A male Camas High School runner who finished 76th in a boys’ junior varsity race in September has taken second place in a girls’ district cross-country championship. Logan Mihailoff finished ahead of two female athletes who previously protested competing against him.
Mihailoff placed second at the October 21 Class 4A Greater St. Helens League district cross-country championships in Camas, Washington, narrowly behind first-place finisher Sophia Rogers. Skyview High School runners Charlie Garrett and Sierra Retzlaff finished third and fifth, respectively. The two girls would have placed second and fourth had Mihailoff not competed in the girls’ field.
The result marks the latest development in a dispute that has increasingly divided athletes, families, and school communities over whether males should be permitted to compete in girls’ sporting categories. For Garrett and Retzlaff, Wednesday’s finish was particularly significant: the two girls had previously walked away from the starting line during an earlier meet to protest competing against the male athlete.
Garrett and Retzlaff had made their objections public by painting messages supporting women’s sports on their arms and legs before walking off the starting line at a September meet. “We did it because we didn’t want to act like we were OK with what was happening,” Retzlaff said at the time. At the October 21 championship, however, both competed, and finished one place lower than they otherwise would have due to Mihailoff’s participation.
One girl, Elise Bierer of Battle Ground High School, was recorded walking off the starting line in protest of Mihailoff’s presence. According to OutKick, the young girl broke down in tears after forfeiting her championship hopes.
But Mihailoff’s athletic success is incredibly recent and followed his decision to “identify” as a girl.
According to The Post Millennial, Mihailoff was still competing against boys in early September, and finished 76th in the Ultimook boy’s junior varsity race. Later on that same month, after beginning to identify as a girl, Mihailoff placed second among 195 runners in the girls’ junior/senior junior varsity race at the Nike Portland XC Invitational. Three days after that, Mihailoff came in first place in a girls’ varsity race against Union High School, finishing ahead of 45 female competitors.
At the October 10 Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational in Arlington, Mihailoff placed 39th among 135 runners in the girls’ elite 5K, recording a time of 18:36.8. The Post Millennial reported that the same time would have placed him last among the 159 competitors in the boys’ race.
Women’s rights advocates argue that these results should raise questions about competitive fairness and the opportunities available to female athletes, particularly when race placements determine qualification for subsequent competitions. Wednesday’s championship has brought those concerns into sharper focus, with the placements of individual runners illustrating the immediate competitive consequences at stake.
Mihailoff’s silver championship placement comes after nearly half of Camas High School’s own girls’ cross-country team walked off the starting line during an October 13 meet against Battle Ground, demonstrating their opposition to the district’s so-called “trans inclusive” policies.
The school district has defended its approach by citing Washington state law and Washington Interscholastic Activities Association eligibility rules, which permit students to compete in accordance with their gender identity. The district also previously indicated that it would continue following those requirements unless the governing rules or laws changed.
The controversy drew further attention Wednesday when supporters gathered near the championship for the “Camas Courage: Support Our Girls” rally, organized by women’s rights advocate Amy Sousa to support female athletes who oppose males competing in girls’ sports.
Sarah Babb, whose daughter Madeline has competed on Camas’s cross-country team for three years, told rally attendees that her daughter was among the runners who had participated in the October 13 walkout.
“She is one of the girls that decided to walk out the race last week to let the coaches and the administrators know that they are tired of competing against a boy on the girls team,” Babb said. “It isn’t right. It isn’t fair. And the girls are frustrated.”
Babb argued that the dispute had distracted athletes from their primary goal of running and competing.
“This has been going on since the second week of the season. It’s been a distraction from their desire to just run and compete against other girls, which is what they are entitled to do according to Title 9, something so many women fought for in the seventies,” she said.
Her remarks reflected the position of campaigners who believe sex-based sporting categories are necessary to protect female athletes’ opportunities. The legal application of Title IX, however, depends on the relevant legal and regulatory framework and should not be determined solely by statements made at a rally.
Also addressing the crowd at Sousa’s rally was Frances Staudt, a Tumwater basketball player who previously refused to compete against a male opponent. Staudt described the personal criticism she said she faced after speaking out about eligibility rules.
“Two years ago, I stood up for something I truly believe in. I stood up for fairness, I stood up for privacy, and I stood up for the rights of girls to compete in sports that were created for us,” Staudt said, according to The Post Millennial.
“And because I stood up, I was called a bigot. I was called hateful. I was told I was the problem. Why? Because I refuse to stay silent.”
Staudt praised the Camas runners who walked away from the earlier race rather than compete under the existing policy, arguing that girls should not have to sacrifice their participation to make their concerns heard.
“We shouldn’t have to walk away from the starting line just to make our voices heard,” she said, adding that female athletes should not be publicly shamed for expressing their views.
The rally also served as a platform for political action, with Staudt urging Washington voters to support Initiative IL26-638, referred to by supporters as Initiative 638. The measure would prohibit biological males from competing in designated girls’ school sports and require health care provider verification of biological sex through sports physical documentation.
“Believe the girls,” Staudt said. “We’re in the 12th round of this fight, and we need to deliver the knockout punch and vote yes on I-638 to protect girls’ sports.”