The State of California makes a bold change in high school Track and Field rules on the heels of President Trump's "No Entry" order

AB Hernandez, 16, a high school transgender student athlete from Jurupa Valley High School, has found herself amidst a controversy, following President Donald Trump's remark on her entry at the California State track and field finals, scheduled this weekend.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued a statement on X, barring Hernandez and transathletes from competing in the girls category and threatening to cut back state funding if not followed through.

"This is not fair, and totally demeaning to women and girls," Trump wrote. "In the meantime, I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State finals."

However, the state of California has stood up for its athlete. In a press release on Tuesday, CIF clarified its stance on high school transgender athletes and issued a temporary pilot entry process, specifically for this weekend's track and field event, where Hernandez will compete in triple jump, long jump and high jump

"Under this pilot entry process, any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section's automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet, was extended an opportunity to participate in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, CIF specified.

On May 19, AB Hernandez competed in the Southern Section Division Finals, where she won the Division 3 girls' long jump and triple jump and earned seventh place in high jump, according to CIF results. Following that, she advanced to the CIF Masters meet last weekend and won the triple jump (40-feet, 4.75 inches) and long jump (19-3.50). She secured fourth position in the high jump (5-4).

The second place for the triple and long jump event went to Kaylee Best.

AB Hernandez hits back at her critics, following President Trump's "no entry" post

AB Hernandez, along with fellow athletes, advanced to the California Interscholastic Federation State Track and Field championship, which will take place this weekend at Buchanan High School in Clovis.

A majority of fellow athletes, who are competing against her, support Hernandez and are appalled at the criticism she is receiving.

"You really can’t get a team like mine anywhere else. My team is very special, very diverse," AB Hernandez said in an exclusive interview with Capital & Main. "Everyone tells me, ‘Well, you gotta win now, you got to win. You got to let the haters talk about something new.’

I’ve trained so hard ... five days a week. ... A few people think I’m brave and strong and they hope to be like me one day. I say, don’t just hope, make it happen.”

The Jurupa Unified School District, which also includes AB Hernandez's high school, has stated that it will continue to follow state law, allowing transathletes to compete in respective events.