Trans track star sweeps three events, shares first-place podium and qualifies for CA state meet yet again
"It’s an outlier."
That’s the common argument from left-wing transgender activists.
They say that biological males taking the spotlight from girls in girls' sports isn’t the big deal that it’s made out to be by "the right" ... because it "hardly ever happens."
Tell that to the high school girls from California, like senior Reese Hogan of Crean Lutheran, who are watching it happen, yet again.
Transgender track athlete AB Hernandez was standing atop multiple podiums on Saturday and is now making a beeline for the upcoming California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state championship girls' track meet — for the second straight year.
The fact that this is happening at all is once too often for these girls, not because they are mean or unkind, unempathetic or uninclusive. But because they are competitive, and because they seek a level playing field, and because they have dreams, too.
Hogan, a favorite in the high jump, did not qualify for state in that event this year, and buried her head into her father’s chest as that reality hit her after her final jump.
Meanwhile, the reality for Hernandez, a frequent jumping rival of Hogan’s, is quite different. Hernandez is going to state at Buchanan High School in Clovis next weekend in high jump and two other events after a big day in the Masters (state qualifying) Meet at Moorpark High School.
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"This is all a farce," a retired California high school track official who calls himself a longtime track junkie told Fox News Digital/OutKick as he watched the girls high jump competition with careful interest. "It’s like coming up with a language to describe all of this and no matter how nonsensical it is, you make it the truth."
Hernandez, a 5-foot-9, 120-pound senior from Jurupa Valley High School, has made national headlines the last two seasons while competing for the school’s girls volleyball team and the girls track team.
Unlike a previous round of the California state track meet earlier this month, there were no protests about Hernandez from organizations such as "Save Girls Sports."
Hernandez brushed that off and got down to business quickly, making a clean sweep of three events. Hernandez took first place in the long jump (20-feet-0.75), first place in the triple jump (40-feet-7) and first place in the high jump (5-foot-8).
Of course, Hernandez will be a favorite in all three events at state next weekend, and will look for even more hardware this time around. In 2025, with wins in the high jump (5-foot-7) and triple jump (42-02.75), Hernandez was a two-time state champ, but fell just short in the long jump.
State records have also become vulnerable during this two-year run by Hernandez. Last year, Hernandez was about two inches off from California’s all-time triple jump mark (45-04.25), set by by KeNyia Richardson of Oakland Holy Names in 2007. Hernandez will get another crack at setting state meet records next weekend.
To some, it’s surreal that opportunity even exists.
"I have a son, and I would never let my son compete against my daughter," one high jump mom told OutKick. "Especially in a sport that’s already been decided is an all-girls sport."
While the playing field seems uneven between the girls and Hernandez, the CIF attempted an intervention of sorts.
Thanks to a CIF rule, Hernandez was forced, on Saturday as well as during the previous round, to physically share that top spot on the podium.
As if in a quiet acknowledgment of the problematic nature of these circumstances, the CIF requires that, in later competition rounds of the state competitions, any trans athlete who places in an event must share the podium with the next highest-placing female, standing side by side.
Riley Gaines, host of the "Riley Gaines Show" on Fox News, articulated that spectacle perfectly with a post on X last Sunday:
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"If you have to create a shared podium for the boy competing in the girls’ event, you’ve already admitted you know he isn’t a girl and that his participation is unfair. At that point, you're just seeking a public humiliation ritual for the girls.
Throughout Saturday, parents and fans and even the competitors themselves clapped politely for each and every performance, including those of Hernandez, showing an undeniable respect for all involved. But during the podium celebration for the high jump and triple jumps, some loud boos could be heard.
"I mean, this is a male competing against women," the former high school track official said of the podium dominance by Hernandez. "To even have a debate on this is a non-starter, unless you are pushing an agenda. It’s just not right."
While some fans and parents of the other girls are focused on the fairness of this issue, the mother of Hernandez, who spoke with Fox News Digital/OutKick on Saturday, but only off the record, recently told another outlet that she is concerned that her child is being used as a political pawn.
"I told AB, this is a [midterm] election year," Nereyda Hernandez said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times earlier this month. "They’re gonna hit us hard, because they’re using us for their campaigns."
Gavin Newsom, governor of California, certainly has not hesitated to show his willingness to clap back at the Trump administration over this issue.
"The Governor has said discussions on this issue should be guided by fairness, dignity, and respect. He rejects the right wing’s cynical attempt to weaponize this debate as an excuse to vilify individual kids. The Governor’s position is simple: stand with all kids and stand up to bullies," a statement from Newsom’s office read.
"California is one of 22 states that have laws requiring students be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school sports consistent with their gender identity. California passed this law in 2013 (AB 1266) and it was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown."
In February 2025, surrounded by women and girls, President Donald Trump signed an executive order called "Keeping Men Out Of Women’s Sports."
"It is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy," the order read. "It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth."
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Trump signed the "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order. The directive establishes government-wide policies that interpret "sex" as the gender assigned at birth. It mandates federal agencies to strictly enforce Title IX and threatens to pull federal education and athletic funding from schools that allow transgender women to compete on female teams.
California has openly defied that order.
And as has been the case all season, Hernandez continues to compete. And win.
Three more state championships, in a girls sport, are within reach next weekend.