Dresden's Loral Winn named 2018 All-West Tennessee girls track athlete of the year
Dresden's Loral Winn had extra motivation this year. A second-place finish in the 800-meter run and a third-place finish in the 1600-meter run at the 2017 state meet will do that.
So this year, she set out to make sure she was going to do everything she could to turn those into first-place finishes. Winn succeeded at the TSSAA state track and field championships.
Winn, a junior, is the All-West Tennessee girls track and field athlete of the year. It's the second year in a row Winn has received the honor.
Winn won the Small School 800-meter run, clocking in with a time of 2:16.01, almost seven seconds better than second place.
She was more impressive in the 1600-meter run. Winn finished with a time of 5:09.23, winning by more than 20 seconds. Although the TSSAA expanding track and field to four classes helped, Winn had better times this year.
"I think I was just more confident," she said. "Going in more confident in what I could do. Just going in I knew what I was capable of."
Winn credits her training this year as the difference. The workouts in the heat helped her become mentally prepared. Even then, Winn didn't expect to blow away the competition in the 1600-meter run.
"I thought someone was on my tail, but evidently I had a pretty good lead so that was really exciting," she said.
After getting over the hump this year, Winn isn't going to get complacent her senior year. She'll have a different motivation: Winn is looking to win even more gold.
"I really wanted to come out with it my junior year," Winn said. "And hopefully, I'll be able to come back and win a couple of more next year. I'm excited about it."
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Running events
Mariah Horton
Humboldt, Sr.
Why chosen: Horton finished in 10th place at state in the Small School classification in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02.35.
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Anna Johnson
Dresden, Jr.
Why chosen: Johnson won the state title in the 3200-meter run in the Small School classification with a time of 11:50.26, seven seconds faster than the runner-up finisher.
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Emily Tate
TCA, So.
Why chosen: Tate finished in fifth place at state in the Small School classification of the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.02.
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JayleA'na Wyatt
Madison Academic, Fr.
Why chosen: Wyatt finished in sixth place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.65 and finished in fourth place in the 200-meter dash in the Small School classification with a time of 25.78.
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Serenity Williams
Madison Academic, Fr.
Why chosen: Williams finished in fifth place at state in the Small School classification in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 50.19.
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Loral Winn
Dresden, Jr.
Why chosen: Winn captured state championships in the Small School classification in the 800-meter run and in the 1600-meter run.
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Field events
Kayla Douglass
Haywood, Sr.
Why chosen: Douglass finished in 15th place at sectionals in the Large School classification in the triple jump, with her longest jump being 31-8.25.
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Madison Hollin
Adamsville, Jr.
Why chosen: Hollin finished in second place at state in the Small School classification in the shot put at 114-3 and in the discus at 35-7.75.
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Corrie Scobee
Chester County, Jr.
Why chosen: Scobee finished in fourth place at sectionals in the Large School classification in the high jump at 5 feet.
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Makayla Transou
South Side, Jr.
Why chosen: Transou finished in fourth place at state in the Large School classification in the long jump at 18-6.
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Relay events
Trinity Christian Academy
Why chosen: Finished eighth at state in the Small School classification in the 4x100 with a time of 53.08.
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Madison Academic
Why chosen: Won the 4x200 and the 4x400 at state in the Small School classification with times of 1:45.40 and 4:08.56, respectively. Finished third in the 4x800 with a time of 10:32.82.
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Coach of the year
Brian Buchholz
Madison Academic
Why chosen: Buchholz coached two state champion relay teams in the small school classification and had multiple athletes compete at the state championships in track events.
Reach Luis Torres at ltorres1@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9638 and follow him on Twitter @LFTorresIII.