Five Transgender Athletes Won Girls’ Track State Championships This Past Spring

By NBP Staff | July 5, 2024, 8:16 EDT

Maelle Jacques running in the 1600-meter in the Wilderness League championship meet on May 18, 2024. Screenshot of NH Track & Field livestream.

Transgender athletes across the country racked up high school state championships this past spring.

That includes five male transgender athletes in girls’ outdoor track and field alone.

These male athletes won state titles in Oregon, Washington, Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire; NewBostonPost was first to report on the three instances that happened in New England states.

Here is a look at each of those instances:

1.  Lizzy Bidwell— The junior won the triple jump (36 feet 8 inches) at the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class LL state championship meet. This result came a year after Bidwell helped Conard High (West Hartford, Connecticut) win a team state title during the spring 2023 season, as NewBostonPost previously reported.

Bidwell became the third confirmed transgender athlete to win a track state title in Connecticut. The other two, Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood, won a combined 15 state championships; they both graduated in 2020.

2. Maelle Jacques — A sophomore, Jacques had a first-place tie in the high jump (5 feet) at the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 3 state championship meet in May.

The Kearsarge Regional (Sutton, New Hampshire) student won two state titles this past school year. During the winter season, Jacques took gold in the high jump (5 feet 2 inches) at the NHIAA Division 2 girls’ indoor state title meet.

3.  Soren Stark-Chessa — The sophomore at Maine Coast Waldorf (Freeport, Maine) won the 800-meter (2:19.72) at the Maine Principals’ Association Class C state championship meet last month.

Stark-Chessa was new to playing girls’ sports this past school year. As a freshman, Stark-Chessa was on the boys’ teams for cross country, Nordic skiing, and outdoor track and field, going by the exact same name, as NewBostonPost previously reported.

4.  Aayden Gallagher — The sophomore at McDaniel High School (Portland, Oregon) won the Oregon School Activities Association Class 6A state championship in the 200-meter (23.82 seconds) in May.

Gallagher received attention from national media following the win due to the crowd’s negative reaction to the victory; the crowd booed Gallagher. 

5. Veronica Garcia — The junior at East Valley High (Yakima, Washington) won the 400-meter (55.75 seconds) at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Division 2A state championship meet in May.

Like Gallagher, Garcia received attention for the negative reaction to the transgender athlete’s victory.

“Garcia cheered and clapped for her competitors as they received their medals,” a report in The Spokesman-Review said. “When the announcer called her to the podium, the crowd fell silent, and the other high school runners at the podium did not acknowledge her as they stood with hands clasped behind their backs.”

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