Trans athlete medals at West Virginia state high school meet, and the Governor is hating it
Story by Karleigh Webb (27 May 2025)
Four the last four years Becky Pepper-Jackson, a transgender girl in West Virginia, has been in court fighting over a chance to play sports as much as she's been at the starting line or in the throws ring.
This past weekend, now a 14-year-old freshman at Bridgeport (W.V.) High, went to her state's high school track and field championships and put her name in a piece of history. She became the first transgender student-athlete to compete in the championships.
In the Class AAA girls discus event, her 122-foot, 11-inch effort was good enough for bronze. With the third-place finish Pepper-Jackson became the first trans student-athlete to also score points and finish on the medal podium at these championships. Her effort was 19 feet behind the winning throw by Cierra Groom, who won her second-straight state title in Class AAA.
Pepper-Jackson also reached the finals in the shot put, but ended up in eighth place.