Natchez honored its young heroes Saturday as the Natchez-Wallace 11-12 All-Stars were treated to a cookout, a swimming party and the praise of their coaches, parents and supporters.

&uot;As long as I’ve been involved with this association, this is as fine a group of young men as any I’ve seen,&uot; said Natchez Dixie Youth President Clarence Bowlin. &uot;If you would have had any kind of a break, you could have won the whole ball of wax.&uot;

The team won the Mississippi state title and finished fourth in the World Series.

&uot;The Dixie Youth board of directors is proud of you, everyone here is proud of you, and the city of Natchez is proud of you,&uot; Bowlin said.

Head coach David New Jr. added his praise.

&uot;There was nothing I asked this group to do that they didn’t do,&uot; he said, &uot;even to the point of telling them how many runs they needed to score.&uot;

Each team member was awarded a trophy, a state championship medal, a World Series medal and a personalized photo album with pictures of the team’s run from district play to the Series.

&uot;Our goal when we started was to go undefeated and win state,&uot; New said. &uot;We did that.

&uot;Our goal in the World Series was to play our absolute best and represent Natchez. We also said that we’d represent every team that we left behind. We did that too.&uot;