There could be two winners in some girls events this weekend at the California state high school track and field meet − a transgender athlete and a cisgender athlete.

The scenario is part of rule changes made after President Donald Trump demanded a transgender athlete not be allowed to compete in girls track and field events.

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the state’s governing body for high school athletics, clarified the new rules in a press release May 28.

A new division will not be created to separate transgender athletes from cisgender athletes. But athletes assigned female at birth will receive medals based on where they would have finished if a transgender athlete had not competed in the same event − part of what the CIF is calling a ‘pilot entry process.”

Governor Gavin Newsom’s spokesman, Izzy Gardon, in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports, said, “CIF’s proposed pilot is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness. The Governor is encouraged by this thoughtful approach.”

AB Hernandez, a 16-year-old transgender athlete, won titles in the triple jump and long jump at the southern California regional championship last weekend and is scheduled to compete in those events and the high jump in girls’ varsity.

On May 27, Trump threatened to withhold federal funds from California if the state does not follow an executive order seeking to bar transgender athletes from women’s sports. His post on social media referred to a trans athlete who competes in girls track and field.

Later in the day, the CIF changed the rules for the championship, which will be held May 30-31 in Clovis.

‘The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law and Education Code,” the federation said in a statement. ‘With this in mind, the CIF will be implementing a pilot entry process for the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships.

As part of the changes, additional female athletes were invited to compete in the 2025 state championships.

Medals at the state meet

Hernandez, a top contender in the girls triple jump and long jump, could end up standing on the medal podium next to the athlete who finishes second in the overall standings. Both would receive a first-place medal.

A duplicate medal would be created to accomodate the two athletes.

Hernandez would receive a medal based on her finish in the overall standings while the other athletes will receive medals based on their finish in the standings excluding Hernandez’s results.

The CIF awards nine medals to the top boys and girls finishers in each event. (By contrast, other states create up to five divisions for each event to accomodate the athletes representing schools with a wide range of enrollments.)

Hernandez also is expected to contend for a medal in the high jump.

Also, as part of the rule changes, the CIF said in a statement that it would invite ‘any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark’ to compete in the state championships.

“Under this pilot entry process, any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section’s automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet, was extended an opportunity to participate in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships,” the CIF said in a statement. “The CIF believes this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student-athletes.”

The CIF did not say how many athletes that could impact.

Trump’s post on social media

Although the CIF did not cite Trump, the rule changes took place hours after his social media post that in part read, ‘THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS.’

Trump isn’t the only one who has sounded off on the matter. So has Hernandez.

 “I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person,’’ she told Capital & Main in a story published May 15.

Certain things remain unknown. Such as how many female athletes will be impacted by the new rules and whether they’ll be applied only in events in which Hernandez is competing.

The CIF did immediately respond to requests for information submitted by USA TODAY Sports.

In March, Newsom said on his podcast that it is ‘deeply unfair’ to allow transgender girls and women to compete in women’s sports.

California law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, including at schools. State law also allows trans student athletes to compete on sports teams that align with their gender identity.

Last month Democratic state lawmakers blocked two bills that would have banned transgender athletes from girls sports.

Jalen Ramsey and the Miami Dolphins mutually agreed to seek a trade for the veteran cornerback in the weeks ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Despite this, Ramsey remains on Miami’s roster. That may not be the case for long, if some of Ramsey’s recent social media posts are to be believed.

Ramsey took to X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday and made a few cryptic posts about his future. His final one ended with him saying ‘a new chapter awaits.’

The timing of Ramsey’s posts is noteworthy. They came just days ahead of June 1, which is a key date on the NFL’s yearly calendar.

Once June 1 passes, NFL teams are able to split a player’s dead-cap hit – which is guaranteed money allocated to a player no longer on a roster – over two seasons. Players traded or released before June 1 see all of their dead-cap hit accelerate onto the current year’s salary cap, unless an NFL team uses one of its two post-June 1 release designations on a player.

With that in mind, it would be more palatable for Miami to trade Ramsey after June 1, if possible. The Dolphins would actually save $5.9 million in cap space by trading Ramsey after that date, per Spotrac. If they move him before June 1, it would cost them more than $12.5 million in 2025 cap space.

The cost to release Ramsey would also decrease after June 1. The Dolphins would lose just $14.3 million in 2025 cap space by cutting him after that date instead of the roughly $32.8 million it would cost them to do so before then.

Given the timing of Ramsey’s social media posts – including one that just read ‘5…,’ five days ahead of June 1 – his status will be worth monitoring over the coming days.

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MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – SEC officials arrived here this week with a goal of zeroing in on a conference schedule format for football for 2026 and beyond. And they probably will leave here Thursday without approving a format.

