NATCHEZ — The Natchez High School track team will return to McNeese State University for another indoor track meet Saturday.

NHS competed in the first McNeese State indoor track meet Jan. 14, and Bulldogs track coach Larry Wesley said his squad consistently does well at this meet.

“We used to win this meet, but they stopped letting the points be known,” Wesley joked. “Now it’s just a competitive meet.”

Wesley said teams from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and possibly Memphis, Tenn., will be at the meet, which provides a good collection of talent for his team to compete against.

“There’s always great talent, and there’s always great competition,” Wesley said. “The idea of a college atmosphere also helps the kids. You’d be surprised how much better they perform in a college atmosphere.”

NHS junior Emmanuel Griffin, who will compete in the open 400 and the 4X400-mile relay, said he’s ready for another round of the McNeese State meet. The last time, he placed first in his heat in the open 400, and his team of himself, Amos James, Christopher Griffin and Markel White placed first in the 4X400-meter relay.

“It feels great, knowing we’ve had success,” Griffin said. “It’s a big competition, and I love competing against the (different) schools. We all just love competing.”

Griffin said his 4X400 team all love to compete, and they’re used to winning together.

“We all know what we need to do to win,” Griffin said. “The most important thing is that we strive to push each other the hardest, because we all know what we can do.”

But Griffin said just because his team won last time, he and his teammates aren’t taking winning for granted.

“We know there’s someone out there who will push themselves harder if we beat them,” Griffin said.

NHS’s Asia Smith, who will compete in the 4X200-meter relay and the 55-meter dash, said she’s working hard to get ready for the meet. A native of Beaumont, Texas, Smith said she decided to keep running track even after moving away.

“It was hard when I first got her (to adjust),” Smith said. “I didn’t plan on running track, but track is always something I’ve done. There’s no sense in giving it up.”

Wesley said it’s good for his team to still be competing in indoor meets, since it gives them something to do until next month.

“We can still compete in indoor meets, because the outdoor meets don’t start until March,” Wesley said. “People doing outdoor track now, they can’t go to any meets until March.”