SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is opening up its track-and-field championship to more girls after a transgender athlete drew controversy for qualifying for the meet.

The California Interscholastic Federation announced the temporary rule change Tuesday after high school junior AB Hernandez’s success drew backlash, including from President Donald Trump. He criticized the athlete’s participation in a social media post Tuesday, though the group said it decided on the rule change before that.

Here’s what to know:

State law lets trans athletes compete

Former California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law in 2013 allowing students to participate in sex-segregated school programs, including on sports teams, and use bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity.

A Republican-led effort to block that law failed recently in the Democratic-dominated Legislature. Another proposal that also failed would have required the federation to ban students whose sex was assigned male at birth from participating on a girls school sports team.

Federation announces rule change

The federation said it was launching a “pilot entry process” to allow more girls participate in the championship track-and-field meet.

Under the change, “any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section’s automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet” could compete, the group said.

If a transgender athlete medals, their ranking would not displace a “biological female” student from medaling, the federation confirmed. In high jump, triple jump and long jump — all of the state championship events Hernandez qualified to compete in — a “biological female” who would have earned podium placement will get the medal for that place and will be reflected in the records, the federal said.

The federation did not specify how they define “biological female” or how they would verify whether a competitor meets that definition.

Experts from organizations including the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and American Psychological Association say gender is a spectrum, not a binary structure consisting of only males and females.

Backlash centers on one student

Hernandez, a trans athlete in Southern California, is at the center of the debate. She won the long jump and triple jump during the division finals and is expected to perform well this weekend. She also set a triple jump meet record at the Ontario Relays earlier this year.

Critics have accused her of having an unfair advantage over other athletes.

Hernandez told the publication Capital & Main earlier this month that she couldn’t worry about the actions of critics, who have called out her participation and heckled her at postseason meets.

“I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person,” she said.

She noted that she has lost some of her events, saying that disproved arguments that she can’t be beat.

Rule change prompts criticism

The rule change may discriminate against transgender athletes, said Elana Redfield, a policy director at the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute, which researches sexual orientation and gender identity policies.

“The CIF policy creates two sets of rules — one for transgender girls, who must earn a place through traditional measures of competition, and another for ‘biological females,’ some of whom are allowed an extra chance to earn a spot,” Redfield said in an email.

The change seems to “thread a fine needle” by trying to ensure cisgender girls aren’t denied a competition slot while still allowing trans athletes to participate, Redfield said.

Doriane Lambelet Coleman, a professor at Duke Law School, said the change would help ensure that “no female athlete loses a place on a team or in a competition when a trans girl is included.”

“Unlike inclusion policies that ignore sex differences, doing it this way doesn’t gaslight the other girls about their biology,” said Coleman, who has researches subjects including children, sports and law and wrote recently on the evolving definition of sex.

Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, called the rule change “a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness” and said the governor thought it was a thoughtful approach. Newsom angered some liberal allies earlier this year when he questioned the fairness of transgender girls participation in girls sports.

Associated Press writer Janie Har in San Francisco contributed.

Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

BETHLEHEM, Pa.  – Army West Point claimed the Patriot League Presidents’ Cup, winning three League Championships during the 2024-25 academic year to finish atop the leaderboard. The Black Knights also topped the women’s standings, while Navy collected the men’s title for the third straight year.

Army West Point earned 150.25 overall points to capture the Patriot League Presidents’ Cup for the fifth time in program history and the first time since the 2004-05 academic year (Presidents’ Cup History), snapping Navy’s record-breaking streak of 10 straight overall titles. Navy finished second with 142.25 overall points, while Bucknell (139.75), Boston University (136.5) and Lehigh (112.25) make up the top five.

The Black Knights claimed the League crown in women’s cross country, men’s swimming and diving and women’s outdoor track and field. They also won the regular-season titles in softball and women’s tennis to help finish with a League-leading 84.25 points in the women’s standings. Boston University compiled 84 points, collecting League titles in women’s indoor track and field, women’s rowing, softball, women’s soccer and women’s tennis. Bucknell (75.25), Navy (75.25) and Lehigh (62.25) round out the closely-contested top five.

The Mids won League titles in men’s cross country, men’s indoor track and field, women’s golf and women’s lacrosse, men’s outdoor track and field and women’s swimming and diving. The Navy team also played for the League title in men’s basketball, helping to accumulate 67 points in the men’s standings. Army West Point (66) finished one point behind. Bucknell (64.25), Boston University (52.5) and Lehigh (50) ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively, on the men’s leaderboard.

The Patriot League Presidents’ Cup is awarded to the member institution with the highest cumulative sports point total in the Patriot League standings for sponsored men’s and women’s sports. Points are awarded based on a combination of an institution’s regular-season and tournament finishes in each sport.

 

In football, points are awarded based on the final regular-season standings. If there is no regular-season competition and a Patriot League Championship determines the champion, points are awarded based on the final championship standings. If all teams compete in the Patriot League Championship and there is a regular-season competition, points are awarded based on the average of the final regular-season standings and the tournament finish. If all teams do not participate in the Patriot League Championship and a regular-season competition is held, points are awarded based on the average of the final season standings and the tournament finish. For those teams not participating in the Championship, the final regular-season standings will be utilized.

