Parents, wrestlers show support for recently fired Knoch girls wrestling head coach

By: Michael Love
Friday, January 9, 2026 | 4:48 PM

A sizable contingent is expected to attend the Knoch school board meeting Wednesday to show support for Logan Downes, the school’s girls wrestling coach who was fired this week.

Downes was dismissed after a complaint was filed with school officials over his on-mat behavior with members of the team during a tournament last month, team parents said.

Video presented to school officials showed Downes giving wrestlers congratulatory pats on the buttocks after matches during the Dog House Rumble tournament Dec 13 at Redbank Valley.

A number of parents of wrestlers in the program and some of the wrestlers, including those involved, told TribLive that nothing was inappropriate and they were not happy with the district’s decision to fire Downes.

They said the contact was in no way scandalous and was made in the moment of elation and in support over victories in a match.

“I am honestly sick about it. We’re devastated,” said Ashly Glover, a parent of one of the wrestlers. “We’re going to try and do what we can to make sure our voices are heard and, hopefully, change the school board’s mind on terminating him.”

Downes declined to comment when reached by email Thursday afternoon.

Tiffany Greiner, a parent of one of the wrestlers involved and a booster club board member, confirmed the boosters received the news from school officials that Downes was fired Tuesday.

Knoch athletic director Josh Shoop declined to comment Thursday afternoon, and superintendent Dr. David Foley did not respond to requests for comment.

Foley provided a statement to Trib news partner WTAE, saying, “The school district received a complaint regarding a volunteer wrestling coach. Due to the nature of the alleged conduct, the school district suspended the individual’s status as an approved volunteer coach. The school district has no further comment.”

“The district, I feel, didn’t do their due diligence and do any investigation at all,” said Greiner, noting the district received the video and other information pertaining to the incidents. “At first, I didn’t know about any of this. (Downes) got a letter suspending him, and (Shoop) reached out to our other coaches, and then we (the booster board) were informed of what happened.”

Greiner said she and a few others went to the school Monday seeking more information and clarity.

“Nobody talked to our girls, and nobody really talked to us,” Greiner said. “We just wanted to know what was going on. It is the middle of the season, and we don’t have a head coach. We saw the video, and we don’t think anything was done wrong.”

Greiner said she requested to meet with the school board and other school officials. She said Shoop was aware of the requests.

“We were expecting to get a call or something like that to set up a meeting,” she said. “We were hopeful. We were hoping there would be more due process.

“He is an excellent coach with integrity. He does not deserve this. Our girls were thriving under his leadership and guidance. We only had five girls competing (at Redbank Valley), and we still finished fourth out of 27 teams.”

Knoch will compete Saturday at the Mt. Lebanon individual tournament, and the wrestlers will be led by interim coach Saavon Mosby.

Downes served as coach the past two years.

Because the program is at the club level, he was employed by the Knoch wrestling boosters instead of the school district. Downes passed his clearances and was given the go-ahead to coach by the school board.

Downes came on board with a strong background in the sport. He was a four-year member of the varsity team at Valley, where he won 44 matches as a senior and finished runner-up in the 171-pound weight class at the PIAA Class 2A championships. Downes graduated from Valley as the program’s all-time leader with 148 victories.

He wrestled in college at Clarion and Seton Hill.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Knoch