Jurupa Valley High School junior AB Hernandez won the girls’ triple jump and high jump and finished second in the long jump in the CIF State Track & Field Championships in Clovis — amid criticism for being allowed to compete because she is transgender.
She shared a podium with fellow second-place long jump winner Brooke White, a River City High School student, who described Hernandez as a “rock star” and a “superstar” to reporters on Saturday.
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“They gave me the medal that I deserved, they gave her the medal that she deserved,” said White.
“And sharing the podium was nothing but an honor,” White added.
Hernandez also leaped 42 feet, 2 3/4 inches Saturday to win the triple jump by 1 foot, 9 3/4 inches over Kira Gant Hatcher, a junior at Saint Mary’s College High School in Berkeley, whose best jump was 40 feet 5 inches.
Under a rule change announced on Wednesday by the California Interscholastic Federation, the state’s governing body for high school sports, Hatcher was allowed to stand with Hernandez at the spot for first-place finishers on the podium.
AB Hernandez, center, flashes a sign as she shares the first-place spot on the podium with Jillene Wetteland, left, and Lelani Laruelle during a medal ceremony for the high jump at the California high school track-and-field championships in Clovis, Calif., Saturday, May 31, 2025. At right is third-place finisher Julia Teven. (Photo courtesy AP/Jae C. Hong)California law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity.
The federation said the new rule opens the field to more “biological female” athletes. One expert said the change may itself be discriminatory because it creates an extra spot for “biological female” athletes but not for other trans athletes.
The federation did not specify how it defines “biological female” or how it would verify whether a competitor meets that definition.
Saint Mary’s College High School also received 10 points in the team scoring, just like Jurupa Valley High School.
Hernandez was among three high jumpers to clear 5 feet, 7 inches but was declared the winner because she cleared the height on her first attempt while Jillene Wetteland, a senior at Long Beach Poly, and Lelani Laruelle, a junior at Monta Vista in Cupertino, both missed their first attempts, then cleared on their second.
Hernandez was second in the long jump at 20-8 3/4 behind Long Beach Wilson senior Loren Webster who jumped 21-0 1/4.
CIF officials banned protest signs inside the facility, but outside protesters held several, including ones that read “No Child Is Born in the Wrong Body,” “Trans Girls Are Boys: CIF Do Better,” and “She Trains to Win. He takes the trophy?” according to reports.
Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, praised her daughter after the events in a statement that said, “As your mother, I cannot fully express how PROUD I am of you.
“Watching you rise above months of being targeted, misunderstood, and judged not by peers, but by adults who should’ve known better, has left me in awe of your strength,” her mother said. “Despite it all, you stayed focused. You kept training, you kept showing up, and now you’re bringing THE GOLD HOME!!!”
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it is opening an investigation to determine if a state law allowing transgender athletes to compete on female sports teams at California schools violates the federal Title IX civil rights law.
The department sent letters to state Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and the CIF informing them of the investigation.
According to the DOJ, the investigation specifically targets state Assembly Bill 1266, the 2013 legislation aimed at preventing discrimination against transgender students and ensuring their right to take part in school activities, including athletics.
It also targets a CIF bylaw “that permits, directs, instructs or requires California high schools to allow males to participate in girls’ interscholastic athletics, thereby depriving girls and young women of equal athletic opportunities.”
Without using her name, the DOJ letter to the CIF specifically references Hernandez.
“Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education. It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies,” Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in a statement. “This division will aggressively defend women’s hard-fought rights to equal educational opportunities.”
On Tuesday, the CIF announced a change in the entry rules for the state meet, essentially expanding the field of competitors in various events to ensure biological females are not excluded from the competition due to the performance of trans athletes.
The DOJ Title IX investigation came one day after U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media that he would withhold federal funding from California if transgender athletes are allowed to compete in girls sports, and he called on local authorities to prevent Hernandez from competing in this weekend’s CIF State meet.
City News Service and Associated Press contributed to this report.
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