A Camas High cross-country runner who began the season on the boys team and later switched to the girls team competed Saturday in the Women’s Elite 5K race at the Nike Hole in the Wall High School XC Invitational in Arlington, Washington.
The runner’s eligibility change has become part of a broader transgender athlete controversy around Washington high school cross country. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association permits the switch, and the runner’s results changed quickly after the move. At the start of the year, the runner finished 76th in a JV race on the boys side. Last month, after switching teams, the runner won first place in a varsity meet and then finished second in a different invitational.
Parents objected at the meet
Parents from opposing schools were present on Saturday and spoke against boys competing against girls. Kent Lake, a parent of a runner from Lake Stevens, said he did not agree with boys competing against girls and argued that competition needs to be fair.
“We’re about as liberal as it gets. I just don’t agree with that [boys competing against girls]. I mean, if they find your body in 300 years, what are they going to say you were,” Lake said.
He added: “Look, you can live any way you want. You got my blessing. But I mean come on, in competitions? It’s like stock car racing. It’s gotta be even, and it’s gotta be fair.”
Another mother of a cross country runner said the situation was hard to accept. “When I first heard about this story, I was like, ‘Is this real? That can’t be real,’” she said. “We have daughters, and it’s robbing them of an opportunity to compete.”
One parent also said the issue goes beyond the finishing order. “Whether they finish first, 40th or 90th, they’re still taking the spot of a girl,” the parent said.
What happened next
The runner’s appearance in the Women’s Elite 5K brought the debate into a highly visible setting, with a school meet becoming part of a larger state-level discussion. The WIAA’s policy allows the athlete to compete in the girls field, but the reaction at Arlington showed how divisive the issue remains at the high school level.
When a Camas High assistant cross country coach was asked about the situation, the response was brief: “Nobody wants to talk to you. I’m trying to be nice.”
