The Rangeley Lakes High School golf team won its fourth consecutive East-West Class D golf championship, on September 28, at Madison’s Lakewood Golf Course, against Valley and Forest Hills. First-year golf coach Kevin Banfield ushered his four golfers, sophomore Jake Bottcher, junior Tucker MacFawn, and seniors Isabelle Whittier and Trevor Dolbier, through a steady season of competitive growth. All four were eyeing the possibility of qualifying for the State Championships this year at Natanis on October 8. As it was, two qualified for States and all four combined their scores to win the Class D Championship.
Isabelle Whittier, student council president, played all four years of high school and always proved herself an excellent ambassador for the game and for Rangeley Lakes, winning Rookie of the Year, Coach’s Award, and the Clayton Philbrick Award for sportsmanship. Jake Bottcher took up the game only last year as a freshman, winning Rookie of the Year for his immediate devotion to the game and his commitment to become the best golfer he could possibly be. Jake is poised to be in the mix next season as a veteran. He played this entire summer, working full time at Mingo Springs Golf Course, and taking pointers from working pros Kyle Ladd and Doug Cooke.
Doug Cooke recently passed away but didn’t take his loyalty and love for the RLRS golf team with him. He made sure the kids received a reminder from him in the way of a sizable donation for golf equipment and apparel. Doug was an RLRS alumnus who came to golf later in life, devoting himself completely to the sport. He always made time for the younger golfers, providing lessons and sharing a joke or 10. There are countless golfers out there, both young and old, who owe an unpayable debt to Doug.
Trevor Dolbier made his third consecutive appearance at Natanis in the Class C championship. After last year’s top-ten finish, Trevor was bound and determined to go big this year. That was before suffering a debilitating shoulder injury in last year’s basketball season. This required an operation to repair the damage, leaving him unable to actively play golf during the entire summer season. He returned to the course gingerly at first but then went all in with a vengeance, quickly returning to his high level of play, steering his team through another winning season as captain.
The 18-hole Tomahawk course at Natanis is a challenging mixture of hazards and doglegs and rolling, speedy greens. It can bring the best golfers to their knees in defeat, but not Trevor. He struck the ball with precision and made the putts that mattered. His mental stamina matched his physical ability, lifting him out of what could have been a round-killing quadruple bogey (along with one bogey and double bogey) with three birdies and 12 pars overall. He tied for 3rd place with a total 76, the best finish ever for a Rangeley Lakes golfer.
Rookie Tucker MacFawn made States his first year with the team, which is an accomplishment in itself. He has a steady game that will benefit greatly from this year’s competitions. We expect to see him on the leaderboard again next year.
A final thanks to Coach Banfield, the RLRS administration (including AD Jeff LaRochelle) Mingo Springs Golf Course and its entire crew, and to Doug Cooke, friend and steward of Rangeley’s future golfers. Well done, RLRS golf team!
