Transgender boy wins girls state wrestling title in Texas

Mack Beggs made the most of an unusual situation on Saturday.

The 17-year-old transgender boy representing Euless Trinity high school won a Class 6A 110-pound girls state championship by defeating Chelsea Sanchez at a tournament in Cypress, Texas.

Beggs' involvement in the competition was met with much controversy as he was born female, but is currently transitioning between genders. That process requires him to take testosterone supplements, which gives him medical clearance to use it while still competing in the girls division.

A state rule that was voted into place last year dictates that athletes compete in the gender classified in their birth certificates, so despite Beggs wanting to compete against boys, he is forbidden from doing so, according to his grandmother.

Beggs made it to the state tournament after his last two opponents forfeited in the regional finals last week. This Saturday's state championship win was reportedly met with a mixture of cheers and boos.

Lisa Latham - the mother of one of the wrestlers that Beggs defeated en route to her title - called Beggs' participation in the girls tournament unfair, but acknowledged that Texas' University Interscholastic League has to take responsibility for how this situation has unfolded.

"The UIL needs to get up with the times," Latham said.

- With h/t to Outsports and Dallas News