NATCHEZ — If Cathedral High School enjoys the same type of success it did at Duncan Park Monday afternoon, the boys and girls cross country team will both be running for state championships Monday.

To prepare for the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools state meet in Jackson, Cathedral faced Natchez High School, Adams County Christian School, Trinity Episcopal Day School, Silliman Institute, Glenbrook Academy and Loyd Star. The varsity boys won by 20 points, while the girls fell to Silliman by only one point.

“I’m pretty pumped right now,” Cathedral cross country coach Tommy Smith said. “We have big goals for next Monday, and this meet gave us confidence going into it.”

Jalen McCoy of Cathedral finished first with a time of 16:59, while Jefferson County’s Jamarrio Sampson came in second with an 18:09 and Natchez High’s Austin Heard followed with an 18:30. Natchez High School finished second behind Cathedral.

In the varsity girls’ race, two Silliman girls finished first, while Natchez High’s Jaliyah Harding finished third with a 13:29, and Cathedral’s Sami Dulam and Caroline Kaiser followed. Silliman Institute finished with a 38, while Cathedral came in second with a 39 and Natchez finished third with a 64.

“Our girls, it’s going to be a dog fight next week between us and Silliman,” Smith said. “We came so close today.”