Sugar Valley grapplers open season Friday at Bloom tourney

LOGANTON, PA – Sugar Valley Phoenix wrestling coach Jason Bilbay is working with a squad of 14 this winter and the coach says while the squad is again young, it is working hard.

Sugar Valley has 14 wrestlers on the roster, including seven returnees: seniors Corey King,  Kirk Johnson; juniors Gavin Hampton, Isaiah Conway, Kyle Stahl, David Allison; and sophomore Cayden Weaver. New to the team this year are Jarren McCloskey, Dylan Eisenhower, Alex Sycz, Conner Ohl, Cameron Quick, Colton Etters, and Kylee Hill.

Coach Bilbay said the team is looking for improvement over last year’s 1-8 mark, noting the Phoenix already has more practice sessions in than it did in all of last year, a season compressed by COVID issues.

And for the first time in 22 years, there will be home wrestling in Loganton. The charter school’s new gymnasium building is now in use and the first ever dual meet there will be Tuesday, Dec. 14 with Loyalsock, the junior high meet at 6 p.m., varsity at 7 p.m. The team opens the season at the DKI Invitational at Bloomsburg High School this Friday at 5 p.m., the event continuing into Saturday.