AB Hernandez took the top score in the girls' high jump at the 2026 CIF Southern Section Track & Field Masters Meet in Moorpark, California, on Saturday, earning a state qualification and setting up another run at the state level next weekend.
Hernandez, a biological male from Jurupa Valley, also won the triple jump and long jump at Saturday’s state qualifying meet and will compete in all three events at Buchanan High School in Clovis next weekend. The result came as Hernandez continued a dominant season in girls track after winning two California state championships last year in the high jump and triple jump.
The high jump also put Nieve Oliver, a sophomore from Camarillo, into the state meet. She and four other girls who cleared 5-foot-6 in Moorpark could not claim the day’s best qualifying mark because Hernandez went over 5-foot-8. Jennifer Oliver, Nieve’s mother, said the dispute around Hernandez is not about personal hostility. “There’s no hate,” she said. “None of that. My daughter is super inclusive. We get along with everybody. This has nothing to do with any of that. But we also need to do the right thing. My daughter is hoping the adults in charge will do the right thing.”
Jennifer Oliver said the frustration is about the rules and who is being allowed to compete, not about one athlete alone. “The adults need to make the right decision here. Period. Hands down. And so far, that’s not happening,” she said. She added, “Thank goodness high jump is not a contact sport. My daughter plays girls flag football, too. I’m very concerned that if there was an issue like this in flag football, I don’t think I’d let her compete. It wouldn’t be safe.”
The meet lands in the middle of a broader fight over biological males competing in girls' and women’s sports, a fight that has moved from policy debate to the track itself. Hernandez’s performances in Moorpark make the next weekend at Buchanan High School in Clovis the next marker in that dispute, with three events and another state title chase still ahead.
Related coverage: Ab Hernandez California Track Meet: Senior earns state berth in triple jump.
