Last year, Soren Stark-Chessa of the private Maine Coast Waldorf School in Freeport competed in the boys division of the state’s 5k cross-country competition and was ranked 172nd in the district as a freshman. But this year, Stark-Chessa is competing in the girls division after transitioning and has soared up the rankings.
According to a report from The Daily Mail, Soren Stark-Chessa has transitioned since last year and now competes in the girls’ division. And now that she’s competing as a girl, she is far more successful against her competition and is now ranked No. 4 in the state rankings.
While Stark-Chessa’s success has obviously generated quite a lot of backlash from parents and other contestants, Stark-Chessa’s school athletics director Susan Sonntag made it clear that the school supports their student and is proud of her accomplishments.
“We support all our students at Maine Coast Waldorf School, and are proud that our students are given the opportunity to participate in all of our school programs,”
Sonntag also made it very clear that the school follows the Maine state law that prohibits “unlawful educational discrimination,” and as a result, is supportive of allowing Stark-Chessa to compete according to her gender identity.
