Five girls on the team and one boy from the school’s cross-country program described to reporters a team strained by sharply different views and intense outside attention. The students were interviewed anonymously because they are minors and the issue has drawn threats and public scrutiny. The transgender runner is also a minor and has not been identified.

Thirteen girls walked off the starting line at a recent dual meet in protest of their teammate’s participation. Several girls have since chosen not to compete in the postseason, leaving Camas without some of its varsity runners. One team captain said she quit before the walkout; another runner said she would continue practicing but skip postseason races.

The district and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association have said no rules were broken. Washington’s policy allows students to compete in the category that matches their gender identity. Public criticism intensified after the runner competed in a boys race at the beginning of the season before joining the girls category in mid-September.

The district took additional precautions at a recent invitational, arranging an unmarked bus, placing police officers near the start line and telling athletes not to wear school gear except while racing. A district championship meet scheduled for Wednesday was moved to Camas’ home course over safety concerns.

The timing has made the team’s conflict part of a statewide political debate. Voters will decide Nov. 3 on a ballot initiative that would prohibit transgender girls from competing in girls sports at K-12 schools. The state cross-country championships are scheduled for Nov. 7.

The five girls interviewed expressed different views about transgender athletes competing in girls sports. A junior who has been friends with the transgender runner since middle school said tensions were mostly kept private before media attention grew. The walkout, she said, revealed disagreements that she had not known were so widespread and left teammates more guarded with one another.

Other runners said they believed girls’ sports would be unfair if transgender girls competed, and that they left the team or opted out of postseason races to express that view. A senior captain who ended her season said adults should be leading careful discussions rather than leaving teenagers to manage the dispute on their own. She described trying to support teammates while also feeling conflicted about fairness in competition.

A teammate who supports the transgender runner said she did not consider the participation unfair, while acknowledging that she does not compete at the varsity level. She said seeing people from the community shout at or display signs targeting her teammate had been discouraging. The boy interviewed said anger aimed at the team overlooked that it was following state rules and that a young person was at the center of the controversy.

The conflict has altered more than race-day plans. Runners described a season that once included close friendships and shared traditions becoming tense and less social. One captain who left the team said the focus had shifted from training and competing to being caught in a political fight.

Camas is among four teams scheduled to compete Wednesday in the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League district championships. With some girls ending their seasons early, the team enters the postseason amid a debate that extends well beyond its course.