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Dresden track duo earns All-State honors

By Randy Cavin

Press Sports Editor

The final chapter of Loral Winn’s high school career is now complete, while a new one is beginning for Paige Mallon.

These two Dresden athletes were both named to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Division I Small Class Track and Field All-State list.

Winn, who will be a freshman at Ole Miss when the Fall semester begins, earned All-State recognition in three categories – 800-meter, 1600-meter, and 3200-meter. She was the state champion in each of the three events at the state track meet in May.

This gives the speedy athlete a total of five All-State honors in track. Winn also has also earned four All-State selections in cross country throughout her high school career. No other high school athlete in the county can come close to her combined total of nine All-State honors.

“Earning All-State is pretty awesome,” Dresden track and field coach Todd Maxey said. “That is pretty impressive. To earn All-State, you have to put in the work. Some of the other girls could have been named to it if they would have put in the work. I want to always win as a team, but Loral has always had a great workout plan. You cannot become a state champion sitting on your butt.”

Winn is not one to be sitting around. She is already training with the Ole Miss cross country team. The Ole Miss coaches are having Winn do things she never thought of.

“We run them by the heart rate,” Maxey said about his training. “When you get to college, they will take you to the next level. Loral is doing things she has never done before, but I knew she could do that. They have her running an hour-and-20 minutes, and she is running it at a 6.52 pace.”

Mallon, who will be a sophomore at Dresden High School when classes begin in August, finished third in the 3200-meter race at the state track and field meet. That automatically qualified her for the All-State honor.

This is the first of what could be many All-State recognitions for her. Mallon also runs cross country and had an eighth-place finish at the state meet as a freshman. Becoming a state champion in both cross county and track is a very real possibility for Mallon, and perhaps several state championships over the next three years.

“Paige can certainly do it,” Maxey said. “That is a lot of pressure on her and I do not want to put that much on her. You know how parents are – they tell their kids to make them proud and I am like, ‘Please don’t do that.’ She came in third behind Loral and another girl, who were both seniors. So, she has a real good shot to win state titles.

“Of course, she was hurt at the first track meet this past season, and we nursed her back and got her running pretty darn decent there toward the end. Paige was doubting herself for several weeks, but I told her I will get her there and to just hang in there.”

It is easy to conclude that Mallon erased all of her doubts as she made it to the state track meet, finished third in the 3200-meter race, and she is now an All-State track competitor.