Wawasee grad Joel Bickel was recently named to the Trine University Athletic Hall of Fame. (Photo provided)

ANGOLA — Wawasee High School alum Joel Bickel was recently named to the Trine University Athletic Hall of Fame for his record-breaking turn with Thunder men’s golf.
Bickel, who graduated from Trine in 2008 with a BA in Golf Management and Business, was presented with his HOF award during an awards presentation dinner at Trine on Friday, Sept. 15 and was also honored during halftime of the school’s Homecoming game the following day. Over his four years with the Thunder, he garnered four Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association medalist honors and broke numerous school and conference records. In 2005, he shot the lowest score in MIAA history with a 65 at The Medalist in Albion, a record that still holds today.  He went on to break the record for the conference’s lowest cumulative single season average at 71.2. For these successes, Bickel was named the MIAA Medalist of the Year as a junior in 2005. He is the only golfer in Trine’s history to achieve this honor and the only player to garner three first team all-conference selections in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Bickel also set the standard for the Trine golf team. He holds the record for the lowest career stroke average at 73.3 and the record for most scores under par with 11. He topped his career at Trine with a selection to the All-Region team his senior season.
“He was an outstandingly talented golfer and could have turned professional during his four years at Trine,” Trine golf coach Bill SanGiacomo said. “He chose to remain at school an additional year after graduation to finish his degree. He had a tremendous dedication not only on the course but also to his studies and his success in the classroom. What a great strength of character.”
As a senior at Wawasee, Bickel shot 70 at the 2003 IHSAA State Finals to lead the Warriors to a fourth-place team finish at the Legends of Indiana in Franklin. That followed a 73 score at the 2002 state finals, when the Warriors also finished fourth.
Bickel is the son of Garry and Rhonda Bickel of Syracuse and Shelly and Mark Mousty. He serves as an insurance representative for Colonial Life and resides in Jacksonville, Fla.