September 17, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Woodlake High School is proud to announce Sam Lopez as Head Wrestling Coach. Coach Lopez brings over 30 years of high school wrestling coaching experience in Orange County and Central California. Notably, Coach Lopez was the Head Coach at Selma High School from 2008-2020 where his teams received top 5 finishes in the state 7 times. In 2019, coach Lopez was one of 13 coaches in the state to receive EastBay Model Coach award that recognizes coaches of character who serves as role models for their students and the communities they serve. Now also the Independent Study teacher for Woodlake Unified School District’s Educational Options program, coach Lopez brings energy, experience, and accolades to help jumpstart our rising program.

For any questions regarding this release, please contact Jose Palomo, Athletic Director, or Mike Burchett, Principal at the school number or by email.

Mike Burchett, WHS Principal mburchett@w-usd.org
Jose Palomo, WUD Athletics Director jpaomo@w-usd.org
Sam Lopez, WHS Head Wrestling Coach slopez@w-usd.org

Stephen Abas

Fresno State Wrestling legend Stephen Abas was announced as a Distinguished Member of the 2018 National Wrestling Hall of Fame Class on Oct. 26. A five-year Bulldog from 1997-2002, Abas was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion and a four-time All-American at Fresno State, winning titles in 1999, 2001 and 2002 after finishing fourth as a freshman in 1998. He won a silver medal at the Summer Olympics in 2004 and competed in the World Championships in 2001 and 2003. He was also qualified for the World Championships in 2002, but the United States did not compete.

By Pac 12 Network | Sept. 24, 2015, 5:27 p.m. (ET)

SAN FRANCISCO (September 24, 2015) – This winter, the Pac-12 Networks will feature a combined fifteen events across men’s and women’s swimming & diving, and wrestling, including all Pac-12 Championship meets.

Wrestling will start its season on the Networks on Sunday, November 22 when Penn State travels to Stanford at 1 p.m. PT. The Cardinal, including 2015 Freestyle Junior World Champion bronze medalist Nathan Butler, will appear on the schedule four times prior to the Conference championship. The Arizona State Sun Devils will receive their first telecast date on Friday, January 15 against the Iowa State Cyclones at 7 p.m. PT. Three additional ASU matches and three Oregon State matches round out the regular season schedule. The Pac-12 Championship will air live from ASU on Saturday, February 27 at 5 p.m. PT.

2015-2016 Pac-12 Networks Wrestling Telecast Schedule
Date/Matchup/Time (PT)
11/22 Penn State at Stanford 1:00 PM
12/17 CSU Bakersfield at Stanford 5:00 PM
1/15 Iowa State at ASU 7:00 PM
1/16 Wyoming at Oregon State 1:30 PM
1/23 West Virginia at ASU 10:00 AM
1/23 West Virginia vs Stanford (at ASU) 12:00 PM
1/23 Stanford at ASU 2:00 PM
1/29 Oregon State at ASU 4:00 PM
2/21 Boise State at Oregon State 11:00 AM
2/27 Pac-12 Championships at ASU 5:00 PM

Both men’s and women’s swimming and diving will make their season debut on Friday, January 22 when ASU and Stanford compete in a co-ed meet. The televised portion of the men’s schedule will resume on Friday, February 5 at 2 p.m. PT when national powers California and USC go head-to-head.

In addition to appearing in the co-ed meet, women’s swimming and diving will be on the Pac-12 Networks when Stanford and UCLA compete on Friday, January 29 at 2:00 p.m. PT and when cross-town rivals USC and UCLA face each other on Friday, February 12 at 2 p.m. PT. The Pac-12 Championships, which will be held from Thursday, February 25 to Saturday, February 27and will air on tape delay, will feature the defending national champions, the California Golden Bears.

Four-time NCAA individual national champion Ryan Murphy (California) and the rest of the Conference’s stars will vie for NCAA tournament bids at the Pac-12 Championship, which will be held in Federal Way, Wash. from Thursday, March 3 to Saturday, March 5. The event will air on tape delay.

2016 Pac-12 Networks Men’s Swimming & Diving Telecast Schedule
Date/Matchup/Time (PT)
1/22 ASU at Stanford (co-ed) 1:00 PM
2/5 California at USC 2:00 PM
3/3 Pac-12 Championships at Federal Way, WA TBD
3/4 Pac-12 Championships at Federal Way, WA TBD
3/5 Pac-12 Championships at Federal Way, WA TBD

2016 Pac-12 Networks Women’s Swimming & Diving Telecast Schedule
Date/Matchup/Time (PT)
1/22 ASU at Stanford (co-ed) 1:00 PM
1/29 Stanford at UCLA 2:00 PM
2/12 USC at UCLA 2:00 PM
2/25 Pac-12 Championships at Federal Way, WA TBD
2/26 Pac-12 Championships at Federal Way, WA TBD
2/27 Pac-12 Championships at Federal Way, WA TBD

About Pac-12 Networks
Headquartered in San Francisco’s SOMA district, Pac-12 Networks is the new content and multiplatform media company for the Pac-12 Conference, a leader in collegiate athletics that includes 12 of the most prestigious universities in the world. Pac-12 Networks was created in 2011 to develop and launch one national and six full-time native HD linear networks available to video programming operators, as well as a digital network dedicated solely to the Pac-12. The linear networks televise hundreds of live sporting events annually and provide 24/7 access to Pac-12 teams and universities. Pac-12 Digital encompasses the digital network, mobile, the university websites, social media and innovative digital initiatives across the company.