”

The all-Cougar final highlighted a big day for the Vicenza wrestling program. Five Cougars advanced to Saturday’s championship bouts.

On the boys side, Paul Sturtevant at 150 and Kylar Mukai at 113 joined the pair at 126. Then, on the girls side, sophomore Allie Torgesen defeated Ramstein’s Kyleigh Deboise in a 140 semifinal to book her ticket into the first-ever girls wrestling finals.

“I’ve been here four years – I cannot remember the last time we had more than two (in the finals),” Sturtevant said. “To have five this year, especially to have a girl get through when we’re first year program with girls, it’s awesome. It’s a great thing for the program.”

Alconbury’s Edison Vega flips over Ramstein’s Cole Santos during a 113-pound semifinal at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Aviano’s Tyler Mellon grapples with Baumholder’s Justin Anderson during a 215-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart’s Andrew Morrow holds off Naples Hans van de Mortel during a 175-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern's Joshua Kim holds onto Stuttgart's Sammy Johnson during a 132-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitnes Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

The talk among the Cougars likely will be the upcoming bout between Horrigan and Dokos.

Horrigan was expected to be back in the final after winning the championship at 120 last winter and coming into the European tournament with a sectional title under his belt.

Dokos, however, flew under the radar. The freshman took a seven-year hiatus from the sport before picking it back up this year. He had to wait a week even to practice because of a football injury and then it took another week for him to get back into the swing of things.

On Friday, Dokos proved his mettle. He avoided a semifinal matchup with Horrigan by defeating his pool’s top seed, SHAPE’s Julyan Serrano-Garcia, with a pin at 3 minutes, 2 seconds.

“My main goal is to get there, me and Mitchell in the finals,” the freshman said. “We have a cool handshake we’re going to do at the ceremony, and we’re going to have a fun match.”

With Dokos’ path completed, Horrigan had Serrano-Garcia in his way.

Along with the study sessions before the tournament, the Cougar senior used what he saw during Dokos’ match with the Spartan senior earlier Friday to help.

And it worked, as Horrigan did enough to outlast Serrano-Garcia, 9-3.

“The match was definitely one of my toughest matches all season,” Horrigan said of facing Serrano-Garcia. “He’s a very strong wrestler; he’s a very quick wrestler.”

Now, Dokos and Horrigan turn their attentions on each other. Considering the two are sparing partners in practice and have faced off in every competition so far this season, they already know the other like the backs of their hands.

Horrigan and Dokos said they won’t pull any punches with bragging rights and a European title on the line.

“I’ve been wrestling for 10 years,” Horrigan said. “So, I’ve got plenty in the arsenal to try and keep him on his toes, keep him working.”

Sturtevant, meanwhile, provided fireworks Friday.

The Cougar senior recovered from a 10-point deficit during his 150 semifinal match with AFNORTH’s James Bennett before winning 15-12 in overtime.

The crowd went wild as Sturtevant trailed 12-6 in the third period before he rallied to force the extra minute.

With Bennett also lunging for a takedown and the win, Sturtevant managed to get the better of the Lion.

“It’s pretty wild, going into OT 12-12, knowing I needed to shoot to get that takedown,” Sturtevant said. “Looking at my corner when they stopped talking at the table, I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to go get this one.’”

Up next for Sturtevant is a familiar opponent – Vilseck’s Jayden Freeman.

The two have grappled twice, with Freeman winning both. The Falcon hammered the Cougar in a meet at Vilseck on Dec. 14, but the difference between the two shortened with an 8-3 decision during pool play Friday.

Sturtevant said the key will be the same as what allowed him to come back against Bennett.

“It’s about grit. It’s about heart. It’s about getting in there and getting it done,” he said.

Kaiserslautern’s Freeman Allen picks up Lakenheath’s Jaden DuBois during a 190-pound semifinal at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart's Kai Lewis keeps a hold of Naples' Derick Cavalliary-Cardona during a 157-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitnes Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Spangdahlem's Caleb Truscott escapes from Vicenza's Mitchell Horrigan during a 126-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitnes Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Vicenza's Liam Dokos spins SHAPE's Julyan Serrano-Garcia during a 126-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitnes Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Lakenheath's Adrian Hill picks up the leg of Ramstein's Cameron Ritter during a 215-pound pool-play match at the 2025 DODEA European wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2025, at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitnes Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)