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Volleyball activity this season in Europe has centered around both Ramstein and Stuttgart. The teams met last year in the DODEA Europeans tournament semifinals and they won’t see each other again, perhaps, until the postseason. Ramstein (6-0) won separate matches against Lakenheath and Vilseck last week to stay undefeated on the season. The Lady Royals got strong play from Masaya Archbold, Ahmarie Young, plus both Izzy and Lydia Coddington.
Lydia Coddington had 11 digs in the win over Vilseck. Izzy Coddington combined with Sydney Gabriel for 27 assists in that same match. Archbold had eight kills to bolster the offense.
Against Lakenheath, Archbold had nine kills a hitting percentage of .750 to guide Ramstein to the win. The talented RHS freshman Young had three service aces and five kills, while hitting at a .625 rate. Vilseck posted a 25-22 win but the Lady Royals beat them in three other games and won all the rest in the three-team round-robin format.
Ramstein also won both of its junior varsity games and will host a three-team match event this weekend in the KMC with both SHAPE and Spangdahlem slated to be participate.
Baumholder falls to SHAPE
Playing on its home court, Baumholder put up a fight before falling to a talented SHAPE squad. The Lady Buccaneers took the second game 25-22 but lost three others to drop the match. The last game actually went to 26-24 but SHAPE secured the win. In junior varsity play, Baumholder swept two games from SHAPE to win the match. The Lady Bucs meet Black Forest this weekend.
Kaiserslautern splits with Stuttgart, Brussels
A morning match over the weekend at Kaiserslautern’s new gym had lots of big hits but the Lady Raiders (2-4) were unable to find a win versus visiting Stuttgart. The KHS team rotated multiple players through the lineup and plays this weekend on the road against Stuttgart and Vilseck. Also two weekends ago, Kaiserslautern swept three straight games to win a match against Brussels.
GOLF
European Championships this week
Ramstein came to the European Golf Championships this week with high hopes of a possible sweep as the year-ending DODEA tournament was set to be staged Wednesday and Thursday at Wiesbaden. Results from the Euros matches did not make the KA sports deadline but look for a full report in next week’s edition.
Ramstein had good play throughout the season from Ben Todman on the boys’ side. Girls’ play was productive with Phoebe Shin and Lauren Sutherland giving Ramstein a shot at winning both individual and team honors. All the top Europeans finishers from Ramstein, Kaiserslautern and the rest of Europe’s military base schools will be spotlighted in next week’s KA sports section.
CROSS COUNTRY
Martin, Rogers win at Seewoog Meet
Chloe Martin of Kaiserslautern won the girls overall race but Ramstein placed eight runners in the top 15 to take the team championship in a cross country meet staged at Seewoog Park in Ramstein-Miesenbach. Baumholder had Madison Brech and Regan Ridling as its top finishers.
Dash Rogers of Ramstein bested Joseph Purvis of Kaiserslautern for the boys’ top prize and those two schools had 14 runners to finish in the top 20 on that recent sunny weekend morning. Baumholder had Jesse Espinoza and Hiromi Maranga as its top runners. Ramstein won the boys’ team title and area cross country teams will gather again for a meet in less than two weeks back here in the KMC.
Area top finishers:
Girls
- Chloe Martin, KHS (19:25.61)
- Jordanne Hill, RHS (20:41.05)
- Annika Zimmerer, KHS (21:07.14)
- Piper Parsells, KHS (22:03.23)
- Sophia Pak, RHS (22:12.96)
- Alexis Pierre-Lewis, RHS (22:13.65)
- Elonie Ward, KHS (22:14.19)
Boys
- Dash Rogers, RHS (16:23.42)
- Joseph Purvis, KHS (16:37.10)
- Denver Dalpais, RHS (16:44.87)
- Conner Mackie, RHS (16:55.76)
- Orlando Rojas, KHS (16:59.02)
- Griffen Parsells, RHS (17:04.27)
- Yadiel Rojas, KHS (17:32.44)
- Enrius Collazo, RHS (17:50.92)
- Ethan Cooper, KHS (17:58.99)
- Benjamin Brewster, RHS (18:03.38)
TENNIS
Ramstein and Kaiserslautern set to square off
This weekend marks the biggest area match of the regular season as Ramstein squares off against Kaiserslautern. The showdown will take place Saturday on the brand new Kaiserslautern courts, starting at 10 a.m. and the public is invited to the KHS Vogelweh campus to take in the action.
Both squads have had success this season, especially on the girls’ side for undefeated KHS and on the boys’ side for undefeated Ramstein. The KHS and Ramstein boys and girls have combined to post a 17-3 overall won-loss record, making the match this weekend all the more interesting. The rival schools each have solid players throughout their tennis lineups.
