NATCHEZ — In just one year, Cathedral High School more than quadrupled the number of athletes the school will send to state in track.

“Things are definitely moving in the right direction,” Cathedral coach Tommy Smith said, whose athletes will compete in the state meet Friday in Pearl. “We just have a whole different approach to it now.”

One athlete that defines the development of the Green Wave team is senior Carl Hammitte.

Hammitte joined the team last season, and after just two years of track experience he will lead his 4×200 relay team to the state competition Friday.

“I’m just excited,” Hammitte said about going to state. “I’m only in my second year of track. I’ve never won anything in (the) state (meet), so this is a first for me.”

Hammitte, who also played football for Cathedral, said preparing for a big matchup is actually very similar in both sports.

“You really have to bring it in both,” he said. “And they actually work together. Track helps with football and football helps with track. It’s a two-way deal.”

Hammitte said Friday’s trip to the state meet will be his first opportunity to compete for a state title in track, and he thinks his team will perform well.

“Hopefully we can win it,” he said. “We all think we can.”

Hammitte said he and Ishmael Blackmon provide the starting and finishing sprinters, and Chisum Mardis and Rodney Hall handle the middle two sprints.

Mardis, an eight grader, said he expects the competition to be tough Friday.

“There will be a lot of fast people and a lot of hard teams,” he said.

Mardis said he started track this year to keep in shape for football, but he has really started enjoying his track experience.

“As the year progressed, I really stared liking it a lot,” Mardis said.

Jake McKinney will be the fifth boy to participate in the state tournament for the Green Wave. He will run the 300-meter hurdles.

The four girls that will represent the Green Wave Friday are all young athletes that still have several years of track and field left in them.

The youngest representative will be seventh-grader Grace Anne White, who will run the 400-meter dash.

White finished second at the South State meet and set her personal best time.

“I was happy I beat my time, but I wish I came in first,” she said. “That’s what I want to get at state.”

White said she is the only seventh grader going, and it will be a great experience for her budding track career.

“I guess when I’m older, when it comes to state, I can say, ‘I made it in seventh grade, so I can do it in ninth or 10th grade.’”

Ninth-grader Ansleigh Thibodeaux made it to state last year, and she said she would try to be a leader for her teammates that have never been.

“I will tell them that it’s kind of intimidating, but it’s the last race of the year, so you have to put all your heart into it,” Thibodeaux said.

Thibodeaux will run the 800-meter run, and she finished in fourth place at the South State meet. She said she is hoping to at least finish in the top three at state.

Ninth-grader Kayla Cauthen will represent Cathedral in the girls’ triple jump, and ninth-grader Akua Kumi will run the 100-meter dash.

Smith said as a team Cathedral’s times continue to improve.

Hammitte said he has high hopes for Cathedral’s team in the future.

“They have a bright future,” he said. “To have this many underclassmen qualify is good to see.”

As a team the Cathedral boys’ finished fourth out of 14 teams in the South State meet. The girls finished fifth out of 15 teams. Nine of the 19 athletes that participated in South State qualified for state.