A pair of transgender-identifying male athletes made their respective all-conference teams in girls’ sports in Maine this past winter..Greely High School junior Katie Spencer and Maine Coast Waldorf junior Soren Stark-Chessa both made the Western Maine Conference all-conference first teams in their respective sports.Spencer made the cut for girls' indoor track and field, while Stark-Chessa was selected for girls' Nordic skiing, according to The Portland Press-Herald.The Western Maine Conference has 18 member schools for most sports, though only nine compete in girls' Nordic skiing.The complete all-conference teams have not been announced yet, so it's unclear how many student-athletes made the cut.Spencer won two Maine Principals’ Association Class B state championships this past winter. Spencer won the pole vault state title (10 feet, 6 inches). The athlete also helped Greely High School (Cumberland, Maine) win a team state title. Spencer's first-place finish got Greely 10 points and was the difference-maker in a one-point victory over Freeport High, the second-place team. Greely finished with 73 points, while Freeport got 72.Spencer's state titles received much attention after Maine state representative Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) posted about them on social media; her post has received more than 100,000 reactions.Meanwhile, Stark-Chessa finished third in the girls' freestyle (16:52.9) and girls' pursuit (36:20.9) events at the MPA Class C state championship girls' Nordic skiing meet on Tuesday, February 18.Similarly, Stark-Chessa won a girls' outdoor track and field state championship last spring.The three-sport athlete won the 800-meter (2:19.72) at the Maine Principals' Association Class C girls' outdoor track and field state championship on Saturday, June 1, as NewBostonPost previously reported.The Maine Principals' Association lets student-athletes participate on teams based on their self-selected gender identity instead of their sex, according to the Gender Equity and Inclusion Policy in its 2022-23 handbook."The MPA is committed to maximizing the opportunities for all students to participate in interscholastic activities and athletics, regardless of their gender identity or expression," the policy states."At the same time, the MPA is committed to ensuring fair competition and adequate protection of student-athletes," the policy adds. "Consistent with its principles, the MPA believes that all students should have the opportunity to participate in MPA activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity unless such participation would result in an unfair athletic advantage or would present an unacceptable risk of injury to other student-athletes."Waldorf School athletic director Susan Sonntag defended Stark-Chessa's participation in girls' sports in an email message to NewBostonPost on October 25, 2023."We support all our students at Maine Coast Waldorf School, and are proud that our students are given the opportunity to participate in all of our school programs," Sonntag said in a statement. "Additionally, MCWS adheres to the Maine Statute, Title 5, §4602 'Unlawful educational discrimination' which is further supported by Maine Principals' Association (MPA) policy."Greely, which Spencer attends, is a public high school in Cumberland, Maine. The school serves about 600 students. Cumberland is a town of about 8,700 people; it's about 10 miles north of Portland, Maine.Maine Coast Waldorf, which Stark-Chessa attends, is a small private school in Freeport, Maine. It has 268 students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Freeport, Maine is a town with roughly 8,800 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau; it's about 17 miles northeast of Portland.
A pair of transgender-identifying male athletes made their respective all-conference teams in girls’ sports in Maine this past winter..Greely High School junior Katie Spencer and Maine Coast Waldorf junior Soren Stark-Chessa both made the Western Maine Conference all-conference first teams in their respective sports.Spencer made the cut for girls' indoor track and field, while Stark-Chessa was selected for girls' Nordic skiing, according to The Portland Press-Herald.The Western Maine Conference has 18 member schools for most sports, though only nine compete in girls' Nordic skiing.The complete all-conference teams have not been announced yet, so it's unclear how many student-athletes made the cut.Spencer won two Maine Principals’ Association Class B state championships this past winter. Spencer won the pole vault state title (10 feet, 6 inches). The athlete also helped Greely High School (Cumberland, Maine) win a team state title. Spencer's first-place finish got Greely 10 points and was the difference-maker in a one-point victory over Freeport High, the second-place team. Greely finished with 73 points, while Freeport got 72.Spencer's state titles received much attention after Maine state representative Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) posted about them on social media; her post has received more than 100,000 reactions.Meanwhile, Stark-Chessa finished third in the girls' freestyle (16:52.9) and girls' pursuit (36:20.9) events at the MPA Class C state championship girls' Nordic skiing meet on Tuesday, February 18.Similarly, Stark-Chessa won a girls' outdoor track and field state championship last spring.The three-sport athlete won the 800-meter (2:19.72) at the Maine Principals' Association Class C girls' outdoor track and field state championship on Saturday, June 1, as NewBostonPost previously reported.The Maine Principals' Association lets student-athletes participate on teams based on their self-selected gender identity instead of their sex, according to the Gender Equity and Inclusion Policy in its 2022-23 handbook."The MPA is committed to maximizing the opportunities for all students to participate in interscholastic activities and athletics, regardless of their gender identity or expression," the policy states."At the same time, the MPA is committed to ensuring fair competition and adequate protection of student-athletes," the policy adds. "Consistent with its principles, the MPA believes that all students should have the opportunity to participate in MPA activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity unless such participation would result in an unfair athletic advantage or would present an unacceptable risk of injury to other student-athletes."Waldorf School athletic director Susan Sonntag defended Stark-Chessa's participation in girls' sports in an email message to NewBostonPost on October 25, 2023."We support all our students at Maine Coast Waldorf School, and are proud that our students are given the opportunity to participate in all of our school programs," Sonntag said in a statement. "Additionally, MCWS adheres to the Maine Statute, Title 5, §4602 'Unlawful educational discrimination' which is further supported by Maine Principals' Association (MPA) policy."Greely, which Spencer attends, is a public high school in Cumberland, Maine. The school serves about 600 students. Cumberland is a town of about 8,700 people; it's about 10 miles north of Portland, Maine.Maine Coast Waldorf, which Stark-Chessa attends, is a small private school in Freeport, Maine. It has 268 students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Freeport, Maine is a town with roughly 8,800 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau; it's about 17 miles northeast of Portland.
