The best female in a high school track event won applause after she stepped atop the first-place podium Saturday, moments after the transgender athlete who won the event stepped down.
Reese Hogan made the brief podium protest Saturday at the Division 3 California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Finals, according to Fox News.
Hogan had reason to be proud. The Crean Lutheran High School athlete set a school triple jump record of 37 feet, 2 inches, which was also her own personal best.
However, her record-setting performance fell short of that of a male competing as a female who topped Hogan’s jump by more than four feet.
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
After the official medal ceremony, Hogan stepped to the first-place spot to a roar from the crowd and approval that followed on social media.
“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!!!” Riley Gaines, a champion of the concept of banning men from women’s sports, posted on social media platform X.
Should female sports be for women and girls only?
“The boy standing atop the podium holding up a ‘number 1’ is a fraud enabled by @CIFSS, @CA_Dem, & @CAgovernor,” Gaines wrote in another post on X.
Jennifer Sey, an advocate for restricting women’s sports to competitors who are female, called Hogan “the real winner of the women’s triple jump at the CIF section finals in SoCal yesterday” Sunday in a post on X.
Congratulations to Reese Hogan — the real winner of the women’s triple jump at the CIF section finals in SoCal yesterday.
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) May 18, 2025
Hogan, 16, had said that during a preliminary meet last week, officials forced her and some fellow athletes to remove T-shirts they had worn before their events that said “Protect Girls Sports,” according to Fox News.
“It wasn’t said, but it was implied that if I didn’t take my shirt off then and there, then something could potentially happen to my spot, it wasn’t said, but it was implied,” Hogan said.
“Throughout the day it was kind of getting a little bit more stricter … getting a little bit more hostile with their voices … they never said anything about getting disqualified, but it was kind of implied by the tone of their voice and the way that they said things,” she said.
🚨 Truth Takes the Podium: Reese Hogan Claims Her Rightful Place as Girls’ Triple Jump Champion.
Reese Hogan didn’t just jump the farthest among the girls—she competed with integrity and earned that podium. When the biological male stepped aside, the crowd knew exactly who the… pic.twitter.com/6at4o4gTf5
— Kristin Sokoloff (@KSOKUNCENSORED) May 20, 2025
Before the preliminaries, the school Hogan attends joined with JSerra Catholic High School and Orange Lutheran High School in sending a letter to protest competing against transgender athlete AB Hernandez, who won the event over Hogan.
“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,” the letter said, according to the Daily Wire.
“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,” the letter said.
JSerra sent a letter to parents, according to Sports Illustrated.
“As a school, we are working our way through a significant issue deeply intertwined with a fundamental aspect of our mission. Tomorrow four of our female student-athletes will be competing in the CIF Track & Field State Prelims,” JSerra wrote before the preliminary meet.
“Unfortunately, in three of these events our young women will be competing against a young man (who identifies as a female). He will likely dominate the competition and handily win all three events. To be clear, we hold no malice toward this particular student. We do feel compelled, however, to take a stand for the right, duties and dignity of our young women,” the letter said.
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