 

Bucknell leads all programs with 18 overall Patriot League Presidents’ Cup titles, followed by Navy with 11 and Army West Point with five trophies. The three schools are the only winners of the overall title in League history.

2024-25 Patriot League Presidents Cup Final Standings

(number of Patriot League sports in parentheses)

OVERALL

1. Army West Point, 150.25 (20)

2. Navy, 142.25 (21)

3. Bucknell, 139.75 (24)

4. Boston University, 136.5 (20)

5. Lehigh, 112.25 (24)

6. Colgate, 94.75 (22)

7. Holy Cross, 85.25 (24)

8. Loyola Maryland, 69 (17)

9. Lafayette, 67.75 (22)

10. American, 57.75 (15)

 

MEN

1. Navy, 67 (10)

2. Army West Point, 66 (10)

3. Bucknell, 64.25 (11)

4. Boston University, 52.5 (8)

5. Lehigh, 50 (11)

6. Colgate, 46 (10)

7. Holy Cross, 44 (11)

8. Lafayette, 32.75 (11)

9. Loyola Maryland, 29.75 (7)

10. American, 27 (6)

 

WOMEN

1. Army West Point, 84.25 (10)

2. Boston University, 84 (12)

3. Bucknell, 75.5 (13)

4. Navy, 75.25 (11)

5. Lehigh, 62.25 (13)

6. Colgate, 48.75 (12)

7. Holy Cross, 41.25 (13)

8. Loyola Maryland, 39.25 (10)

9. Lafayette, 35 (11)

10. American, 30.75 (9)

 

ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE

The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.

 

Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop Volleyball has unveiled their 2025 schedule, head coach Heather Gearhart announced this week.

The Eagles have a 24-match regular season schedule, which features a non-conference slate with a power four opponent in Tennessee and top mid-major programs. The first chance to see the Eagles will be the season-opener against Davidson on August 29.

The Eagles are coming off a 2024 season which saw them reach the Big South Conference championship match and advance to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship Tournament, both of which occurred for the second straight season.

Winthrop begins their season with a home invitational with Davidson and Charlotte on August 29^th and 30^th.

The Eagles then hit the road for two straight non-conference tournaments, traveling to Knoxville to take on Samford and Wofford and tournament host Tennessee September 4-5.

The Eagles will then head to Greenville, S.C. to take on North Florida, Alabama, and the host Furman Paladins over three days, September 11-13.

Winthrop will close out their non-conference slate with another home invitational by squaring off with Western Carolina on September 18^th and neighboring rival Queens on September 20^th.

Big South Conference play will begin September 26^th for Winthrop as they host Gardner-Webb. 

The Eagles will hit on the road the next week, facing High Point (Oct. 3) and Radford (Oct. 4).

Winthrop then welcomes USC Upstate (Oct. 10) and UNC Asheville (Oct. 11) before heading to Charleston Southern (Oct. 17) and Presbyterian (Oct. 18).

Winthrop will return to Rock Hill to begin a four-match home stand with Radford (Oct. 24), High Point (Oct. 25), Presbyterian (Oct. 31) and Charleston Southern (Nov. 1).

The Eagles will wrap up regular season conference play with three matches for the rest of November, traveling to UNC Asheville (Nov. 7) and USC Upstate (Nov. 8).

The final home match and senior night will be November 14^th against Gardner-Webb.

The Big South Conference Tournament is scheduled for the week following the completion of the regular season, November 21^st – 23^rd and will return to High Point University in High Point, N.C. The top six teams will advance to the conference tournament.

For up-to-date information and latest news on Winthrop Volleyball, follow along on X, Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok.

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU track and field team is kicking off the initial qualifying rounds of the NCAA meets with the NCAA East First Round hosted at North Florida’s Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The four-day meet will be streamed lived on ESPN+.

Live Results | Meet Schedule | Meet Information

LSU will have 34 student-athletes (20 men, 14 women) competing this week at the NCAA East First Round. The first day of the meet (Wednesday) is set to start at 1:30 p.m. CT for LSU with the men’s javelin throw.

Live coverage of the NCAA East First Round will air on ESPN+, starting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, and 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Wednesday: ESPN+ Stream (5 p.m.)
Thursday: ESPN+ Stream (5 p.m.)
Friday: ESPN+ Stream (4 p.m.)
Saturday: ESPN+ Stream (4 p.m.)

The Tigers will be represented at next week’s NCAA East First Round by 34 student athletes across 39 entries next week. The women are heading to this year’s meet with 13 less entries and seven less members than last year’s team. The men will have three less entries, but retain the same number of athletes as last year’s team.

To mirror the format of the national meet, the First Round will be contested over four days with alternating men’s and women’s programs. The NCAA West First Round will take place the same weekend at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas. The top 12 in each event advance to Eugene, Ore., for the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships (June 11-14). Listed below are all 39 entries for LSU and more info pertaining the upcoming meets.

Women’s Qualifiers | 18 entries, 14 student-athletes

Men’s Qualifiers | 21 entries, 20 student-athletes

The complete list of participants is available on the following website.

For more information regarding the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and to purchase tickets, log on to NCAA.com/trackandfield.

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