A girls high school track and field meet in California turned tense on Saturday after transgender athlete AB Hernandez won or shared first place in three events during the CIF Southern Section Division 3 preliminaries at Yorba Linda High School in Orange County. The competition quickly became the center of another heated debate over transgender athletes in girls sports, with protestors and counterprotestors gathering outside the venue.
Hernandez Dominates Jumping Events
Jurupa Valley senior AB Hernandez delivered strong performances across the jumping events. She won the triple jump with a mark of 42 feet 4 inches and finished far ahead of the rest of the field. Hernandez also placed first in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet 4.25 inches, beating the nearest competitor by more than a foot. In the high jump, she tied for first place with Reese Hogan of Crean Lutheran High School.
The meet drew attention because the same issue created controversy last year when Reese Hogan finished behind Hernandez at a CIF event. A photo of Hogan standing on the top step of the podium after the ceremony went viral online in 2025 and became part of the larger national debate around transgender participation in girls sports.
Protests and Counterprotests Outside Venue
Outside the meet, advocacy group Save Girls Sports organized a protest criticizing California policies that allow transgender athletes to compete based on gender identity. Protestors accused California Governor Gavin Newsom of failing to protect fairness in girls sports. One grandparent attending the meet told Outkick, 'It happened last year and I thought it'd be done, but it's California.'
Save Girls Sports outreach director and former NCAA soccer player Sophia Lorey argued that female athletes could lose placements and opportunities because of current rules. 'Girls across California will continue losing placements, safety and opportunities that they rightfully earned,' Lorey said while speaking at the protest.
A smaller counterprotest also took place outside the stadium. Demonstrators supporting transgender athletes pushed back against claims that transgender competitors were taking scholarships or awards away from female athletes. One counterprotestor pointed to policy changes made by the California Interscholastic Federation last year. Under those rules, biological female athletes who finished behind transgender athletes could still receive shared placements and awards. 'Last year, under CIF's policy, transgender athletes were not permitted to displace the cisgender athletes who placed after them,' one counterprotestor said. 'If they came in first, they shared that award with the runner up.'
The speaker also said transgender athletes are now barred from NCAA women's competition after policy changes tied to an executive order signed by Donald Trump. 'They are not taking anybody's scholarships. They can't. They are not allowed to play,' the counterprotestor added.
Responses and Ongoing Debate
Sophia Lorey later responded to criticism aimed at Save Girls Sports and rejected accusations that the group was bullying transgender students. 'Shame on Governor Newsom for calling the girls behind me bullies,' Lorey said. 'These girls are not bullies for defending fairness and female sports.'
The debate continues as California keeps its 2013 state law allowing students to compete in sports programs that match their gender identity. Meanwhile, the US Justice Department and Department of Education are still reviewing possible Title IX violations connected to transgender athlete participation policies in the state.
