A Washington high school transgender athlete won a track and field championship for the second year in a row, drawing support and adding more fuel to the debate about transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ sports. 

Verónica García of East Valley High School won the 2A girls 400-meter race at the state track and field championships in Tacoma last week. 

Because García is transgender—her story, her existence and her wins have been a lightning rod for criticism. She has found herself at the center of a nationwide debate since her first state title last year.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:Controversy follows Spokane Valley transgender athlete named champion

“I think I was just happy. I did what I accomplished. I did what I came to do. It’s my senior year, and I’m proud of myself,” García said. 

Since her first win districts across the state have called on the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) to change its current policy that allows transgender athletes to compete with the gender they identify with. 

The debate intensified in February when President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, creating a clash with Washington state law. 

RELATED COVERAGE: State Law vs. Federal Rules: How Washington schools are dealing with transgender athlete participation

“For a while, I kind of had a sort of meltdown, in a way, because I’m like… am I not going to be able to go to practice anymore,” García said. 

This year, while she received some cheers from the podium, she also faced boos and protests, including athletes wearing shirts that read “Keep Women’s Sports Female.”

García said she thinks the WIAA should have intervened. 

“I do generally think that the WIAA should have stepped in to just tell them to remove the shirts – turn them inside out or something. Especially considering there were all females at that race,” she said. 

Despite the criticism, García said this year’s experience was more positive. 

“I had strangers coming up to me and telling me ‘good job,’ and I did not expect that,” she said. 

García said she credits the support from her coaches and reassurance from Washington state leaders with giving her the confidence to return to the track for her final year of high school. 

“Part of me was fearful until I showed up back to practice,” she said. 

At 17-years-old, Garcia has had to face vitriol head-on, but she said she’s more than the labels others choose to give her. 

“I’m an innocent person. I’m a kind person. I’m gentle. And just to portray me as some monster—I can’t believe it, I guess,” she said.    

García hopes the WIAA will continue to allow transgender students to compete in girls’ sports. 

“A lot of fear is going around, and so taking away an opportunity to play sports with their friends, it’s just going to worsen things.” 

This is García’s last year of high school. As she prepares to graduate, she has no plans to compete in college. So, as she closes this chapter, 4 News Now asked her: was it worth running through all the scrutiny?

“I think it’s worth it. The one thing that I want to leave off with people is just don’t be afraid of who you are. I mean, there’s obviously going to be some fear with it. That’s reasonable. But I would also say try not to let it overcome what you enjoy,” she said. 

RELATED COVERAGE: ‘It’s discriminatory’; Transgender athlete speaks out on new WIAA proposals

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — In hockey it might be considered a hat trick, it’s a possibly triple crown in horse racing and in basketball, it’d be a trifecta.

To Mifflin County High School product Kylee Cubbison, the accomplishments from her junior year at Bowling Green State University were considered mere achievements in reaching her goals.

From cross country to indoor track to outdoor track, Cubbison certainly enjoyed successful for the Falcons in her three sports. Transitioning from the outdoor season in cross country to indoor track to outdoor track seemed no issue for the distance runner.

“I’m really happy with how the year went,” Cubbison said. “I accomplished a lot of my big goals for the year and season.”

For outdoor track, Cubbison had her sights set on not only helping the Falcons win the overall team title but she wanted to qualify for the NCAA Division I East Regional. She achieved both and then some.

For the first time in school history, the Bowling Green women won the team titles at both the MAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the same season.

“Winning indoors and outdoors as a team was a really cool moment,” Cubbison said. “Then to do it in the same year.”

She also defended her crown by winning the 1,500 again. That was Cubbison’s big three – at least her goals for her three sports.

On May 29, Cubbison was one of six individuals to represent the Falcons at the NCAA East Regional in Jacksonville, Fla. In the 1,500-meter race, she placed 24th in the first round, securing the last qualifying spot for the quarterfinals.

Unfortunately, a trip to Eugene for the NCAA Championships, hosted by the University of Oregon, was not meant to be as Cubbison placed 22nd in the quarterfinals two days later.

Despite not making the cut, she couldn’t have been more pleased with the results.

“I was really excited to make it there and go to quarterfinals,” said Cubbison, whose goal was merely to qualify for the East Regional.

