Camas runner who moved from boys' to girls' team places seventh at Washington regionals, three days before Initiative 638 vote

The Camas High runner at the center of Washington's most heated high school sports dispute finished seventh in the girls' 4A regional race at Chambers Bay in University Place on Saturday, Oct. 31. He did not appear at the podium when his name was called.

The top seven teams in the girls' division advance to state. Puyallup High finished eighth. Fox News reported that Puyallup would have advanced if the Camas runner had not placed where he did. Puyallup's coach declined to comment, as did Camas coach Matt LeGrand. No one has said why the runner skipped the podium.

A season that started on the boys' side

The runner opened the year in the boys' junior varsity race at the Sept. 5 Ultimook meet and finished 76th. After moving to girls' competition, he finished second among 195 runners at the Sept. 26 Nike Portland XC Invitational and won the girls' varsity race against Union High on Sept. 29. Fox counts one varsity win and three second-place finishes since the switch.

On Oct. 10, at the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational in Arlington, he ran 18:36.8 and placed 39th of 135 in the girls' elite 5,000 meters. OutKick calculated that the same time would have put him last among 159 runners in the boys' elite race, about 30 seconds behind the final finisher.

At districts last week and again at regionals, he finished just ahead of Skyview High's Charlie Garrett. Garrett said she was less than a second short of beating him on Saturday. She set a personal record and qualified for state anyway.

"It's really frustrating," Garrett said. "But I PR'd, and I qualified for state, so I shouldn't be sad."

Walk-offs and a police presence

On Sept. 15, Garrett and teammate Sierra Retzlaff lined up at a Camas meet with messages supporting girls' sports written on their arms and legs, then left the course after the starting gun. "We did it because we didn't want to act like we were OK with what was happening," Retzlaff told Clark County Today. Both girls said their objection was about competition and that they wanted to treat the Camas runner with respect.

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, a large group of Camas girls walked off the line at a dual meet with Battle Ground. The count varies by account: 11 in one, 12 in another, 13 of 24 entrants in a third. Police were at the meet.

Kevin and Sarah Burns, whose daughter took part, told Fox News they supported her decision. They said a woman who identified herself as a psychiatric nurse confronted Sarah Burns over the signs the family held and accused her of psychologically harming children. Sarah Burns said she believed she was doing what Jesus Christ wanted. The nurse's account of the exchange has not been published.

Carol Brown, a three-time Olympian and rowing bronze medalist, attended Saturday's meet. "I fought for Title IX to be allowed to be in sports period," she said. "I absolutely believe in rights for everyone to participate in sport, but for it to be fair and safe, it has to be based on sex."

What the rules say

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association handbook says all students may take part in athletics consistent with their gender identity, which it distinguishes from assigned sex. The 2026-27 handbook says eligibility approval continues for as long as a student participates, with no yearly renewal.

The Camas School District said it follows Washington law and WIAA eligibility rules and is trying to protect student privacy. The runner is a minor, and neither the district nor the family has publicly addressed the controversy in detail. The district has declined interview requests, citing what spokeswoman Doreen McKercher called a "high volume of media inquiries."

The reported trip incident

Camas High Principal Travis Drake reported an incident from the Arlington trip to the school's police resource officers on Monday, Oct. 12, McKercher confirmed. Camas police Sgt. Chuck Nadgwick said it involved two people, neither of whom complained. A third party raised it. Police found no crime, so no report or case number exists. The district referred the matter to Educational Service District 112 for third-party review.

The district has not described what happened. It said the runner stayed in a hotel room with a family member, not with a teammate.

Initiative 638

Washington voters decide Initiative 638 on Tuesday, Nov. 3. It would bar students it defines as biologically male from certain female-only interschool competitions. Students entering those events would need verification of biological sex from a health care provider.

Even if it passes, it would not take effect until after the cross-country season ends. Any change would come too late for the Puyallup girls' team and the Camas runner's remaining races.

The ESD 112 review has no announced completion date. The initiative's fate will be known within days.