ILLIANA HALL OF FAME: Biehl-Lukkarenin part of inaugural class
Jun. 25—OAKWOOD — It is rare for Lia Biehl-Lukkarenin to return to the Vermilion County area, but tonight is a very good reason.
Biehl-Lukkarenin, who was a golf star at Oakwood, will be part of the inaugural class of the Greater Illiana Sports Hall of Fame that will be honored at 7 p.m. tonight at the David S. Palmer Arena.
"I felt there were a lot of athletes that could have been in, but to be part of the inaugural class is a pretty big deal," Biehl-Lukkarenin said. "I am thrilled to be part of the ceremony and I am looking forward to it."
Biehl-Lukkarenin was sixth in the 1986 IHSA state girls golf meet for the Comets and was coached by her father, Ed Biehl.
My dad was my high school golf coach, which was a very cool thing. I didn't think that golf would take me where it did, but I am glad that I did and that I got my start in Oakwood. I did well in the state tournament and I went to Illinois and kept moving west in playing golf.
While Biehl-Lukkarenin was coached by her father, it was her mother — Barbara Biehl — that brought golf into the family.
"I can't talk about him too much without talking about my mother," Biehl-Lukkarenin said. "She grew up playing golf and my dad ended up playing golf because of that. He was a teacher at Oakwood before he retired and became a full-time golf pro. He got into the PGA of America and he and mom were working at Vermilion Hills Country Club (former name of Wolf Creek Golf Course), which is where I played all my golf growing up."
From there, Biehl-Lukkarenin went to the University of Illinois. Under coach Paula Smith, Biehl-Lukkarenin was All Big-Ten in the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons and was a four-time letterwinner and team captain.
"Oakwood is a small town of consolidated schools and going to Champaign, it was big and there were a lot of cultural experiences. ... It was a game-changer," Biehl-Lukkarenin said. "I had some moderate success and making All-Big Ten was a big deal. My little sister (Becky Biehl) beat me out in a few categories there, but it was an amazing experience. Playing with Paula was a great experience and I was an assistant when I graduated and I helped coach my sister. So I enjoyed my years at Illinois and I learned a lot."
From there, she played in the Futures Tour for two years, winning a tournament and was in the top six on the money list. She also competed in the LPGA Tour's 1994 season and played in 20 events, including the U.S. Women's Open.
She continued to move west to Macomb and Western Illinois in 2005, where she is the Golf Director and coaches both the Men's and Women's golf teams.
"My husband got a job there and that is what brought us to Macomb," Biehl-Lukkarenin said. "I was the director of golf at a club in Pana, but when we moved to Macomb, it was a pretty big golfing community, but not a lot of opportunities. But Western had a job open for golf pro and coach and it was right up my alley."
Biehl-Lukkarenin has had a great career coaching the Leathernecks, but she would like to host a major college tournament.
"We are lucky to have that place for the students and team to practice in, but I am going to try to host a TPC event next spring," Biehl-Lukkarenin said. "If we host in the quad cites, we can get a good field."
Biehl-Lukkarenin will be joined in the class by another Oakwood product that went to Illinois in Darrin Fletcher.
"I of course know Darrin, so I think that is good company to be with," Biehl-Lukkarenin said. "I do have friends and family come with me and we are going to see people I haven't seen in years, so I am looking forward to being part of it."
Along with Biehl-Lukkarenin and Fletcher, there will be a total of 31 athletes, 14 coaches, nine legends and 15 teams in the inaugural class, which was named in 2021 but because of the pandemic, was moved to this year.
