A biological male who identifies as “transgender” won two California girls’ state track titles Saturday, bringing new attention to California’s policy allowing male athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley High School won the girls’ high jump and triple jump at the 106th CIF State Track & Field Championships in Clovis, California. Hernandez also placed third in the girls’ long jump.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, California track officials named female athletes co-champions earlier this month after Hernandez won three girls’ jumping events at the CIF Southern Section Division 3 finals.
The same issue moved from sectionals to the state championship meet over the weekend.
Hernandez Wins Two State Events
Hernandez cleared 5 feet, 10 inches in the high jump and jumped 42 feet, 8.75 inches in the triple jump, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Hernandez also jumped 20 feet, 2.25 inches in the long jump, finishing third in that event, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The CIF applied a duplicate-medal policy to the long jump, triple jump, and high jump, the three events Hernandez entered at the state championship meet.
Under that policy, Hernandez received medals, while female athletes who placed behind Hernandez also received medals and shared podium positions.
Female Athletes Share Podium Spots
In the triple jump, Los Altos senior Daniela Hughes shared the first-place podium after jumping 41 feet, 1 inch, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In the high jump, Monta Vista athlete Lelani Laruelle shared the first-place podium after clearing 5 feet, 8 inches.
St. Mary’s Berkeley jumper Corinne Jones shared the third-place podium in the long jump after jumping 19 feet, 9.5 inches.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Hernandez has now won seven state medals in the girls’ division and that six were duplicated under CIF’s policy.
California Policy Faces Federal Challenge
California law allows students to participate in sex-segregated school programs and athletic competitions consistent with the student’s “gender identity,” regardless of the gender listed on student records.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued the California Department of Education and the CIF in 2025, alleging California’s policies violate Title IX by allowing males to compete on female high school sports teams.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights also found in 2025 that the California Department of Education and CIF violated Title IX in cases involving female student athletes.
The 2026 state results now give Hernandez back-to-back titles in the girls’ high jump and triple jump while female athletes again received duplicate podium recognition under CIF policy.
Texas Takes Opposite Approach
Texas law takes the opposite approach.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Texas student-athletes must compete on K-12 sports teams that match the sex listed on their birth certificate at or near the time of birth.
The issue has also drawn enforcement scrutiny in North Texas. Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into Dallas ISD and Irving ISD in 2025 over allegations that district officials allowed biological males to compete in girls’ sports, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
