Over the weekend, California held its state wrestling championships, and for the first time in event history, Buchanan High of Clovis took the top spot for both boys and girls.

No wonder the Bears call themselves “The Empire.”

The Buchanan boys claimed their 10th California Interscholastic Federation’ state wrestling title Saturday in Bakersfield, beating out Poway and St. John Bosco. That makes nine titles over the past 10 years for Buchanan.

The Buchanan girls, meanwhile, claimed their first California championship, registering 147.5 points and easily eclipsing runner-up Marina High (109 points).

Leilani Lemus of Clovis High shared the spotlight with Buchanan’s teams. Wrestling in the 170-pound division, Lemus became just the fifth girl to win four state titles.

California State Championship Team x2 😤 Buchanan Wrestling has clinched both the boys AND girls title and we are the first to ever win both in the same year. This is the 10th State title for our boys team and the first for the girls. pic.twitter.com/HLPmCvn8fd

— Buchanan Wrestling (@BuchananEmpire) March 1, 2026

Top Buchanan Wrestlers Graduating, More in the Wings

While proud of his students, Buchanan head coach Troy Tirapelle said he still doesn’t think they wrestled their best.

“I didn’t think we wrestled our best tournament by any means, but you can look at it the other way, we won matches that we could have lost,” Tirapelle said. “Everything’s not just a given, you have to be appreciative of what happens. As a whole, a nice way to finish. We were pretty heavy favorites. The scary part is, how can we screw this up?”

With several key students graduating, Tirapelle said the program is in a bit of transition.

Third State Title for Zinkin

Rocklin Zinkin’s win Saturday in the 120-pound division makes the third gold medal for the senior. He defeated Samuel Sanchez of Esperanza High School 5-2 to become the 25th boys three-time state champ in history. Zinkin is ranked No. 1 in the nation in his weight class.

Zinkin largely coasted his way to the final match, winning by technical fall in his first three matches. He won 10-3 in the semi-final match that brought him to face off against Sanchez.

Another wrestler graduating out of the Buchanan program is Ashton Besmer, who took gold in the 132-pound division. Besmer similarly climbed the ranks with apparent ease, ending his first three matches by technical fall. He then beat Slater Hicks from Valencia High School 9-6.

Seniors CJ Huerta and Ivan Arias also made it to the final mat, the two of them walking away with silver medals.

As seniors, Tirapelle said wrestlers need to stand out from the pack to show that they’re growing and not just winning.

“Next year, you wrestle 21-year-old men. If you are barely holding onto beating a 16-year-old, you’re not on the right trajectory,” Tirapelle said.

Zinkin will be going to Oklahoma State, and Besmer is headed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Buchanan still has young talent, with sophomore Paul Ruiz taking gold in the 126-pound division. Like his senior counterparts, he ended his first three matches early, and then beat out Clovis North’s Siraj Sidhu 1-0 for the top spot.

Clovis High Finishes Fourth, Has Two State Titlists

Clovis High’s Michael Bernabe, a freshman, squared off against Buchanan freshman Thales Silva in the 106-pound division, with Bernabe winning gold with a 12-1 runaway.

Clovis High secured the No. 4 spot with junior Anthony Garza winning gold in the 113-pound division.

Clovis North got No. 7 at the tournament. Senior Jonathan Rocha took gold in the 190-pound division.

View complete results here.

Buchanan Girls’ Program Young

Buchanan girls likewise dominated on the mats. Tirapelle said this is a first time the school has had a true girl’s program, rather than simply having a few girls competing.

With 20 girls, they split the program, giving them the “reins to their own carriage.”

The high school has a lot to look forward to with freshman Alexandria Marin, who took gold in the 100-pound division. Marin won two of her five matches by pin and major decisions in the other three.

In the 110-pound division, junior Christina Estrada stopped every one of her opponents early, with two wins by pin and the three others wins by technical fall.

Sophomore Marcia Nunez earned a silver medal in the 105-pound division.

Meanwhile, Lemus won every single match by pin — not one of them lasting more than two minutes. Lemus’ final match lasted only 34 seconds.

Me’Kala James took home a gold for Central East in the 125-pound division, beating out Angelina Borelli of Los Banos 9-2.

Senior Wrestlers Work Closely With Young Students

To keep fresh talent at the program, Buchanan works closely with its feeder elementary and middle schools, Tirapelle said.

Work with the younger competitors begins with the seniors.

“Our seniors are great wrestlers, but more importantly, they’re great men,” Tirapelle said. “They hold the eighth graders every bit as accountable as themselves.”

Steve France, assistant superintendent of educational services, congratulated Tirapelle and the teams for their titles.

“To win a school total of 10 CIF State Team Championships is incredible but to have nine State Team Championships in the past 10 years is a standard that will be tough to beat,” France said in a statement to GV Wire. “This year is especially special because not only did the boys win a CIF Team State Championship and a National Championship, but the Buchanan High girls won their first ever CIF State Team Championship.  This is a feat that no other school has done for wrestling.”