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Levi Haines & Tessa Janecke Named Big Ten Medal Of Honor Recipients

Penn State wrestling’s Levi Haines and former Penn State women’s hockey player Tessa Janecke were named Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients, the conference announced on Thursday afternoon.

The Big Ten Medal of Honor is awarded to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class at each Big Ten university as a way of recognizing those who have demonstrated excellence both athletically and academically. It is known as the conference’s highest distinction for student-athletes. Just 36 of 11,000 Big Ten student-athletes are awarded the Medal of Honor each year.

Haines concluded his time at Penn State by capping off one of the most illustrious collegiate wrestling careers in recent memory. He went 26-0 with 21 bonus-point victories throughout his senior season while winning his second NCAA Title.

He was a four-time All-American and a four-time NWCA National All-Academic team member. After winning his weight class at Final X, Haines has won a spot on the United States World Team and will compete in the Senior World Championships later this year.

Janecke finished her collegiate career as the most accomplished player in the history of Penn State hockey. During her time at Happy Valley, she set the record for most points in both the men’s and women’s programs with 201, was a three-time USCHO All-American, and won the AHA Player of the Year three consecutive times, becoming the second player ever to do so.

In her senior season, she led the Nittany Lions to their best season in program history, giving Penn State its first-ever NCAA Tournament win and advancing to its first Frozen Four.

Janecke also became the first-ever active Penn State athlete to win an Olympic gold medal earlier this year. Janecke did all this while being a First-Team Academic All-American and having three consecutive selections to the AHA All-Academic Team.

Janecke will continue her career in the pros after being selected third overall by PWHL Las Vegas.

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About the Author

Brian Kriley

Brian is a freshman from State College, PA, majoring in journalism and minoring in sports studies. He's a fan of Pittsburgh sports and likes listening to music and lifting in his free time. You can contact him @kriley_brian on X or [email protected]

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