A pair of former Aberdeen Swim Club Stingrays have ascended to the upper tiers of the collegiate swimming ranks.

Gena Jorgenson and Lilly Grebner both earned NCAA All-America honors at their respective programs, Jorgenson with the Huskers at the University of Nebraska and Grebner for the Wolves at Northern State.

Jorgenson, who also qualified for this summer’s Olympic Trials, earned first team honors after finishing in the top eight of the women’s mile at the NCAA Division I championships. Since arriving in Lincoln, Jorgenson said she has cut more than 30 seconds off her time, setting new Husker records in the process.

“I haven’t really thought about it that much,” Jorgenson said. “The mile was my last race, the last night of NCAAs. I went out to eat with my parents that night, and came home and got right back into things.“

The accomplishment came after a top-six effort at the Big 10 meet and, ironically, while she was sitting in the stands with her parents.

“In the mile, you only swim once,” Jorgenson explained. “There’s no prelim and final, you only swim the mile once. I was in the morning, and finished second (in that section). They still had 8 girls to swim at night.”

Knowing her time that morning, Jorgenson said the realization of what she had done was shared with her parents and one of her teammate’s family.

“I was surrounded by a whole bunch of people. Everyone was happy,” she said.

Jorgenson’s effort came on the heels of Grebner’s second-team selection with the Wolves just one week prior.

Grebner closed her second-straight NCAA national meet appearance with a 12th place showing in the 200 fly.

“I’ve been swimming since I was 4 or 5,” Grebner said. “I’ve had experiences competing my whole life. Just being able to improve times and continue to love (the sport), I think that is growth in itself.”

Both sophomores, Grebner and Jorgenson both reached out to congratulate each other on their respective accomplishments and both attributed their current success to more than a decade of intra-squad competition with the Stingrays.

“It really does mean the world,” Jorgenson said. “I watched Lilly swim her races and the first thing I said, I texted her I was so proud of her. It means so much. We grew up swimming together almost the exact same races. It’s exciting to see we came from this small town in SD to do bigger things.”

“I wouldn’t be where I am without Gena,” Grebner said, adding, “As a collegiate swimmer, it’s incredibly rewarding to represent a small-town swim club like ASC on the national stage. Over the years, Gena and I have received great support from ASC families and coaches. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my teammates from ASC and from (former coach) Elyce Kastigar encouraging me to swim on the collegiate level. I’m grateful to represent our community and I hope to inspire future generations of swimmers.”

For now, though, Jorgenson will turn her attention to a different sort of arena – the Olympic Trials, set to be held at Lucas Oil Stadium – yes, the home of the Indianapolis Colts – June 15-23.

“I’m excited to see how it all works out being in such a big arena,” Jorgenson said.