Anger mounts as high school trans runner takes 4th place against girls after coming in 206th against boys
A transgender high school student in Maine is facing mounting anger over concerns of unfairness after placing 4th in a girl’s cross-country race.
As the biologically male student crossed the…
A transgender high school student in Maine is facing mounting anger over concerns of unfairness after placing 4th in a girl’s cross-country race.
As the biologically male student crossed the finish line, one spectator can be heard yelling, “Way to cheat, bro,” reported local WGME News 13.
That’s in part because the student placed 206th just one year ago in the same event, but in the boy’s category, said WGME.
As proof, the station linked to the results from last year, which lists the student, Soren Stark-Chessa of Maine Coast High School, with 185 points, which was good for 206th in the 5K run.
This year, Stark-Chessa, improved on the time, going from 19:04 in 2022 to 18:11 in 2023, said WGME.
Still, that would have put the runner at 114th in the boy’s division last year.
“It is not fair to a female who has trained hard,” one anonymous female cross-country athlete told Your News. “Males are biologically faster than females, with testosterone. They need to run under their biological gender.”
Further, transgender participation in the event would seem to be a violation of the both the spirit and the letter of the policy governing gender inclusivity for Maine schools.
The Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) handbook says 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” (emphasis added).
High school track mom Katherine Collins blasted the hypocrisy on Fox News.
“Obviously, there is an unfair advantage, but they’ve allowed this,” Collins said.
The only reason that Stark-Chessa did not win the meet on Saturday is because he was competing against some of the best female athletes in the nation, Collins told Fox.
“The first two girls who finished the race on Saturday … the 1st place winner ranks no. 8 in the country and the 2nd place winner ranks no. 15 in the country,” Collins explained. “If it wasn’t for these top-ranked girls who are faster than most girls in the whole United States, this boy would have won the entire girls’ cross-country meet.”
Outkick reported the event, called the Festival of Champions race, is tabbed as Maine’s biggest cross-country race.
This year, it’s certain to be the most controversial.
Riley Gaines, who has protested transgender participation against biological females, challenged trans advocates to provide just one example of when female-to-male transition resulted in better athletic scores against men.
“It’s always the same story,” Gaines wrote on X. “Anyone who thinks trans-identifying males competing in women’s sports is fair, please show me ONE example of a female ranking higher against the men at a competitive level than she did in the women’s category.”
