A standout Meridian High School track athlete has been allowed to compete in every school meet this season, despite being charged in March with two felonies, including rape.
Meridian School District has repeatedly declined to confirm whether any disciplinary action has been taken against 18-year-old Jase Klinkhammer, citing student confidentiality rules.
Athletes must sign a code of conduct that states a student will be “immediately suspended” from activities for 14 days — including a minimum of two contests — upon violation of a list of rules, one of which is committing “no unlawful acts,” according to the district’s Co-Curricular Code of Conduct.
The district also has broad discretion to suspend, discipline or expel any student for a multitude of offenses, including sexual misconduct, according to Meridian’s administrative procedure on corrective action.
Klinkhammer was arrested on March 4 by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office and charged with one count of second-degree rape and one count of making misleading statements to a public servant, after he allegedly raped a 16-year-old in December 2023, according to court documents.
While Klinkhammer has been suspended from participating in USA Track and Field, and USA Volleyball events, he has not missed a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association competition since his arrest and release, winning three sprint events most recently on March 29. The track and field season began on Feb. 26, and Meridian attended its first meet at Burlington-Edison High School on March 13.
When asked generally if Meridian students who are charged with a crime and suspended from national-level competition are still allowed to compete in state or school events, Meridian Director of Public Relations Lisa Gilchrist responded:
“The District is not familiar with or bound by the rules governing participation in non-Washington-school-district athletic competitions, which likely vary from the rules governing Washington public school and Meridian School District student discipline.”
Klinkhammer — a two-time 1A boys track and field champion — currently leads Class 1A statewide in the 100- and 200-meter dash events, and he is third in the 400-meter dash, according to athletic.net’s rankings. He’s also a member of the U18 Ascent boys volleyball team through the Apex NW Volleyball Club.
Gilchrist declined to respond to a range of questions about Klinkhammer’s status as a student or student-athlete.
“Due to student confidentiality laws, we are unable to provide more information … It is our primary focus to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for all students,” Gilchrist wrote. “As always, we encourage students who have concerns to speak with a trusted adult or report their concern through our safety tip line.”
Gilchrist also cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) in response to a public-records request by Cascadia Daily News.
“FERPA will prohibit us from sharing any responsive records with you of the sort we anticipate you are most interested in: those related to possible ‘disciplinary measures, suspensions, sexual harassment complaints,’ etc., for Jase Klinkhammer.”
Klinkhammer’s next court appearance is in May. His jury trial is scheduled for May 28, three days after the conclusion of the three-day WIAA 1A state track and field championships.
Klinkhammer’s family and his attorney, Stephen Jackson, did not respond to requests for comment.
Snapchat location data part of evidence
Court documents show Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a rape on Dec. 24, 2023, when the 16-year-old accuser told detectives she had been raped by Klinkhammer at a friend’s house in Ferndale four days before.
The accuser and Klinkhammer had been messaging over Snapchat and she told him to come over to the friend’s house, according to court documents. He arrived between 1–2 a.m., and allegedly forced her to engage in oral sex.
After Klinkhammer left, the accuser told her friend she thought she’d been raped, according to court documents. The friend confirmed the conversation in a later interview with deputies.
After the 16-year-old made the report, deputies interviewed Klinkhammer on Dec. 29. He said he had been at a friend’s house, then went to Taco Bell before coming home around 10:40 p.m. and playing the game “Roblox” until 4 a.m. on the night of the incident, according to court documents. He signed a statement of penalty under perjury, meaning he believed he had not given a false statement.
Law enforcement applied for and were granted a search warrant for Klinkhammer’s Snapchat account in January, according to documents. During the investigation, Snapchat location data confirmed Klinkhammer had been at a friend’s house and had gone to Taco Bell, but then went to the location of the alleged sexual assault during the time period the accuser reported, according to court documents.
Klinkhammer was arrested on March 4, and spent 12 hours at Whatcom County Jail, according to the jail’s online roster. He was released after a $1,000 cash-only bail was posted by a family member.
Nine days later, Klinkhammer won four events at the Burlington-Edison track meet, including two team relays.
Disciplinary policy, student conduct
According to Meridian School District’s 2023-24 sexual harassment and sexual violence procedure, when an allegation of sexual harassment is made against a student in the form of a complaint, the district’s Title IX coordinator will initiate an investigation. During that time, the person accused of sexual harassment is not presumed responsible until the end of the process.
Disciplinary sanctions, such as suspension, may not be imposed until the end of the process if the person is found responsible, according to the policy, which mirrors model policy set forth by the Washington State School Directors’ Association. However, the district can remove a student from school on an emergency basis if that student poses a danger to the school community.
The Meridian School District would not confirm if a Title IX investigation had been opened into Klinkhammer’s conduct.
“We cannot answer this due to student confidentiality,” Gilchrist said in an email.
Meridian High School students must adhere to the student handbook, which lays out offenses that could result in consequences if violated. Sexual assault is considered a major offense that could result in loss of privileges, detention or suspension.
Suspensions by SafeSport
Klinkhammer was temporarily suspended on March 11 from participating in nationally sanctioned USA Track and Field events, and temporarily suspended on March 19 from USA Volleyball events for allegations of misconduct from the U.S. Center for SafeSport.
SafeSport, a nonprofit created to stop abuse and misconduct within Olympic-level sports, lists criminal charges and sexual misconduct as prohibited conduct within its code. Coaches, parents or even the athlete themself can make a report to SafeSport to trigger an investigation into an athlete’s conduct.
SafeSport’s policy is to not comment on individual cases, but a spokesperson wrote, “the Center may impose temporary measures at any time to maintain the safety or well-being of Claimant, other Athletes or the sports community.”
Sports editor Connor J. Benintendi contributed to this story.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
