Trans runner takes FIRST PLACE in California girls cross country championship

Using the female name Athena Ryan, a senior at Sonoma Academy, a private school 50 miles north of San Francisco, placed first in the women’s 2.97 miles varsity cross country race with a time of 18:56.98, coming around 15 seconds faster than second-place finisher Josie Hill.

Sonoma Academy’s girl's team came in first place in the November 8 meet with a score of 33 points, while second place team Middletown High School received a score of 52. Cross country meets rank teams by the lowest score, meaning the higher the finish for the runner, the lower the points.

Ryan sparked outrage in the 2023 track and field season, when the biological male athlete placed second in the CIF-North Coast Section Meet of Champions varsity girls’ 1,600 meter finals, bumping one female athlete from going on to the state finals.

According to the Daily Mail, Ryan said after the race, "I wasn't expecting that. I dropped like 17 seconds on my season's best in the past two weeks."

"After last weekend, I didn't think I could run low 5s again. I was just coming here trying to break 5 – just glad I finished it out."

Adeline Johnson, who finished in fourth place and was bumped out of the state finals, gave the camera a thumbs down on the podium in response.

Ryan would later go on to drop out of the state finals, along with fellow transgender runner Lorelei Barrett, citing concerns for their well-being after outrage was sparked at them running against female athletes, according to the New York Post. The girls who would have had those spots were it not for males competing in girls' sports were not able to take those places at finals.

In response to Ryan’s recent win, former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines wrote on X, "Oh, what do ya know? A mediocre male flipping to the women's team and suddenly dominating. It's almost as if we've seen this exact story play out over and over again. Ask yourself why you don't see this happening the other way."

Attorney Harmeet Dhillon wrote, "All the actual girls should boycott these events. They are going to be cheated of their rankings anyway. Why legitimize it?"