Transgender athlete Hernandez wins 2 titles at CIF state track meet

AB Hernandez, a transgender athlete from Jurupa Valley High School, won the high jump and triple jump Saturday at the 106th CIF State Track & Field Championships, capping her prep career with a performance that once again placed her at the center of California's fiercest political debate.

The victories come as the U.S. Justice Department has sued California over Title IX compliance regarding transgender athletes and Republican gubernatorial candidates have made opposing such participation a centerpiece of their campaigns, putting the state's high school sports policy under unprecedented legal and political pressure.

Hernandez cleared 5 feet 10 inches to win the high jump and leaped 42 feet 8¾ inches to claim the triple jump title, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. She also placed third in the long jump with a mark of 20 feet 2¼ inches. The results mirror her showing at last year's state championships, where she won the triple jump and high jump and finished second in the long jump.

Under CIF policy, transgender athletes receive medals but do not displace cisgender girls in the final standings, ABC7 Los Angeles reported. Hernandez graduated from Jurupa Valley High School on Wednesday, just days before Saturday's competition.

Asked about protesters who have followed her meets, Hernandez was unbothered. "I just laughed. I don't care," she said. She told the Riverside Press-Enterprise that the discipline of the sport keeps her grounded. "Track is a very singular sport; it teaches you to rely on yourself. Once you're on the track, you just stay focused on the track," Hernandez said.

Republican gubernatorial candidates Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton have each opposed allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls' events. The Justice Department has sued California, arguing the state's policies violate Title IX protections in school sports.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer released a video Friday of a prior exchange with Hernandez. "I'm so proud of you for what you're doing. So proud of you for succeeding. So proud of you for competing. That's really the point. And I'm going to hope like heck that you don't just make state but you do really well there," Steyer said. In a social media post accompanying the video, he added, "The role of the governor is to protect Californians, and to stand between them and danger. That's a role I take very, very seriously, particularly when it comes to trans youth." On the I've Had It podcast last weekend, Steyer argued: "When you understand the vulnerability, the stress, the danger of being a trans kid, and you understand almost half of them try to commit suicide, then you think, We're gonna punish those kids, we're gonna cut them off from team sports? No, we're not."

Saturday's podium finishes closed out Hernandez's high school track career days after she walked at her own graduation ceremony, completing a senior year that unfolded as much in courtrooms and campaign ads as on the track.