Illinois Native Tessa Janecke Named to Team USA Olympic Hockey Roster

The small village of Orangeville, Illinois is about to take center stage at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy this February thanks to a member of Team USA's Women's Hockey named Tessa Janecke.

Illinois Olympians

I love watching all the Olympic Games, but the Winter Games are my favorite, so I am  pumped that the Winter Olympics will be beginning in just a few weeks. I'm even more pumped for 2026 Winter Olympics because we have two Stateline-area natives to root for this year: Cameron Smith and Tessa Janecke.

Cameron Smith is a Rockford native and 2014 Guilford High School graduate who is on Team USA Skimo (ski mountaineering) as the sport makes its Olympic debut in Italy.

Tessa Janecke is an Orangeville, Illinois native who graduated from Orangeville High School in 2022 and currently plays women's hockey as a senior at Penn State University.

Tessa Janecke Named to USA Women's Hockey Team

Living in Pecatonica, I am used to rooting against the Orangeville Broncos in all things sports, but I will definitely be changing my tune this February as I watch Tessa Janecke on the ice. This woman is shattering Penn State records, and I cannot wait to see what she is able to achieve as part of Team USA Women's Hockey!

A recent Penn State Sports article says:

Janecke enters the 2026 Olympics with significant international experience under her belt, having played in 38 games with the United States women’s senior national team between the IIHF World Championships and the Rivalry Series versus Canada. In those games, Janecke has 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points.

 

The article goes on to say that Janecke is the "greatest player in Nittany Lion program history" and that she "has garnered nearly every award possible in her time in Hockey Valley", so I think we can all expect her to create some more magic for Team USA.

The 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games will take place February 6-22, but Team USA Women's Hockey will begin competition on February 5.

Go bring home the Gold, Tessa!