NATCHEZ — Larry Wesley is continuing to stress the point that track is back in Natchez.

The Natchez High School track and cross country coach was at the school’s new track Thursday helping run a Natchez-Cathedral joint cross country meet. The two schools played host a number of teams, including St. Aloysius, McComb, Port Gibson, West Lincoln and Brookhaven.

The boys and girls competitions were split up, with both groups starting at the track before heading up and jogging along the Natchez Trace. The trail took the girls about a mile up the trace, and the boys a little more than a mile. From there, both groups turned back and returned to the finish line at the track.

“We had a pretty decent crowd. This is letting people know that track and cross-country are back in business,” Wesley said.

Cathedral track and cross country coach Ashley Linton said she was glad her players got to use the facilities at Natchez High.

“They’ve had a track program a lot longer than we have, and they have much nicer facilities. Coach Wesley was nice enough to let us use these,” she said.

Linton said she’s trying to build the Green Wave’s program up over the course of several summers.

“Cathedral only recently started a track program within the last couple of years. Right now, the kids are very young — we have no seniors,” Linton said.

“I started an intense program back in the summer, so hopefully by the time these freshmen are seniors, they’ll be winning state championships.”

Even with such a young collection of athletes, Linton said it’s a matter of time, not talent.

“We have to get these kids up at 7:30 in the morning during the summer for four days a week, and get them to commit,” she said.

“Once they do, they have the ability to compete at the state level. We want them to realize their potential.”