RHS topples Spangdahlem
Prior to the Columbus Day break, Ramstein’s girls and boys each had big showings, taking dual 9-0 tennis wins against Spangdahlem. Ashlyn O’Connor was pushed to a third set but won at the No. 1 girls’ position. Kate Sankey, Alex Pinkham, Maddi Svan, Isabela Guzaldo, and Mercedez Shelton also won singles points. Doubles points were won by duos featuring Pinkham/Shelton, Sankey/O’Conner, and Guzaldo/Svan.
The Royals got a 6-0, 6-0 sweep from Conner Markus at No. 1, then saw Collin Kent, Conner Sankey, Collin Ritter, Trey Boehne, and Aidan Pinkham breeze through their matches with only one game lost among all five players combined. In doubles play, Markus/Kent, Sankey/Ritter, and Boehne/Pinkham each took wins.
KHS splits with Stuttgart
Aiva Schmitz and Vicky Thais Lopez scored wide-margin wins over their opponents and Shatavia McBride lassoed a key singles point with an 8-2 win in the No. 6 spot to help lift Kaiserslautern’s girls to a big victory over Stuttgart.
The Lady Raiders won all three doubles points behind the teams of McBride/Gabriela Ramirez, Lopez/Taylor Larned, and Schmitz/Giulia Sanchez to finalize the 6-3 team win.
In boys’ play, Stuttgart won 6-3 after taking four of the six singles points. Darren Moon and Micah San Pedro both had singles wins for K-Town and Olaitan Powdar teamed with Mark Butler to get a doubles triumph for the Raiders.
FOOTBALL
Kaiserlsautern set for huge game on the road at Stuttgart
It wasn’t that long ago that Kaiserslautern last made the football playoffs. The Raiders went to the postseason in both 2013 and 2014 but still, none of the current rostered players were part of that success.
After making a coaching change and installing a new plan, the Kaiserslautern program is a win or two away from securing another playoff berth. Currently in second place for Division I, the Raiders can all but secure a spot if they beat Stuttgart this weekend and might win Division I outright by also winning their last game against Ramstein. First things first, with the road game at Stuttgart set to kick off Saturday.
“We can’t look further than the next game and our seniors are giving everyone the direction to do just that,” said first-year head coach Duke Allen. “We rely on the older guys who’ve been around through some tough times, several of them, to set the tone. We want to make the playoffs and we want to beat Stuttgart. This momentum has really built for us.”
Corey Coombs is the leading Raider rusher, carrying usually over 30 times a game. Two weeks ago he had over 40 carries and gained over 350 yards to fuel a 26-20 win over Vilseck. A previous road win at Wiesbaden was also pivotal in helping position the Raiders for this weekend’s game against the defending DODEA champion Panthers.
“Some of us have been out here four years with the program and we know what it’s like to lose games … it kinda hurts and this year we are trying to give something extra. We’ve got a good team this year,” said senior Cedric Ellis.
New coach Allen said he counts on quarterback Esteban Saldana and new transfer Solo Turgeon to display confidence on either side of the ball and settle the team after mistakes, adding that without trust in each other, the team will struggle.
“These kids have grown so much in the short time since we started practices and did our preseason work,” Allen said. “They’ve come together, they lean on each other, they pick each other up. They are setting a foundation for the program’s future but they also want to win right now.”
Ramstein travels to Wiesbaden
Ramstein has back-to-back road games to close the regular season but sits in a familiar spot – first place – as October arrives. The Royals have never lost more than one regular season game during this decade and have another dynamite squad this year.
Having beaten Vilseck 27-17 and Lakenheath 40-0 during the past three weeks, Ramstein looks all the part of a team that’s headed to the postseason as the top seed. Dominique Arizpe, Bailey Holland, J.J. Little, Oliver Seelig, and Jalon Lewis are all capable ballcarriers when quarterback Jakob Steinbeck isn’t throwing the ball to tall wideouts Jason Jones Jr. and Naser Eaves.
Holland and Little each scored a touchdown, while Arizpe had three TD runs against Lakenheath. The Royals are tough to penetrate with defenders Bailey Holland, Gabe Davis, Kyle Lloyd, Cole Strom, Logan Ridenbaugh, Katroy Wright, Cameron Chester and a host of other stoppers. Little has five interceptions this fall to anchor a proven defensive secondary and Ramstein has not been compromised aside from the Vilseck game.
The road clash with Wiesbaden is Friday night. The final regular season game at K-Town is next, then the DODEA Division I semifinals take place here in the KMC the weekend of Oct. 28 at Vogelweh.
Baumholder searching for first win
After making the shift to 6-man football, Baumholder came close last week to getting its first win. A tight 28-24 loss to Hohenfels came a week after the Buccaneers fell by a larger margin in their opener to Brussels.
“In our second game and we were vastly improved on both sides of the ball,” BHS coach Phil Loyd. “We had two touchdowns by Kyle Emmons on punt return for TD and a kickoff return for another score. Quentin Murphy and Jeremiah Christopher each scored as well. We will go at it this week and try to keep improving and showing the same effort.”
Now comes a road game against AFNORTH and the BHS team must seize the opportunity with still a shot at making noise in Division III.
