NATCHEZ &8212; Any concerns that first-year coach John Wright had about Cathedral&8217;s golf team having a mere 16-shot lead over West Union on Wednesday went away on Thursday.

Led by seniors Jordan Farmer, Matthew Hall and Mary Kate Byrne, Cathedral had back-to-back team scores of 318 at Beau Pr/ Country Club to finish at 636 to win its second straight Class 1A State Championship and its seventh state title since 1996.

&8220;I cannot be any happier for this team,&8221; Wright said. &8220;They worked real hard this year. They earned it. I could not have been blessed to have a better team. I will be sad to see my seniors go.&8221;

Farmer shot an even-par 72 to finish with a two-day score of 148 and first-place medalist honors to lead Cathedral to a 38-shot win over Mercy Cross.

&8220;I was more relaxed today,&8221; Farmer said. &8220;I knew what I was doing wrong yesterday. I hit some range balls this morning. I&8217;m happy with my the round with all this wind.&8221;

Farmer had bogeys on No. 4 and No. 17 but answered those with birdies on the ensuing holes, No. 5 and No. 18. And he could have had an even better score than he did.

&8220;On 9, 10 and 11 I was close,&8221; Farmer said. &8220;I lipped out every birdie putt.&8221;

Farmer&8217;s tee shot on 17 went way right, out of bounds and into the creek. He did a good job to save bogey on that hole. On 18, his eagle putt appeared to be on line, but it went right at the end and lipped out.

Hall had a final-round score of 79 to finish as the third-place medalist with a two-day score of 155.

&8220;I did the same thing I did yesterday,&8221; Hall said. &8220;Shot 38 on the front nine. All my bogeys were three-putts. I three-putted 10 and 13. I got to 15 and the wheels fell off.&8221;

Hall took four shots to get on the green on that par-4 hole, then three-putted for a triple bogey-7. He salvaged his round with pars on 16, 17 and 18.

&8220;We&8217;re going to win State and I&8217;m going to finish third. That&8217;s all that matters,&8221; Hall said. &8220;It&8217;s a good way to end my high school career.&8221;

Byrne had a golden opportunity to make a birdie on 18 for a round of 79, which would have matched the lowest score of her career, which occurred just a couple of weeks ago. Instead, she left her birdie putt well short and ended up five-putting for a triple-bogey 8 and a round of 83 to finish at 167.

&8220;My wedges were better today. They weren&8217;t good, but they were better,&8221; Byrne said. &8220;I felt more comfortable today playing. I just tried to enjoy it. This is my last tournament in high school. I just gave it my all. I was hitting the ball better today. I just wish I could&8217;ve scored better.&8221;

Jake Kaiser shot a final-round 84 to finish with a two-day total of 166.

Mercy Cross, which finished second to Cathedral in the Division 4-1A Tournament at Duncan Park just a few weeks ago, had a team score of 336 on Thursday to finish at 674.

&8220;This is our first year in 1A. We wanted to do well and we have,&8221; Mercy Cross coach Gerard Tarrant said. &8220;They played a lot better the second day. They kind of hacked the first day. We&8217;ve got four juniors and one freshman.&8221;

That one freshman, Leland Dunning, shot a disappointing 88 on Thursday after a solid 77 on Wednesday to finish at 165. Jacob Leckich and Stephen Peresich each shot an 82 to finish at 167 and 171, respectively. Thomas Quinn had an 84 to finish at 171.

Chase Smith of St. Aloysius shot a 1-under-par 71 to finish as the second-place medalist with a two-day score of 151. He led St. Al to a third-place finish with a team score of 335 on Thursday and a two-day total of 683.

&8220;I started out good. I shot 4-under on the front,&8221; Smith said. &8220;I was knocking everything within 10 feet of the pin. On the back nine, I never hit it really close. It was kind of sporadic. I made a couple of good up and downs.&8221;

With the loss of Jordan, Byrne and Hall, next year will be a tough one for the Green Wave golf team.

&8220;A lot of schools like St. Al and Mercy Cross don&8217;t lose a lot of their players,&8221; Wright said. &8220;I got to experience how championship teams play in my first year. It truly is a blessing to inherit a state championship team.&8221;

&8220;This was their last shot this year, and they took it,&8221; Tarrant said of Cathedral&8217;s senior class. &8220;I think our chances are good with the competition (this year), especially Cathedral. We&8217;ve got to watch out for St. Al. They may be younger than we are.&8221;

As for West Union, Trent Clark&8217;s round of 102 hurt its chances as it settled for a team score of 366 and a two-day score of 700 &8212; good enough for fourth place.