Texas: Undefeated Trans High School Wrestler Looks To Repeat State Title

High school wrestler Mack Beggs

One year ago, undefeated high school wrestler Mack Beggs won a Texas state wrestling title in his weight division.

The story was noteworthy not just because of the athletic achievement, but because Beggs is a transgender male who, due to state rules and laws covering scholastic athletics, is forced to compete as the gender assigned him at birth.

This year, Beggs is again undefeated going into the finals of state competition and, again, he will have to compete in the girls' division.

Beggs would like to wrestle boys, but state law denies him that opportunity.

Although Beggs is aware of female wrestling opponents and their parents looking for evidence of "body-building" drug enhancement they might deem unfair, the truth is Beggs' weekly injection of .18 milliliters (36 milligrams) is medically prescribed and monitored for the primary purposes of stopping his menstrual cycles and allowing him to grow body and facial hair.

Compare that dosage with what male body builders typically inject - 500 to 1,000 milligrams of testosterone per week.

In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Beggs shared that he plans to have "top surgery" in the coming months and apparently has at least one offer to join a college wrestling team.

No matter what, Beggs is confident that other people's bigotry will not hold him back in life.

“People don’t realize that what happened during state, that was really, honestly, nothing,” Beggs said. “That didn’t stop me from competing. That didn’t stop me from being who I was. It sure as hell didn’t stop me from doing what I wanted to do in the past, and it won’t stop me from what I want to do in the future.”

Watch Beggs' interview below: