After Boy Beats Her In Triple Jump, High School Track Athlete Takes ‘Her Rightful Spot As Champion’

A California high school girl track and field athlete didn’t let the fact that a boy had stolen her championship deter her, and waited until the boy stepped off the podium to step up herself, stand up on the podium, and claim her rightful place as the winner.

Reese Hogan, 16, from Crean Lutheran High School, finished second place in the triple jump behind AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley, a boy who claims to be a girl, at the CIF Southern Section Finals on Saturday. Hernandez jumped 41 feet, four inches, more than four feet farther than Hogan’s 37 feet, 2 inches. To make the difference clearer, third-place finisher Sofia Jara’s 36 feet, five inches was only 9 inches behind Hogan, and fourth-place finisher Kezia Gavlak jumped 35 feet, 11 inches, only six inches behind Jara. “Hernandez currently holds the state’s top marks in long jump (20-1.5) and triple jump (41-4) in girls track and field,” Sports Illustrated noted.

After Hernandez stepped off the podium, Hogan seized the moment, walked onto the first-place spot, smiled, and proudly posed for a picture.

“When the boy got off the podium, she assumed her rightful spot as champion. The crowd erupts with applause. THIS is the way. Congrats to Reese Hogan, the REAL champ!!!” women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines cheered.

When the boy got off the podium, she assumed her rightful spot as champion. The crowd erupts with applause.

THIS is the way.

Congrats to Reese Hogan, the REAL champ!!! https://t.co/KiEm2yV2YY pic.twitter.com/hqGdikES29

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 18, 2025

On May 10, at the CIF Southern Section Division 3 Prelims at Yorba Linda High School, Hogan joined other girl athletes who donned t-shirts that said, “Protect Girls Sports.” Officials at the track meet reportedly made the girls change their shirts.

The day before, JSerra Catholic High School, Orange Lutheran High School, and Crean Lutheran High School wrote a letter to the CIF in which they stated:

For young women, CIF’s Gender Identity Policy means lost opportunities and an unlevel playing field. The consequences of this Policy will be felt this weekend as CIF’s state semi-final competitions for track and field events take place. Star female athletes, some of whom attend our schools, will soon compete in multiple track and field events against a male athlete who self- identifies as a female. If their respective regular-season performances are any indication, the male student will trounce his female competitors, depriving them of opportunities for advancement in tournaments, state championships, performance records, and potentially even college scholarships. Some of our female athletes have indicated they will not compete in their events to protest the injustice of this situation. This result makes it clear that the CIF Gender Identity Policy deprives women of the equal opportunities required by Title IX. Worse still, in some sports, the CIF Gender Identity Policy jeopardizes the physical safety of female student athletes.

Here is their letter to CIF. pic.twitter.com/AfDpisJk6x

— Julie Hamill (@hamill_law) May 10, 2025