Jorgenson, Clairmont Named to Big Ten Preseason Watch List

Nebraska All-American freestyler Gena Jorgenson and diver Kelsey Clairmont were honored by the Big Ten on Wednesday, Sept. 25, as preseason athletes to watch entering the 2024-25 season.

Jorgenson, a returning All-American, is back after breaking four school records and finishing eighth in the 1,650 freestyle at the 2024 NCAA Championships. Her career-best, 15:55.71 finish in the event earned her first-team All-America honors.

The junior from Aberdeen, S.D., added career-best finishes in the 500 freestyle (27th, 4:41.03) and 400 IM (33rd, 4:11.51) at the 2024 NCAA Championships. She owns six school records for the Huskers. At the Big Ten Championships, Jorgenson finished fifth in the 1,650 freestyle (16:01.72) and 10th in the 500 freestyle (4:41.19), hitting the NCAA B standard in both events.

Clairmont, a junior from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, leads a strong returning group of Husker divers in 2024-25. Clairmont made her second consecutive NCAA Championships appearance last season on the platform. She put up a score of 502.75 at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships to finish eighth and qualify for the 2024 NCAA Championships.

Clairmont went on to take 20th with a score of 242.70 at nationals. She totaled 18 zone-qualifying scores across all events and added 15 top-five finishes in 2024.

Clairmont and Jorgenson will lead the Huskers into the annual Scarlet vs. Cream Intrasquad at the Devaney Natatorium on Friday, Sept. 27 at 3 p.m. The Big Red open the regular season with a tri-meet against Minnesota and South Dakota at the Devaney Center on Friday, Oct. 4.