A wrestler in the Puyallup School District who has been accused of sexual assault will not compete at the state championships this week.

Sean Bessette, spokesperson for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), confirmed to The News Tribune Tuesday that the athlete has withdrawn from the State Wrestling Championships, which are scheduled to take place Thursday through Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.

“I can verify that the [athlete] withdrew from the State Wrestling Championships later this week,” Bessette wrote in an email. “They were replaced by an alternate from the same WIAA District qualifying event.”

The athlete, who is allegedly transgender, has been accused of sexually assaulting a Rogers High School sophomore during a wrestling match on Dec. 6, 2025. The News Tribune previously reported that the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into the match.

The News Tribune is not naming the athlete accused of sexual assault because she is a minor and has not been convicted of a crime. The News Tribune is also not naming the sophomore who came forward about the assault, because she is a minor and an alleged victim of a sex crime.

Carly Cappetto, spokesperson for PCSO, previously told The News Tribune that a school resource officer assigned to the Puyallup School District did not learn of the incident until Jan. 30. The officer then reviewed video from the match and spoke with the alleged victim on Feb. 3, before submitting the case to the Sheriff’s Office’s sexual assault unit.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would be investigating the Puyallup School District for allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports, allowing transgender athletes inside female locker rooms and “failing to adequately respond to allegations of sexual assault.”

Sarah Gillispie, spokesperson for the Puyallup School District, previously declined to share details or discuss specifics about the incident with The News Tribune, saying the matter is under investigation.

“What we can say is that student safety is a top priority and that all reports involving student safety are taken seriously,” Gillispie wrote in an email to The News Tribune on Feb. 10.

What happened at the December wrestling match?

Commentator Brandi Kruse released an interview with the alleged victim on Feb. 9. In a post on Kruse’s “unDivided” website, the alleged victim – a 16-year-old girl – said her opponent got on top of her during the match and pressed her fingers into her vagina.

Kruse published a 17-second video clip, which the 16-year-old’s mother recorded, that includes the moment in the match the girl said she was violated. The Rogers student appears startled and uncomfortable — judging from facial reactions she makes in the direction of her mother — when her opponent’s left arm goes between her legs. It remains there for about seven seconds as the two continue wrestling. The alleged hand contact can’t be seen because it’s obstructed from the camera’s view by the wrestlers.

In the interview, the girl said she was not aware that her opponent – who attends a different school in the Puyallup School District – was transgender until after the match, and that she would have reported it regardless.

The News Tribune previously tried to reach out to the alleged victim and her mother, but did not receive a response. The News Tribune also could not reach the family of the girl accused of sexual assault.

Cappetto previously told The News Tribune that the assault can’t be seen on video, and the investigation remains active.

News Tribune archives contributed to this report.