Transgender athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson did very well last weekend at the West Virginia girls’ state track championships – maybe too well.
The Bridgeport High School sophomore placed first in the girls’ shot put and fourth in the girls’ discus in Class AAA at the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission’s (WVSSAC) state track and field championships, prompting the state attorney general’s offifice to notify the U.S. Supreme Court.
The problem? The student-athlete is the defendant in West Virginia v. BPJ, a case before the high court on whether state laws banning biological males from female scholastic sports violate the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, the federal ban on sex discrimination in education.
The American Civil Liberties Union has described the student as a middling athlete who poses no threat to competitive fairness in girls’ sports, a characterization disputed by West Virginia Solicitor General Michael R. Williams.
“As a high school sophomore, BPJ is not finishing ‘near the back of the pack,’ contra [the respondent’s brief], but is instead defeating every female – or nearly every female – in the State in these events,” he said in his letter to Supreme Court Clerk Scott Harris.
“I would appreciate it if you could circulate this letter to Members of the Court,” the letter said.
In their Nov. 10 brief, ACLU attorneys said that the teen has “placed near the back of the pack” in cross-country events and only decided to try shot put and discus “because she was too slow to qualify for running events.”
“Through hard work and practice she eventually improved enough in shot put and discus to participate in post-season events where her performance is well within the range of cisgender girls her age,” said the brief filed Nov. 10.
Based on this season’s results, however, the student-athlete is performing at the top of the “range of cisgender girls her age.”
During the 2026 outdoor spring season, Pepper-Jackson participated in seven tournaments, winning the shot put five times and the discus four times.
In the May 23 state finals, the 15-year-old student won the shot put with a throw surpassing that of the second-place finisher by more than two feet.
The fourth-place finish in the discus came 10 days after the teen won the regionals with a throw of 123’4”, more than 29 feet farther than the closest competitor, as shown on the Athletic.net website.
The WVSSAC declined to comment on the transgender athlete’s participation.
“BPJ participates in WVSSAC competition under a federal court order, which the WVSSAC fully complies with,” the organization said in a statement to WBOY-TV in Clarksburg.
“The underlying legal matter was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13, 2026. The WVSSAC will have no further comment until the Court issues a ruling and the organization has had the opportunity to review it,” the state’s athletic authority stated.
A Supreme Court decision on the West Virginia and Idaho laws restricting eligibility in scholastic sports based on biological sex could come as early as next month.
Pepper-Jackson isn’t the only male-to-female transgender athlete enjoying a successful season in girls’ high school sports.
In California, Jurupa Valley High School senior A.B. Hernandez is seeking to repeat as girls’ state champion after winning three events – the long jump, high jump and triple jump – two weeks ago at the regional tournament.
The 2026 California Interscholastic Federation State Track & Field Championships will be held Friday and Saturday at Buchanan High School in Clovis.
