Overview
- At the Southern Section finals on Saturday, officials applied the revived policy, so AB Hernandez and the runner-up shared the top podium spot and received duplicate gold medals.
- Coaches received written notice at the meet that the rule was back, following May 9 prelims in Hernandez’s three events that advanced 10 girls instead of the usual nine.
- Hernandez won the long jump, high jump, and triple jump and now moves to statewide preliminaries before the state finals set for late May in Clovis.
- Nereyda Hernandez criticized officials in social posts that right-leaning outlets amplified, while conservative activists circulated podium images and called the arrangement unfair.
- The Justice Department sued California and CIF in July 2025, arguing the pilot does not remedy discrimination against cisgender girls, a challenge that now hangs over the late-May championships.