TIFTON — After winning the district 3 meet by 269 points on July 11, the Tiftarea Tidal Wave team and the Tift County Recreation Department will now host the GRPA Class B state meet beginning today at 9 a.m. at the Baldwin Drive Pool.

Twenty-eight teams representing seven districts will compete for championships.

The Tidal Wave and head coach Ellen Mullis will have 41 swimmers competing in the meet, up from 26 in last year’s state title meet.

722 swimmers are scheduled to compete in Tifton today and Saturday, and Mullis knows that is beneficial to the Tiftarea economy.

“100-175 hotel rooms will be booked, with some staying three days,” Mullis said.

“And the average 16-to-18 year old boy consumes 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day, which means sit-down restaurants will be packed with swimmers and their families.”

“It’s like feeding a football player,” Mullis said.

The 7-10 year old swimmers will compete today, while the 11-18 year old athletes will swim on Saturday.

The top-8 swimmers will advance to the finals, which will be held around 4 p.m. each day.

Mullis said Oconee County will be one of the teams to watch for.

“They have 87 swimmers that qualified at their district meet,” Mullis said.

Other strong teams according to Mullis are Douglas, Winder, Ringgold, Jeff Davis, Thomasville ATAC, Pickens County and Baldwin.

Tidal Wave athletes that will compete today and Saturday are: Laura Grace Jones 50 Free, 100 Medley Relay, 25 Breast, 100 Free Relay; Jacob Redd 50 Free, 100 Medley Relay, 25 Fly, 100 Free Relay; Ansley Mobley 50 Free, 100 Medley Relay, 25 Fly, 100 Free Relay; Madison Honeycutt 100 Free, 200 Medley Relay, 50 Breast, 200 Free Relay; Katelyn Seymour 100 Free, 200 Medley Relay, 100 IM, 200 Free Relay; Laurel Parrish 100 Free, 200 Medley Relay, 50 Fly, 200 Free Relay; Anna Johnson 100 Free, 200 Medley Relay, 50 Breast, 200 Free Relay; JP Short 100 Free, 200 Medley Relay, 50 Back, 200 Free Relay; Kelcie Gilmore 100 Free, 200 Medley Relay, 50 Fly, 200 Free Relay; Paulk Parrish 100 Free, 200 Medley Relay, 100 IM, 200 Free Relay; Kirsten Murphy 100 Medley Relay, 25 Back, 100 Free Relay; Mary Claire McGarr 100 Medley Relay, 25 Free, 25 Back, 100 Free Relay; Mikaela Griffin 100 Medley Relay, 100 IM, 25 Fly, 100 Free Relay; Julianna Cross 100 Medley Relay; Olivia Thomas 100 Medley Relay, 100 IM, 100 Free Relay; Casey Hall 100 Medley Relay, 100 Free Relay; Jackie Lee 100 Medley Relay; Mary Margaret McGarr 100 Medley Relay, 25 Free, 25 Breast, 100 Free Relay; Grace Day 100 Medley Relay; Claire Lawson 100 Medley Relay; William Goodwin 100 Medley Relay, 25 Back, 100 IM, 100 Free Relay; Samuel Lawson 100 Medley Relay, 25 Back, 100 Free Relay; Griffin Parrish 100 Medley Relay, 100 IM, 25 Fly, 100 Medley Relay; Courtney Cook 200 Medley Relay, 50 Free, 50 Back, 200 Free Relay; Annalee Atwater 200 Medley Relay, 50 Free, 50 Fly, 200 Medley Relay; Tucker Parrish 200 Medley Relay, 200 Free Relay; Hank McElroy 200 Medley Relay, 50 Breast, 100 IM, 200 Free Relay; Coleman Griffin 200 Medley Relay, 50 Back, 200 Free Relay; Jackson Short 200 Medley Relay, 100 IM, 200 Free Relay; Savannah Griffin 200 Medley Relay, 50 Back, 50 Fly, 200 Medley Relay; Kendal King 200 Medley Relay, 50 Breast, 100 IM, 200 Free Relay; Mary Shoup 200 Medley Relay, 50 Back, 100 IM, 200 Free Relay; Madeline Strickland 200 Medley Relay, 50 Free, 200 Free Relay; Hunter Cross 200 Medley Relay, 50 Breast, 100 IM, 200 Free Relay; Connor Jacobson 200 Medley Relay, 50 Fly, 200 Free Relay; Miles McDonald 200 Medley Relay, 50 Breast, 200 Free Relay; Aubree McPherson 200 Medley Relay, 50 Back, 50 Fly, 200 Free Relay; Alex McElroy 200 Medley Relay, 200 Free Relay; Kyle Jacobson 200 Medley Relay, 50 Free, 200 Free Relay; Henry McWilliams 200 Medley Relay, 50 Fly, 200 Free Relay; and Jack Strickland 25 Breast.

Gilmore is the defending state champion in the girls’ 15/18 50 Fly.