WIESBADEN, Germany – Two years ago, Liberty Snyder watched from the crowd as her sister, September, fell seconds short of winning a European title against the boys.

On Saturday afternoon at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne, the younger Snyder accomplished what the elder couldn’t, albeit in a different setup.

Liberty Snyder won the 110-pound weight class at the first-ever DODEA European girls wrestling championship. And one of the first people to celebrate with Snyder was her sister, who sat with their parents just off the mat.

“I’m so glad that I had her near me,” Snyder said. “She gave me the confidence to wrestle (originally).

“It sucks that she wasn’t able to have a girls team because I know she would have taken first as well.”

Numerous athletes gained that elusive postseason success Saturday.

One of them was Alconbury’s Richele Reyes. The senior had qualified against the boys for three years, even placing sixth at 120 in 2023.

She shot to the top of girls division at that weight Saturday.

“Since I started wrestling boys, everybody’s come up to me, ‘Oh my gosh, you have so much potential,’” Reyes said. “But it’s hard against the guys because as much potential as I have, they always have biology over me.

“So, to have this opportunity to be able to showcase what I have without biology being a factor, it’s the greatest feeling ever.”

Ramstein’s Lilianna Greene won a tight opening match against Rota’s Quennette Kirkconnell to become the first girls European winner in DODEA history.

The junior also got to celebrate the first girls team title, as the Royals claimed the top spot with 169.5 points. Rota came in second with 96 points, while Stuttgart took third with 63.

“I’m very blessed to be the first girls DODEA champion ever,” Greene said. “It’s kind of surreal, it’s shocking, but at the same time, I’ve worked so hard for it.”

And the quality of the matches has all involved believing girls wrestling is here to stay.

Naples’ Audrey Pounds, a multi-time qualifier against the boys, said her fellow competitors proved themselves on the mats in Wiesbaden.

“A lot of people have told me that I don’t get a lot of competition wrestling girls,” Pounds said. “Honestly, it was just so fulfilling to see so many girls come to Europeans this year and have hard matches against other girls.

“It’s why I do it. I want to see women’s wrestling in DODEA.”

105

Greene wasn’t concerned with putting her name in the record books when she hit the mat against Kirkconnell on Saturday afternoon.

She was thinking about a day prior when she was pinned by the Admiral senior, and she wanted revenge.

Greene accomplished that by pinning Kirkconnell at the 5-minute, 20-second mark.

The duo went back and forth in one of the most exciting matches of the day. The Royal held a 10-5 lead midway through the match, but Kirkconnell roared back with 10 points over the final 30 seconds of the second period to go ahead 11-10.

In the third, Kirkconnell started in the down position, and Greene took advantage, getting a couple of near-fall points 16 seconds before finally hearing the smack on the mat signaling the end of the match.

“I knew I had to come for the win,” Greene said. “I had to come for redemption because that was my first loss of the season. So, I used all of that against her.”

110

Ramstein and Rota met once again in the 110 final, this time with Snyder taking on Akira Terlaje.

And like the 105 bout,110 finished with the Royal pinning the Admiral. Snyder claimed the European trophy with a fall at 1:13.

Snyder said she was anxious heading into the match, but it didn’t show once the whistle blew. She got an early takedown and didn’t wait long to get the pin.

“I was really nervous before and once I got out there, the other girl was so strong, I had to match her speed and her strength,” said Snyder, who finished the season with a 16-0 mark “She put up a really good fight.”

115

Ramstein’s Genesis Esparza and Kaiserslautern’s Uno Tate saw plenty of each other throughout the season, with Esparza winning each contest.

Saturday’s 115 final ended in the same result, with the Royal senior getting the 6-1 decision over the Raider senior.

Esparza didn’t cruise to victory, though. Tate held her own and kept Esparza from getting on the board, while Esparza managed to keep Tate on the mat during the second period as the score remained at 0-0 after 4 minutes.

It took Esparza until 1:02 remaining in the match to produce her first points on a takedown. That proved to be all she needed.

A 2024 European qualifier, the Royal praised her opponent, who also advanced to a Euros against the boys before.

“Uno’s the only one of the girls who has experience like I do, so I think it was a fun challenge,” Esparza said. “I knew that I earned the win.”

120

Reyes may have defeated Jessica Gomes with a technical fall 19-2 at the 2:42 mark of the match, but she understood how easily the match could have been closer.

At multiple moments, the two grappled for control in situations that could have gone either way. Each time Reyes came out on top, which allowed her to accrue the points necessary for the victory.

The intensity didn’t surprise the Dragon, as she was undefeated and Gomez entered the title bout with just one loss.

“We both had a lot to lose,” Reyes said. “We both wanted the same thing. We both wanted that gold medal. And the both of us, that added a level of intensity.”

130

Before the season, Rickalia Goss needed to convince her father, Ricardo, to let her wrestle because he was worried about her getting hurt. The only reason he relented was the creation of the girls division.

After Saturday’s pin of Ramstein’s Alejandra Sanner at the 1:11 mark, Ricardo’s worries about injuries weren’t there. Instead, he had a big smile on his face as he watched his daughter win a European crown as well as being named tournament MVP.

“He’s really happy,” said Goss, who finished the season at 15-1. “He knew that I could go out here and do my thing.”

Goss created perhaps the moment of the day. She picked up Sanner off the ground and had her opponent’s head between her legs, electrifying the crowd.

Resisting the urge to drop her, Goss showed composure before lowering Sanner to avoid an injury.

“I was going to slam her, but I personally hate slams and I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Goss said. “So, I was able to bring her down as gentle as possible.”

140

Stuttgart’s Violet Tomko felt like she had let down her team and coaches after losing a match during pool play at the European championships.

Because the senior Panther hadn’t lost since the first meet of the season, it felt catastrophic. But she made it through to the semifinals and advanced to Saturday’s final against Vicenza’s Allie Torgesen.

She recovered and brought home the European title with a pin at 2:48.

It didn’t look good early for Tomko, as Torgesen nearly pinned her and took a 9-3 advantage with seconds remaining in the first period. Tomko did get a reversal right before the buzzer, and she got another one 20 seconds into the second frame to cut the deficit to 9-7.

Not quite 30 seconds later, Tomko flipped Torgesen and the match into her favor.

“I was thinking about giving up,” Tomko said. “I was like, ‘I can do it. I’ve got it.’ I thought about my coaches and just went for it.”

155

People could have excused Pounds and Aviano’s Angelisse Griffin for becoming mortal enemies after seeing each other five times during the regular season and another time in pool play during the tournament.

Pounds, however, said she sees the Saint sophomore as a pal.

Still, the Naples junior put those chummy feelings aside when the two met for the seventh time on the mats, this time for a European title. It took a little while, but Pounds eventually took control and pinned Griffin at the 1:53 mark.

“I know Angelisse pretty well – I consider her more of a friend (than foe),” Pounds said. “I was more focused on the title, though.”

170+

Kaelyn Ronnau had something that nobody else in her weight class could claim – high-level experience.

The Kaiserslautern junior had qualified her first two years for the Wyoming state tournament, including a runner-up trophy, and she even placed fifth at the National High School Coaches Association’s national meet.

Ronnau was used to a big stage like the European championships. And she showed just how much of a difference that makes by dominating the 170-plus weight class.

The Raider pinned Ansbach’s Sarah Felice in 16 seconds to win the title. The quick victory matched the theme for Ronnau, who earned the pin championship with six falls in six matches in an average time of 25.5 seconds.

“I’ve been in this moment before,” Ronnau said. “I got that exposure to it, and my teammates, they just helped me stay in it.”

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