MOULTRIE — Parker Hardigree will lead the Moss Farm Divers into what will be eight days of competition in their home waters when he competes this morning in the USA Diving Age Group National Championships.

The Age Group Championships will run through Tuesday, followed the next day by the Speedo Junior National Diving Championships, which will run through Saturday, Aug. 8.

Both national meets will be held at the Moose Moss Aquatic Center.

Six Moss Farms divers have qualified to compete over the next eight days.

Hardigree and Tristan Wells will compete on the 3-meter springboard in the Age Group Championships and on the 1-meter board in the Junior Nationals.

Haley Goodman will dive in the Age Groups on the 1-meter board.

Kelsey Goodman, Ann Perry Blank and Elizabeth Ann Kirkland will compete next week on both springboards in the Junior Nationals.

The Age Group Championships are open to divers who finished seventh through 12th in their events in Zone competition. The top six finishers qualified for Junior Nationals.

The Age Group Championships will begin at 9 a.m. today with preliminary competition in the 12-13 girls 3-meter, 12-13 boys 1-meter and 16-18 girls platform.

At 11:15 this morning, the prelims in 11-and-under girls 1-meter, 11-and-under boys 3-meter and 16-18 boys platform will begin.

Hardigree will be among the contestants in the 11-and-under boys event.

The finals in the 12-13 girls 3-meter and 12-13 boys 1-meter will begin at 1:15 p.m.; the finals in the 11-and-under girls 1-meter and 16-18 girls platform will start at 2:15 p.m.; and the finals in the 11-and under boys 3-meter and 16-18 boys platform will start at 3:15 p.m.

Competition will continue at 9 a.m. Sunday.

Hardigree joined the Moss Farms program as a 7-year-old two years ago and has blossomed under the direction of Moss Farms assistant coach Aaron D’Addario.

“He’s an eager beaver,” Moss Farms head coach Ed Goodman says of Hardigree. “He works hard and he keeps his head about him.

“We’re eager to move him up to the J.O. team.”

Goodman said he considers Hardigree “a part of the future of the program” and, when asked if the thought his young diver could hold his own in National competition, Goodman answered quickly, “Yep. I think he’ll do pretty well.”

Wells must wait until to 11:30 a.m. Monday and the the 12-13 boys 3-meter prelims for his first taste of Age Group competition. The finals are 1:15 p.m. Monday.

A fine youth baseball player as well, Wells is a fierce competitor, Goodman says.

“He’s very, very competitive,” Goodman said. “And he gets in the water nice and clean.

“We think he’s another of our up-and-coming divers. He’s committed to it and we think he’ll be here a long time.”

Haley Goodman, Ed Goodman’s youngest daughter, will compete in the 14-15 girls 1-meter event that begins with prelims at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday. The finals are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Haley was a diver as a young girl, but then gave it up to concentrate on swimming for several years.

She returned to diving two years ago and and is concentrating on the 1-meter springboard event.

“She’s diving real well,” Ed Goodman said. “Hopefully, we can get her qualified for finals.”

This year marks the first time the Age Group Championships and Junior Nationals have been held back-to-back at the same venue.

“This is the way it was designed,” said Goodman, who added that for several reasons, it was unable to be accomplished until this year.

Goodman likes the idea.

“It’s nice to have Age Group meet here so the younger kids can see Junior Nationals,” he said.

Putting on two national-calibre meets back-to-back has been a challenge, but Goodman said much of the work was done by the parents of the Moss Farms divers.

“Thank goodness for our parents,” Goodman said. “They’ve taken a lot of pressure off of me. They know what to do. They’ve been doing it a long time. We’re known for running good meets.”