From

staff reports

VICKSBURG &045; Cathedral’s golf team took the MHSAA Class 1A State Championship Wednesday, beating out St. Aloysius 648 to 679 for its first title since 2002.

The Green Wave had the best team rounds Tuesday and Wednesday, shooting a 330 Tuesday and a 318 Wednesday. Head coach Ken Beesley, Jr. said his team came back stronger on the tournament’s second day to run away with the win.

&uot;Yesterday we played OK, but we didn’t play as well as we could have,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;Matthew (Hall) played well and Mary Kate (Byrne) played pretty well, but Jordan (Farmer) and Jake (Kaiser) knew they could shoot better.&uot;

Farmer and Kaiser both improved in their second round by four and eight strokes respectively as the Green Wave shot 12 strokes better as a team.

&uot;I’m proud they shot a 318 today on that course,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;It was a difficult course and we had the best two rounds there. Only two other teams even broke 340 on one day, so I was real proud of them.&uot;

Hall and Farmer finished third and fourth in the overall individual standings, helping lead the way for their team.

&uot;This group has been together for several years now and they wanted to win one,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;they really came through when they had to.&uot;

Kaiser and Farmer were part of that 2002 championship team, and now they have another one.

&uot;I was really happy with Jordan and Jake,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;After the way they played Tuesday, I’m so happy they came back and shot so much better.&uot;

The scariest thing for Cathedral’s opponents might be that the team will be back intact next year, as graduation won’t take anyone.

&uot;I have them all back, so we have to win another one next year,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;That’s what I told them, anyway.&uot;