The SoCal trans athlete won two gold and silver medals in the state’s Athletics Finals on Saturday, days after President Donald Trump threatened to cancel federal funds from California as he was in the race.
Jurupa Valley High School junior Ab Hernandez won the women’s long jump and triple jump at the Southern Section Masters competition at the California Interscholastic Federation on May 24th. Hernandez, 16, came out as a transgender person in the eighth grade, her mother said in an interview.
President Donald Trump opposed the teenage victory in a May 27 post on social media platform Truth Social, claiming she won “everything” in the tournament (although she was also enough to compete in the state championship, despite finishing fourth in the high jump).
“This week, male athletes who have been migrated in a large event will win ‘Everything’ and will be eligible to compete in the ‘State Final’ next weekend. As a man, he was an average competitor. As a woman, this transition is practically invincible.” “This is not fair and is totally mean to women and girls. I would recommend that large federal funds be permanently restrained if executive orders on this subject are not being followed.”
CLOVIS, CA – May 30: Transgender Athlete AB Hernandez from Jurupa Valley will leave the track at the CIF State Athletics Championships held at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025 in Clovis, CA. (Photo: Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
However, hours after the post, the Inter-Calif. Federation of Governance announced an adjustment to high school sports rules for trans-athletes.
The new process allowed us to compete in the 2025 CIF State Athletics Championships “earned one next qualifying mark of the section’s automatic qualifying entries at the CIF State Championships and failed to achieve the CIF State’s massive mark in the final in the section tournament.”
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“CIF values all student-athletes and continues to support its mission to provide students with opportunities to belong, connect and compete while adhering to California law and education code,” the organization said in a statement.
Authorities have reached a contract to implement the pilot program after the CIF section athletics qualifying competition was concluded. In other words, this weekend’s state athletics final has fallen into the spotlight as new participation and medallion policies were introduced.
CLOVIS, CA – May 30: Transgender athlete AB Hernandez from Julpa Valley will compete in the Women’s High Jump at the CIF State Athletics Championships held at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025 in Clovis, CA. (Photo: Kirby Lee/Getty Images) Clovis, California – May 30: Transgender athlete AB Hernandez from Jurupa Valley will compete in the Women’s Triple Jump at the CIF State Athletics Championships held at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025 in Clovis, California. (Photo: Kirby Lee/Getty Images) Clovis, California – May 30: Transgender athlete AB Hernandez will compete in the Women’s High Jump at the CIF State Athletics Championships held at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025 in Clovis, California. (Photo: Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
Under the new rules, if trans athletes win medals, their rankings will not drive “biological women” students out of the medals. The federation did not specify how to define “biological women” or how to check whether their competitors meet that definition.
According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, Hernandez seemed unaffected by the controversy over her inclusion, but there was a small group of protesters outside the stadium where you can hear chan chan during her jump.
The plane with a banner saying “There are no girls’ sports boys” was also seen above the Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School in Clovis, where the championship was taking place.
CLOVIS, CA – May 30: People are holding a Save Girls Sports Sign in protest against Jurpa Valley transgender athlete AB Hernandez (not pictured) at the CIF State Athletics Championships held at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025 in Clovis, CA. (Photo: Kirby Lee/Getty Images) Clovis, California – May 30: People protest against transgender athlete Ab Hernandez (not pictured) at the CIF State Athletics Championships held at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis, California on May 30, 2025. (Photo: Kirby Lee/Getty Images) CLOVIS, CA – May 30: The plane tows signs reading girls sports boys in protest against transgender athlete Ab Hernandez (not pictured) at the CIF State Athletics Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30th in CLOVIS, CA. (Photo: Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
“[She] The outlet reported. “When her name was announced for the Long Jump, she waved to the crowd. She smiled when she was announced for the High Jump.”
After beating all the other competitors in a triple jump, she went first. The runner-up was also awarded the first place medal under the new rules. You can see the full results of the 2025 CIF State Championship here.
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In a long jump, the girl who beat Hernandez for money (Hernandez finished second), told the LA Times that she hadn’t given her any ideas at all.
“It wasn’t the other person I was worried about. I knew what I could do,” said Lauren Webster, a senior at Wilson High School in Long Beach. “You can’t control what you can’t control.”
In a statement to the Times, Hernandez’s mother, Nereida, was just as proud as other parents of the medal-winning high school athlete.
“I’ve made you adore your strength by watching you rise over several months, judged by adults that should be better known, not by peers,” her statement said. “Nevertheless, you kept focusing. You continued to train, you kept showing up, and now you’re bringing back money!!!”
CLOVIS, CA – May 30: Transgender athlete AB Hernandez from Julpa Valley during a women’s high jump at the CIF State Athletics Championships held at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025 in Clovis, CA. (Photo: Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
A day after Trump’s Post and CIF Policy Coordination, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would investigate whether AB 1266, a California law that allows transgender women to participate in state school women’s sports teams, violates the federal Title IX Civil Rights Act.
California is one of 22 states that have laws requiring transgender students to participate in sports that match their gender identity. The law was signed in 2013 by former Governor Jerry Brown.
Of the 5.8 million students in the state’s K-12 public school system, the current office of the government of Gavin Newsom estimates that the number of active trans student-athletes is in single digits.
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