{"id":191051,"date":"2026-02-24T05:55:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T05:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/191051\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T05:55:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T05:55:27","slug":"paul-ruiz-leads-buchanan-to-comeback-victory-at-masters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/191051\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Ruiz leads Buchanan to comeback victory at Masters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Buchanan High wrestling coach Troy Tirapelle could feel it shift \u2014 the momentum, the energy, the belief.<\/p>\n<p>Down big early, his wrestler stormed back, flipping a near 6-0 deficit into a dramatic victory that brought the crowd to its feet.<\/p>\n<p>That would be Paul Ruiz at 126 pounds. He won by a 10-8 decision over Siraj Sidhu of Clovis North.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was pretty electric,\u201d Tirapelle said afterward. \u201cDefinitely exciting for the fans. Not how you draw it up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Buchanan won the Masters, followed by Clovis North and Clovis.<\/p>\n<p>But as quickly as he acknowledged the thrill, Tirapelle shifted the focus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t dig yourself into holes like that,\u201d he said. \u201cYour win percentage is not going to be very high if you expect to beat good people like that all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Buchanan\u2019s wrestlers are known for their gas tanks.<\/p>\n<p>Tirapelle praised Ruiz\u2019s ability to wrestle harder and longer than opponents, noting that he \u201cnever runs out of gas.\u201d But waiting until the final minutes to flip the switch isn\u2019t a formula for consistent success.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got to get him going harder earlier,\u201d Tirapelle said. \u201cPedal down from the beginning \u2014 when the first whistle blows \u2014 not wait until the last three minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lesson wasn\u2019t isolated to one weight class.<\/p>\n<p>At 165 pounds, Tirapelle pointed to a match they believed they could have won \u2014 even pulled off an upset \u2014 but surrendered three points in the final 10 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>James Curoso of Clovis defeated Blake Woodward, 7-4.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose are mental mistakes more than physical,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With the state tournament looming in Bakersfield \u2014 a grueling three-day stretch beginning Thursday \u2014 the window for major adjustments is narrow.<\/p>\n<p>Tirapelle leaned on an old saying passed down from his father: the hay is in the barn. The work has been done.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this point, you\u2019re just fine-tuning the minute details,\u201d he said. \u201cThat had nothing to do with technique. It was effort-based. It was turning up the effort faster.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the critique, Tirapelle\u2019s tone carried pride. He called the performance a great experience and a great showing overall. The standard at Buchanan, however, is relentless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you want to be the best, you\u2019re always striving for perfection,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s always something we\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Central Section Masters boys top 3 placers<\/p>\n<p>Teams: Buchanan, Clovis North, Clovis, Frontier, Bakersfield, Redwood, Kingsburg, Clovis West, Clovis East, Bullard<\/p>\n<p>Boys placers<\/p>\n<p>106<\/p>\n<p>Michael Bernabe, Clovis<\/p>\n<p>Thales Silva, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Aiden Talavera, Reedley<\/p>\n<p>113<\/p>\n<p>Anthony Garza, Clovis<\/p>\n<p>Thiago Silva, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Phillip Hernandez, Clovis North<\/p>\n<p>120<\/p>\n<p>Rocklin Zinkin, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Carlos Melgoza, Kingsburg<\/p>\n<p>Francisco Hernandez, Bullard<\/p>\n<p>126<\/p>\n<p>Paul Ruiz, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Siraj Sidhu, Clovis North<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Benavides, Highland<\/p>\n<p>132<\/p>\n<p>Ashton Besmer, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Nick Agerton, Frontier<\/p>\n<p>Bryce Pasvogel, Clovis North<\/p>\n<p>138<\/p>\n<p>Cj Huerta, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Raymond Rivera, Clovis<\/p>\n<p>Silas Varner, Bakersfield<\/p>\n<p>144<\/p>\n<p>Chris Arreola, Clovis North<\/p>\n<p>Joseph Toscano, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Zander Schaefer, Clovis<\/p>\n<p>150<\/p>\n<p>Ivan Arias, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Blake Trelles, Clovis North<\/p>\n<p>Bryson Constantino, Frontier<\/p>\n<p>157<\/p>\n<p>Chris Creason, El Diamante<\/p>\n<p>Carlo Contino, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Dylan Tiraepelle, Clovis<\/p>\n<p>165<\/p>\n<p>James Curoso, Clovis<\/p>\n<p>Blake Woodward, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Nathan Paul, Bakersfield Christian<\/p>\n<p>175<\/p>\n<p>Patrick Roberts, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Elijah Ornelas, Clovis North<\/p>\n<p>Angelo Adame, Torres<\/p>\n<p>190<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan Rocha, Clovis North<\/p>\n<p>Jackson Naven, Frontier<\/p>\n<p>Lolomanaia Clark, Clovis<\/p>\n<p>215<\/p>\n<p>Adan Castillo, Clovis<\/p>\n<p>Emilio Ayala, Kingsburg<\/p>\n<p>Jace Demacablin, Kennedy<\/p>\n<p>285<\/p>\n<p>Sammy Seja, Buchanan<\/p>\n<p>Andrew Arroyo, Clovis<\/p>\n<p>Nathaniel Espericueta, Frontier<\/p>\n<p>        Related Stories from  Fresno Bee<\/p>\n<p>                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fresnobee.com\/profile\/218450935\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771912527_906_Anthony Galaviz headshot.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" alt=\"Profile Image of Anthony Galaviz\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n                    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>                <a class=\"author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fresnobee.com\/profile\/218450935\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Anthony Galaviz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                    The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n<p>            Anthony Galaviz writes about sports for The Fresno Bee. He covers the Las Vegas Raiders, high schools, boxing, MMA and junior colleges. He\u2019s been with The Bee since 1997 and attended Fresno City College before graduating from Fresno State with a major in journalism and a minor in criminology.<br \/>\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/fresnobee.com\/subscribe&#009;&#009;&#009;&#009;&#009;&#009;&#009;&#009;&#009;&#009;&#009;&#009;&#009;\" style=\"color: #5169B8; text-transform: none;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Support my work with a digital subscription<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Buchanan High wrestling coach Troy Tirapelle could feel it shift \u2014 the momentum, the energy, the belief. Down&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[89589,89586,88712,89587,112,114,113,89588],"class_list":["post-191051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-bakersfield-state-tournament","tag-buchanan-wrestling","tag-central-section-masters","tag-clovis-north","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news","tag-paul-ruiz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}