Two factors continue to hold up a vote on a schedule format.

One: There’s not consensus behind a model. Some stakeholders want to stay at eight games. Others want to move to nine. Generally, the SEC’s coaches sound mostly interested in staying at eight, while the conference’s athletic directors seem to leave the door cracked a little wider toward nine. But, even within those groups, there’s not consensus.

LSU’s Brian Kelly said he’d favor nine conference games. Arkansas’ Sam Pittman prefers eight.

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte would like nine, but he acknowledged he doesn’t speak for the room.

Back and forth the Ping-Pong ball goes.

The other element delaying the vote? The SEC is not up against a hard deadline. The conference’s 2025 schedule is set, and it retains some runway to drag out the decision for 2026. Amid the pandemic in 2020, the SEC scrapped its schedule and devised a new one less than six weeks before kickoff.

Don’t expect the SEC to repeat that 2020 timeline, but also don’t expect that all these diverging opinions will coalesce behind a solution within the conference’s spring meetings that end here Thursday.

Also affecting the decision: The College Football Playoff format for 2026 and beyond remains undecided, and multiple SEC coaches and administrators expressed reluctance to decide the conference schedule model until more information comes to light about the future playoff format and selection process.

Even Kelly, a proponent of nine conference games, says he’d slow-play this conference schedule vote, if it were up to him, and not give up that chip before knowing more about the playoff’s future.

The SEC has considered increasing to nine conference games for many years but consistently stayed at eight. The Big Ten and Big 12 play nine conference games. The ACC plays eight.

Around the conference, there remains “a variety of perspectives,” Sankey said.

“Some would say, ‘Let’s just go play nine games. More SEC games is better,’’ Sankey said. ‘Some would say, ‘Wait a second, I’m looking at bowl qualification, and it’s going to be harder to get to that six-win threshold as I build my program.’

“And then you have some who look at last year and say, ‘Our interpretation is, under the current selection criteria, losing weighs more (on the committee’s decision) than winning a solid game. Losing a game is more problematic, and until we have a better understanding on the future criteria or entry points for the CFP, we’re not willing to go to nine games.’

“I think those are three philosophies, but I think there are some who are ready to go to (nine).”

A majority vote would be required to reach a decision.

Will the SEC break camp on Thursday without making a decision?

“That’s my expectation,” Sankey said on “The Paul Finebaum Show.”

And, so, the can is kicked, a little further down the road. In the past, this familiar road always ends at eight.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Baylor defensive lineman Alex Foster has died after being shot multiple times in Greenville, Mississippi, the Washington County Coroner’s Office confirmed to the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. He was 18.

‘We are heartbroken by the unexpected loss of Alex Foster, a beloved teammate, friend and a cherished part of the Baylor Family,’ vice president and director of athletics Mack B. Rhoades and head football coach Dave Aranda said in a joint statement on Wednesday. ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with Alex’s family and all those who loved him.’

Authorities responded to a call of shots fired in the early morning of May 28 at 12:11 a.m., the Greenville Police Department confirmed to the Clarion Ledger. Officers found a male victim who had been shot multiples times in a car at the scene. He was transferred to Delta Health Center, where he died from his injuries less than an hour later.

‘In this time of deep sorrow, we draw strength from our faith and the unwavering love of the Baylor community,’ the university added in a statement. ‘Our immediate focus is on supporting Alex’s family and his teammates through this devastating loss. Alex’s memory will forever be a part of Baylor University.’

The 6-foot-5, 292-pound defensive lineman is a native of Greenville, Mississippi and attended St. Joseph High School, where he was a three-star recruit and the No. 13 overall recruit in Mississippi, according to 247sports. Foster received offers from multiple colleges, including Georgia Tech, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Texas before ultimately signing with the Baylor Bears in July 2023. He redshirted his freshman year and was set to enter his sophomore year this season.

John Baker, head coach of the St. Joseph Catholic football, told the Clarion Ledger that Foster was back home in Greenville for summer break. Baker added that Foster was scheduled to return to Baylor in Waco, Texas this weekend.

‘He was just a great guy,’ Baker told the newspaper. ‘Real quiet, soft-spoken guy, you know. Had his head on right and was wanting to make it out. He was a good dude, man.’

In a follow-up posted on X, Aranda described Foster as a ‘beloved member of our Baylor Family.’ He added, ‘In his time at Baylor he made a long-lasting impact on all of us in the program. Our hearts are broken, and our prayers are with his family, friends and all those who loved him so deeply.’

The Big 12 also shared condolences, writing, ‘The Big 12 Conference extends its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Baylor football student-athlete Alex Foster. We are deeply saddened by his passing and join the entire Baylor community during this time of mourning.’