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CLINTON — Cathedral hit the ground running at Choctaw Trails Monday afternoon with the Green Wave running in the MAIS Overall Cross Country championship. Head Coach Tommy Smith watched his boys win a seventh straight title. 

Alex Monagan might have been the surprise for Cathedral as he was first Green Wave runner to cross the line to finish in fifth place with a time of 18:34.39. The team beat out Silliman Institute by five points to win the title. 

“It was a crazy race and made me nervous. Alex ran really well,” Smith said. “The team knew they were under the gun without a healthy Barrett. I just got them together and told them this is where a team comes together. Everyone has to pick up slack. It was a good day of racing.” 

Allie Grace McGehee finished sixth in the girls race with a time of 21:11.62. Her time finished fifth overall. Smith said the girls team ran well too. 

“She is super solid and was picked to finish seventh or eighth. She had a slower start but picked it up to finish,” he said. “I’m proud of the girls. It was a great day of running by them. Today was just filled with solid racing.” 

Silliman Institute snuck up on Cathedral out of nowhere with a tremendous performance. Smith said data favored Simpson Academy and not Silliman Institute to finish second in the boys race. 

Last year, the Green Wave stopped by a Mexican restaurant to celebrate their state title. Smith said they were going to celebrate but wasn’t sure where. 

Cathedral’s win in the boys race secures them a berth in the Mississippi Meet of Champions. It is a race that pivots the best private schools against the best public schools in a meet held on Nov. 12. Smith said it is a day after his birthday. 

“The meet of champions is about honor and seeing where we stack up. We should be at the top of the private schools but it is always fun to see where we stack up,” Smith said. “These are some good boys and I’ll miss my seniors Burgett and Drew Thompson like crazy. We just keep rebuilding every year though. Thank you to the parents and the kids for a great season. We hope to keep our team moving forward. These are great kids in a great sport.” 

High School Boys (5K)

• Monagan, 18:34.39
• Barrett Burgett, 18:52.16
• Owen Bertelsen, 19:05.09
• Landon French, 19:38.92
• Drew Thompson, 20:39.74
• Lehman Novak, 21:29.05
• Chase Gamberi, 22:18.44

High School Girls (5K)

• McGehee 21:11.62
• Lizzie Verucchi, 23:28.18
• Adeline Burgett, 24:24.89
• Molly Foster, 24:35.32
• Lillie Bertelsen, 24:38.56

Junior High Boys (3K)

• Barrett Foster, 12:38.45
• Dane Novak, 13:26.29
• Mathew Verruchi, 13:53.02
• John Zachary Wingfield, 14:59.9
• Michael Waycaster, 15:50.37

Junior High Girls (3K)

• Leah Tillman, 14:53.69
• Ella Moak, 15:39.27
• Molly McLemore, 15:54.76
• Anna Arthur: 16:03.99
• Sidney Maier, 16:22.07
• Caroline Carlton, 17:48.79