The energy at Buchanan High School in Clovis during the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships was, honestly, unlike anything I’ve seen in years of covering California prep sports. You had a plane circling overhead with a protest banner, a packed stadium of buzzing fans, and right in the eye of the storm was a junior from Jurupa Valley High named Ab Hernandez.
People are still arguing about what went down. Some call it a historic athletic achievement, while others view it as the moment the CIF’s gender identity policies finally hit a breaking point. Regardless of where you stand, the Ab Hernandez CIF performance was a statistical powerhouse that rewrote the weekend's narrative.
Let’s look at the actual numbers. Because beyond the noise, the raw data from that Saturday in May tells a very specific story about a three-event specialist who almost swept the podium.
The Triple Jump Masterclass
The triple jump is where things got wild. Hernandez didn't just win; she cleared the field by a distance that's hard to wrap your head around at the high school level.
Her final mark? 42 feet, 2.75 inches.
To put that into perspective, the athlete she shared the podium with, Kira Gant Hatcher of St. Mary’s-Berkeley, hit a mark of 40 feet, 5 inches. That’s a gap of nearly two feet. In the world of elite jumping, two feet is a lifetime. Hernandez’s performance was technically a personal record (PR), and at the time, it put her among the top-ranked jumpers in the nation.
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Earlier in the season, Hernandez mentioned to reporters that she was eyeing the 43 or even 44-foot mark. Considering the CIF state meet record is 44 feet and 0.5 inches, she isn't just "good for a high schooler." She’s knocking on the door of all-time legendary status.
Breaking Down the High Jump and Long Jump
The high jump was a bit of a strategic chess match. Hernandez cleared 5 feet, 7 inches.
She did it without a single miss throughout her progression, which is usually the tiebreaker in track. However, due to a last-minute policy change by the CIF, she shared the "co-champion" title with Lelani Laruelle and Jillene Wetteland.
Then you have the long jump. This was actually the one event where she didn't take the top spot. Loren Webster from Long Beach Wilson, a senior with serious wheels, took gold with a leap of 21 feet, 0.25 inches.
Hernandez secured silver with a jump of 20 feet, 8.75 inches.
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It’s worth noting that Hernandez was the only athlete at the entire meet to medal in three separate individual events. That kind of versatility is rare. Usually, you’re either a horizontal jumper or a vertical jumper. Doing both at an elite level requires a specific kind of explosive power that most kids just haven't developed by their junior year.
Why the CIF Scrambled the Podium
You might be wondering why everyone was talking about "co-champions" and "shared medals."
Basically, the CIF was under massive pressure. Just days before the state finals, even the President had weighed in on social media. There were threats of federal investigations and potential cuts to education funding over the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls' sports.
So, the CIF implemented what they called a "pilot entry process."
"A biological female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place."
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That’s the official line. What it meant in practice was that if Hernandez finished first, the girl behind her also got a first-place medal and the team points. It was a compromise that satisfied almost nobody. It left the results feeling a bit blurry, even though the physical marks on the scoreboard were crystal clear.
The Reality of the "Stand"
Three schools—JSerra, Orange Lutheran, and Crean Lutheran—actually sent a letter to the CIF expressing "strong opposition" to the policy. They called it a "stand."
Social media made it sound like they were going to boycott. They didn't. Their athletes competed, and in some cases, they were the ones standing on the podium next to Hernandez.
I think it's important to look at the atmosphere on the field versus the atmosphere in the stands. While people were yelling from the bleachers, Hernandez was seen chatting with other competitors. Most of these kids just want to jump. But the adults? The adults were the ones making it a culture war.
Actionable Insights for the 2026 Season
If you're a coach or an athlete following the fallout of the Ab Hernandez CIF performance, there are three things you need to watch for as we head into the next season:
- Watch the Rulebook: The "pilot program" from 2025 was exactly that—a pilot. The CIF is expected to issue a more permanent ruling before the 2026 spring season begins.
- The 44-Foot Barrier: Hernandez is now a senior. If she hits her goal of 44 feet in the triple jump, she won't just be a state champion; she'll be chasing the California state record.
- Recruiting Dynamics: College scouts are in a weird spot. Hernandez's marks are undeniably Division 1 caliber, but the ongoing legal battles over Title IX mean the recruiting landscape for trans athletes is shifting every month.
The 2025 season proved that the physical performance is only half the story. The other half is the paperwork. As Hernandez enters her final year at Jurupa Valley, the eyes of the nation aren't just on her feet—they're on the judges' table.
Keep an eye on the early-season invitationals like the Arcadia Relays or Mt. SAC. Those are the meets where Hernandez usually sets her baseline. If she opens the season near her 42-foot PR, the road to the 2026 state finals is going to be even more intense than the last one.