By Mike Maltais
Liberty Bell High School senior Riley Dickinson won the district golf tournament in Chelan last week and will compete at the state championships at Oakbrook Golf Course in Lakewood on Wednesday and Thursday (May 28 – 29).
Dickinson, the only golfer representing LBHS, won the district competition by eight strokes and must finish in the top 20 among 80 players entered on Wednesday to advance to the finals the following day.
Since LBHS does not have a varsity golf team, a way needed to be found to allow Dickinson to participate at the district and state tournaments. The answer came in the form of a cooperative agreement with another district golf team.
Liberty Bell’s acting activities director, Hunter Maltais, canvassed a number of high school golf teams in the district and found Manson receptive to Dickinson’s unique situation. The requisite paperwork was filed and Dickinson will take to the links at Oakbrook under the supervision of Manson golf coach Ryan Allstot.
Dickinson helped coach youth golf at Winthrop’s Bear Creek Golf course last summer and is “a passionate golfer,” according to his mother, Janice Dickinson. “He’s gotten this far all by himself.”
Riley’s father, Pete Dickinson, has helped with his son’s coaching and the two have gone to golf camps together. Pete will serve as Riley’s official coach at state competition.
“He’s a lot better golfer than I am and getting better all the time,” the senior Dickinson said.
