Camas High runner moves from boys to girls team; teammates walk off race in protest

Right · 1A Camas High School cross country runner in Washington state who began the season on the boys team switched to the girls team in September, drawing national attention to the debate over transgender athletes in sport. 1 Right · 1Fox News reports the runner finished 76th in a boys' junior varsity race at the Ultimook meet in Oregon on Sept. 5 and was competing in the girls' race at a Camas meet involving Skyview by Sept. 15; it also reports the runner won the girls' varsity race on Sept. 29. 2 3 Right · 1On Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Nike Hole in the Wall invitational in Arlington, the runner placed 39th of 135 in the Women's Elite 5K in 18:36.8, according to a Fox News columnist, who calculated that the time would have been last of 159 in the men's race by about 30 seconds; the columnist also says the runner has finished second at another invitational. 1

Right · 2On Tuesday, Oct. 13, at a Camas–Battle Ground meet, about a dozen girls, including Camas runner Holly Burns, walked a few meters past the start and then left the course instead of racing; the runner in question ran. 2 4 Right · 1Holly Burns's parents, Kevin and Sarah, told OutKick (Fox News) they supported her decision after teammates discussed acting together, said the runner should compete with boys, and plan a more organised protest; they said security challenged their protest signs and that they could not say yet what sitting out would cost their daughter. 2 Right · 1Skyview High students Charlie Garret (spelled Garrett in an earlier Fox piece) and Sierra Retzlaff, who wore body paint reading "keep women in women's sports," also protested and appeared on Fox & Friends, saying the runner is taking a spot from girls; Fox reports Retzlaff's father was removed from the event and the athletic director reportedly called the signs inappropriate. 3 1

Right · 2Camas School District says it follows Washington law and Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) eligibility rules, under which such a switch is permitted; Breitbart says the state has had its rules for transgender athletes in place since 2007. 2 1 4 Right · 1Opinion among parents at the Arlington meet was divided: most who spoke to the Fox columnist, many anonymously, opposed boys competing against girls, while a few urged empathy and said high school sports is about building confidence. What prompted the switch remains unclear, and no Camas coach would talk to the columnist. 1 Right · 1Washington voters will decide Initiative 638 on Nov. 3; it would bar students defined as biologically male from certain female-only interscholastic competitions and require verification of biological sex from a healthcare provider. It would take effect 30 days after the election, after the Nov. 7 state cross country championships. 2 3

Right · 1Fox News places the dispute within a wider conflict: President Trump's Feb. 5, 2025 executive order on women's sports, a federal investigation opened in April 2025 into Washington's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and State Superintendent Chris Reykdal's position that the state has allowed participation consistent with gender identity since 2007. A separate wrestling case has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where the WIAA opposed emergency relief and no ruling had been issued. 2