Falcons cross country earns best GPA in Division I

For the second season in a row, the women’s cross country team has recorded the best team grade point average in Division I with a 3.97 mark. It also marks the 13th time in the last 14 seasons that the program has earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team honors.

Of all the teams in the country regardless of division, including NAIA and junior colleges, the Falcons ranked second in team GPA only behind Division II University of Mary (3.98 GPA). Cubbison, a health science major, has a 4.0 GPA. Not surprisingly, she was also included on the Cross Country Academic All-Mid-American Conference Team.

Ready for a vacation

After finishing at the East Regional, Cubbison took a two-week vacation before beginning preparations for the cross country season. “I get to rest and recover,” she said of the time off. “Mentally, it kind of lets me reset. But, it still goes by quick.”

She will take some time away from the sports. Perhaps focusing on other hobbies besides running.

“I like spending time with my family and our dogs and cats,” Cubbison said during an interview on the school’s athletic website. “I also enjoy building Legos. I’ve been building Legos since I was a kid and continue to add on to my collection.

“I am a big fan of the Office,” Cubbison added. “I’ve seen every episode and can watch them again and again.”

Competing in cross country and track and field which are so centric to time, Cubbison found herself making the most of hers.

Despite the grueling college track season, which sees the Falcons competing at different meets around the country, Cubbison says individual achievements morph into the program’s success.

“We’re spread out a lot during the season, but still have individual and team goals,” she explained. “One of the best things about this team is that we come together to support each other. We’re really good at that; people on this team bring a lot of energy.”

As far as personal bests in cross country, Cubbison finished the Tommy Evans Invitational 5K in 18:04.8 on Sept. 1, 2023. Her best time in the 6K is 20:34.5 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals on Nov. 15, 2024.

During the indoor season, Cubbison appeared in five meets, competing in the 3,000 and the mile. She set new personal bests in both at meets that were only weeks apart. She ran a 4:42.53 in the mile at the Meyo Invitational on Feb. 1 then came back with a 9:25.00 in the 3,000 at the Grand Valley State University Big Meet on Feb. 14.

“Obviously I am also proud to have won the 1500m at the MAC Championships and to have helped our team achieve the best team finish since 1998,” Cubbison said. “I am equally as proud to be on the BGSU Dean’s list.”

As far as time goes, the Falcons’ cross country schedule typically kicks off in August, so Cubbison is counting down the minutes. At least, that’s how times goes by.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 8, 2025) – The U.S. Women’s National Team earned its first win of the opening week of Volleyball Nations League play with a 3-0 (25-13, 28-26, 25-17) victory over Korea on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The U.S. (1-3) will next head to Serbia for week two of Volleyball Nations League, facing the host nation on June 18 at 11 a.m. PDT.

Get Tickets to Women’s VNL in Arlington, Texas, July 9-13

The U.S. Women dominated up front with a 14-3 advantage in blocks and also posted a double-digit lead in kills (43-31). Korea held a slight edge in aces (5-4).

Middle blocker Amber Igiede led all players with 16 points, eight of which came on blocks. She registered seven kills and one ace.

Opposite Madisen Skinner and outside hitter Sarah Franklin shared the match lead with 13 kills. Skinner added a block and an ace, while Franklin also served an ace. Opposite Logan Lednicky rounded out the double-digit scorers for the U.S. with 10 points on seven kills and three blocks. Lednicky also led the U.S. with 10 digs.

“We worked on pushing ourselves to get to a higher level so we can continue that for the rest of VNL. We have had spurts of really good things, but I think where we have improved the most over the week is in bringing more consistency for every single point,” commented Franklin, who was encouraged by the young team playing together for the first time. “Everyone is really open with trying new things and being with new people. Everyone on the team is ready to get on the court and contribute in any way possible.”

The U.S. took control of the first set early, jumping out to a 13-6 lead and building a double-digit advantage late. Skinner and Franklin each scored six points on five kills and an ace.

A block gave Korea an 8-7 lead in the second set before the U.S. ran off six consecutive points. McCage, who back set Franklin for a kill during the run, extended the lead to five points, 13-8.

Korea bounced back to even the score at 18, the first of eight late ties in the set. Back-to-back blocks by Igiede and Lednicky gave the U.S. the set, 28-26. Franklin recorded six kills with Skinner (five kills) and Igiede (two kills, three blocks) each adding five points.

