TIFTON — Snow is possible today in Tift County. Most individuals will understandably be bundled under blankets and huddled around heat sources. But one group of individuals will not only be out in cold temperatures, but at the pool.

The Tift County Swim Devils are prepping for Friday’s Region 1-AAAAAAA championship at Douglas’ South Georgia State, which is being hosted by Lowndes.

That pool is inside, but until then, Tift has to practice outside. Thankfully the YMCA pool at Hunt Park, home of their practice sessions, is heated. Outside the pool, of course, is not and head coach Ivey Vickers and her assistants, Kristen McElroy and Anna Fletcher have been investing in extra gear to combat the temperatures.

“It’s been a good year,” said Vickers.

The Lady Devils wrapped the regular season Saturday with a 68-point win at the Trojan Invitational, hosted by Lee County. The Blue Devils were second, trailing only Coffee. All four region teams (except the Camden County boys) competed at the Trojan Invitational. No school came within 80 points of the girls or within 40 points of the boys.

That does not mean much, Vickers said, as several teams did not have all of their athletes. The Blue Devils themselves were down a swimmer as J.D. Bengston competes in swimming and basketball.

“I thought [the Blue Devils] did a good job being down a swimmer,” she said. The Devils had four wins Saturday, three involving Jacob Redd.

Redd won the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle by 26 seconds. Redd combined with Beau Bengston, Dylan Coker and Samuel Lawson to win the 200 medley relay. Beau Bengston also had a win in the 100 backstroke.

The Lady Devils had five wins. The 200 medley and freestyle teams of Karoline Ponder, Olivia Thomas, Kirsten Murphy and Lauren Stone had two of those wins. Ponder and Thomas finished 1-2 in the 200 individual medley, Sarah Lawson won the 500 freestyle by 25 seconds and Stephanie Connell was the victor in the 100 backstroke.

Region will be slightly different that previous years, when the meet was held at Darton State. The South Georgia State pool is six lanes, as opposed to Darton’s 10. That will mean a longer meet, Vickers said, but it will also give swimmers more time to rest.

“Anything can happen,” she said.

Vickers still has an agreement with her swimmers. A region championship means she and McElroy will jump in the pool at South Georgia State.

There is a slight catch.

“Both teams have to come out on top,” she said.

That has been no issue in the past. Boys and girls have won the last three region swim championships.

Following region will be the state tournament, set for Feb. 1-3 at Georgia Tech.

Before then, Tift swimmers needing to make state cuts will have one last shot to get them. Aptly named, the Last Chance Meet will take place at the local YMCA pool Monday afternoon. Occasionally, another school or two will join in, but Vickers has not heard from any other schools yet.