TIFTON — Tift County’s head swimming coach Ivey Vickers is not ready for the swimming season to end.

“We have a good group of kids,” she said, adding that this season has been “a blessing.”

But the season will conclude at the end of the week for the Swim Devils, who swept to their fourth straight region championships two weeks ago.

The Georgia High School Association state swimming meet starts Friday at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and wraps up Saturday. After this week, Vickers will have to devote all of her time to the other sport she head coaches, tennis.

Diving events kick off state competition Thursday. Even though they won’t compete until the next day, Tift will be on the road that day as warm-ups for their competition Friday begin at 7 a.m., with the preliminaries starting at 9 a.m.

The goal for Vickers is to make it to the second day of state. No swimmers have accomplished that during her reign as head coach.

Vickers believes she has the group to do it.

“We probably have our best chance,” she said. “If they do what they normally do,” said Vickers, “we’ll be OK.”

Swimmers have to finish in the top 30 in the preliminaries to make the final day on Saturday.

In 10 events, the Swim Devils have competitors whose state cuts times were in the top 40, two in the top 30.

Tift has 16 swimmers who are going to Atlanta, including alternates.

Beau Bengston is to compete in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke and J.D. Bengston in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle. Stephanie Connell qualified for the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke, Ansley Mobley is in the 100 and 200 freestyle races and Kirstin Murphy is in the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley.

Karoline Ponder competes in the 100 and the 200 freestyle and Jacob Redd made it in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly. Lauren Stone will participate in the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle and Olivia Thomas is in the 100 breaststroke and 100 freestyle.

In addition to individual races, there are six relay teams.

Beau Bengston, J.D. Bengston, Redd and Caleb Rice will participate in the 200 freestyle relay as will Connell, Stone, Murphy and Ponder.

Dylan Coker, Logan Ewing, Rice and Samuel Lawson are in the 200 medley relay as are Connell, Mobley, Murphy and Thomas.

Beau Bengston, J.D. Bengston, Coker and Redd are in the 400 freestyle relay as are Ponder, Thomas, Stone and Mobley.

T.J. Carpenter, Ashlee Golden and Sarah Lawson are alternates.