Transgender athlete wins three events at California girls’ track prelims

A transgender athlete from Jurupa Valley High School won or shared the top spot in three jumping events at a California postseason track meet Saturday, igniting protests for the second consecutive year by competing against biological girls in the competition in Yorba Linda. 

Prior to the start of the meet, a “Save Girls’ Sports” rally was organized outside the event by Sophia Lorey, who played soccer at Costa Mesa-based Vanguard University, and who argues that allowing biological boys to compete against biological girls is inherently unfair. “Once again we’re here to say this will never be the new normal,” said Ms. Lorey, the outreach director of California Family Council. 

Once competition began, AB Hernandez, a senior from Jurupa Valley who previously competed in girls’ volleyball, claimed first place in the long jump and triple jump and shared the top spot in the high jump at the CIF Southern Section Division 3 preliminaries.

Hernandez’s long jump mark of 20 feet, 4¼ inches left the rest of the field trailing by a considerable margin, with the second-place competitor managing just 19 feet, 1½ inches. The gap proved even more pronounced in the triple jump, where Hernandez recorded 42 feet, 4 inches compared to 39 feet, 7½ inches for the runner-up — a difference of nearly three feet. In the high jump, Hernandez finished in a five-way tie for first, clearing 5 feet, 2 inches. 

The results mean Hernandez has qualified for the CIF Southern Section Division 3 Girls’ Track and Field Finals at Moorpark High School in three events. 

One grandparent in attendance to support Moorpark High School reflected on how familiar the scene has become.

“It happened last year, and I thought it’d be done, but it’s California,” the grandparent said. Another parent, a father from Yucca Valley, expressed a more measured view: “I think they should have their own division. I just don’t like bullying one kid.” 

Hernandez has competed under rules California has allowed for more than a decade, which remain at the center of a growing conflict between state officials and federal leaders over Title IX and women’s sports. That dispute has moved into the courts, with the Department of Justice suing California over its transgender athlete policies. 

According to the DOJ complaint, filed in federal court in Santa Ana, California’s policies “ignore undeniable biological differences between boys and girls, in favor of an amorphous ’gender identity.’” The suit accuses the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation of engaging in illegal sex discrimination against female student athletes by allowing males to compete against them. 

A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office pushed back against what it described as politically motivated attacks. “The governor has said discussions on this issue should be guided by fairness, dignity, and respect,” the spokesperson said. “The governor’s position is simple: stand with all kids and stand up to bullies.” 

Hernandez previously told CBS News: “They swear I’m like this crazy danger to society. I’m just a normal kid going to school, playing sports.”