Trans-Identifying Male Makes Podium In Girls Skiing As Maine Continues To Ignore Trump's Executive Order

A trans-identifying male athlete took a podium spot in the girls' division at the High School State Nordic Skiing Championships in Maine last weekend.

Soren Stark-Chessa took third place in girls' Class C Freestyle and fourth in girls' Class C Classical on Feb. 18-19 at Maine's Black Mountain. The performance was enough for Stark-Chessa's school, Maine Coast Waldorf, to win third place overall at the state meet.

Last winter, the Western Maine Conference named Stark-Chessa to its girls’ Nordic skiing all-conference team, one of only 10 skiers to receive the honor. 

A three-sport athlete, Stark-Chessa is also a state champion. The runner won the 800-meter at the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) Class C Girls’ Outdoor Track and Field State Championship as a sophomore in June. As a freshman in 2022-23, though, Stark-Chessa competed on the boys' teams.

READ: Male Cross Country Runner Suddenly Among The Best In Maine After Switching To Female Division

Waldorf School athletic director Susan Sonntag has defended the athlete’s ability to compete in girls’ events, despite criticism about fairness. 

"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 told The Daily Mail in October 2023. 

Maine High Schools Defy Donald Trump's Executive Order To Protect Women's Sports

Soren Stark-Chessa's podium finish in girls' skiing comes on the same week that a trans-identifying male won a Maine state title in girls' pole-vaulting, beating a female competitor by 6 inches.

MORE: Trans-Identifying Male Athlete Wins Maine State Title In Girls' Pole-Vaulting

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep males out of girls' and women's sports — promising to remove federal funding from schools and programs that don't comply.

U.S. President Donald Trump joined by women athletes signs the "No Men in Women’s Sports" executive order in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 5, 2025.

(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Now, Trump is ready to make good on that promise in Maine.

"I heard men are still playing in Maine," Trump said at a Thursday press conference. "Is anybody here from Maine? Ah, who is that? Is that the governor? Well, I hate to tell you this: we’re not going to give them any federal money. They are still saying that we want men to play in women’s sports, and I cannot believe that they are doing that. We’re not going to give them any federal funding. None whatsoever, until they clean that up."

According to WMTW, the MPA said earlier this month it would allow male athletes to continue competing in girls' and women’s sports, in direct defiance of the President's order.