The U.S. Women used that momentum to jump out to an 11-6 lead in the third set and force a Korea timeout. Igiede’s sixth block and a Lednicky block made it 13-6. The lead eventually grew to 12 points before a late 6-1 Korea run made the score appear closer than it was. Igiede led all the U.S. with seven points in the set on four blocks, two kills, and an ace.

U.S. Women’s Week One Roster for 2025 VNL

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
6 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer)
9 Madisen Skinner (OH, 6-2, Katy, Texas, Univ. of Kentucky and Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
13 Amber Igiede (MB, 6-3, Baton Rouge, La., Univ. of Hawaii, Bayou)
14 Anna Dodson (MB, 6-5, Fort Collins, Colo., UCLA, Rocky Mountain)
17 Zoe Jarvis (previously Fleck) (L, 5-6, Granada Hills, Calif., UCLA and Univ. of Texas, Southern California)
21 Roni Jones-Perry (OH, 6-0, West Jordan, Utah, BYU, Intermountain)
22 Sarah Franklin (OH, 6-4, Lake Worth, Fla., Univ. of Wisconsin, Florida)
24 Olivia Babcock (Opp, 6-4, Los Angeles, Calif., Pitt, Southern California)
27 Ella Powell (S, 6-0, Fayetteville, Ark., Univ. of Washington, Delta)
28 Logan Lednicky (Opp, 6-3, Sugar Land, Texas, Univ. of Texas A&M, Lone Star)
29 Molly McCage (MB, 6-3, Spring, Texas, Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
32 Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres (S, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Texas, Aloha)
33 Logan Eggleston (OH, 6-2, Brentwood, Tenn., Univ. of Texas, Southern)
43 Serena Gray (MB, 6-2, Temple City, Calif., Pitt, Southern California)

Head Coach: Erik Sullivan
Assistant Coach: Mike Wall
Second Assistant Coach: Brandon Taliaferro
Second Assistant Coach: Tayyiba Haneef-Park
Second Assistant Coach: Joe Trinsey
Team Manager: Rob Browning
Team Doctors: William Briner, James Suchy, Chris Lee, Andrew Gregory
Physiotherapist: Kara Kessans
Physical Trainers: Shawn Hueglin, Shannon Boone
Mental Performance Coach: Andrea Becker, Katy Stanfill
Performance Analyst: Virginia Pham

Week 1 Schedule: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VBTV. CBS Sport Network and the Big Ten Network will also air matches.

All times PDT
June 4 Italy def. USA, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 30-28)
June 5 Brazil def. USA, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19)
June 6 Czechia def. USA, 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 27-25)
June 8 USA def Korea, 3-0 (25-13, 28-26, 25-17)

Two water polo athletes who represented Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics were awarded the Peter J. Cutino Award in San Francisco on Saturday.

The award looks to honor the best Division One collegiate male and female athlete in the sport.

Stanford University’s Ryan Neushul took home the award for women, and Paris bronze medalist Ryan Dood, an athlete at the University of California, Los Angeles, won for the men’s division.

“It is an honor to carry this for Stanford women’s water polo, Neushul said. “I believe team wins far more outweigh individual accolades, truly honored to have this.”

Rapper Flavor Flav, also known as Team USA Water Polo’s hype man, was there to hand out the statues.

The award is named after the legendary University of California, Berkeley coach who was the all-time winning coach in US water polo history.

Lady Gators’ Larkin goes back-to-back in earning two state medals

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Geibel Catholic’s Emma Larkin takes off in the final of the 400-meter dash in girls Class 2A action on May 24 in the PIAA Track & Field Championships at Seth Grove Stadium on the campus of Shippensburg University. The junior placed seventh in the race. She was also seventh in the 300-meter hurdles, and has been selected as the Herald-Standard Track & Field Girls Athlete of the Year.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Laurel Highlands’ Diondra Brown competes in the long jump in Class 3A on May 24 in the PIAA Track & Field Championships at Seth Grove Stadium on the campus of Shippensburg University.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Southmoreland’s Megan Mehall keeps pace with Greenville’s Karis McElhaney in the 800-meter run in Class 2A on May 24 in the PIAA Track & Field Championships at Seth Grove Stadium on the campus of Shippensburg University.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Uniontown’s Grace Trimmer leads the pack in the 3,200-meter run in girls Class 3A on May 14 in the WPIAL Track & Field Championships at Slippery Rock University.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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