Washington high school girl walks off cross-country race alone rather than compete against trans runner, who then came in second

A Washington high school sophomore walked off the starting line alone at a district cross-country championship Wednesday rather than compete against a boy, sacrificing her opportunity to advance in the postseason. Elise Bierer, a Battle Ground High School runner, walked off the course after the starting gun sounded at the October 21 Greater St. Helens League District Meet in Camas.

The protest came as Camas High School’s Logan Mihailoff, who began the season competing in boys’ junior varsity and was ranked 76th, finished second in the girls’ championship race.

According to OutKick’s Matt Calkins, Bierer was Battle Ground’s second-fastest female runner. Her mother said she had been prepared to refuse to compete against a male since before entering high school. “Before she entered high school—she's a sophomore—I told her that it's a real possibility that this could come into play, that she might be forced to race against a male. When we talked about that, she said if that were to happen, she would stand up for what was right and just not compete,” Sheona told the outlet.

Bierer had also declined to compete during Battle Ground’s October 13 dual meet against Camas. Walking off the starting line during Wednesday’s district championship ended her season.

Her mother alleged that Elise and other Battle Ground girls who objected to competing against the male athlete were pressured to enter the JV race instead to preserve the varsity team’s chances of finishing among the three teams advancing to the next qualifying meet. Elise believed she had earned her varsity position. Her mother said other girls originally planned to walk off alongside her.

Battle Ground had only five varsity entrants, while the other three schools had seven each, OutKick reported. Elise’s withdrawal left Battle Ground without the five finishers required to record a team score. Individual results remained separate: Battle Ground’s Sophia Rogers won the girls’ race.

Sheona said her daughter did not tell coach Patricia Tester about her plans to walk off the course because she feared being moved to JV.  “I'm super proud. I'm still overwhelmed,” Sheona told Calkins. She added that Elise, who has run since sixth grade, would not return next season if she had to compete against the Camas male runner.

Mihailoff finished 76th in boys’ JV at the September 5 Ultimook Race. After switching divisions, he finished second among 195 girls at Nike Portland on September 26, then won a girls’ varsity race against Union three days later. Nearly half of Camas’s girls’ team subsequently walked off the starting line during the October 13 meet. Skyview runners Sierra Retzlaff and Charlie Garrett had staged an earlier protest in September.

On Wednesday, Retzlaff and Garrett finished third and fourth behind Mihailoff though they should have been second and third.

Before the championship, supporters gathered for the “Camas Courage: Support Our Girls” rally. Camas runner Holly Burns, who participated in the October 13 walkout, told OutKick she initially questioned whether the protest would accomplish anything. “But it seems like it definitely made a wave,” she said.

According to parents, 18 girls have quit Camas’s cross-country team, including Burns. Camas has defended its eligibility policy by citing Washington law and Washington Interscholastic Activities Association rules permitting participation consistent with gender identity.

Washington voters will decide Initiative IL26-638 on November 3. The measure would reserve designated girls’ school sports for biological females.