Leslie Has Done Her Course Work Golf Star Practices Putting Them In The Hole For Liberty Basketball

Cheney High School’s best girls golfer lives just off the back nine at Hangman Valley Golf Course.

But she doesn’t attend classes at Cheney or golf much at Hangman.

As a student at a school (Liberty) that doesn’t offer golf, senior Erica Leslie is allowed to compete at Cheney because of a cooperative agreement between the schools.

She rarely takes a tour of the Hangman 18 because Cheney’s home course is The Fairways and her family’s longtime favorite course is Manito Country Club.

“I’ve golfed at Manito ever since I was 8,” said Leslie, who attended Moran Prairie Elementary before her family moved to the Liberty district six years ago.

This time of year, Leslie’s thoughts are with the Liberty girls basketball team.

She and classmate Tiffany Nadler are Liberty’s only four-year players.

“She (Leslie) has worked really hard to make herself a good shooter,” Liberty coach Rod Fletcher said. “She wasn’t very good at all as a freshman. But she talked to someone who told her to shoot 100-200 times a day to get better.”

Liberty has entered new territory this season. A larger enrollment placed the Spangle school in the Class 1A Northeast A League, up from the Class B Bi-County League.

Leslie said the new league’s major drawback is its six-game schedule. Bi-County teams are playing a 16-game schedule.

“We play forever before we get to league,” Leslie said of Saturday’s NEA openers.

Leslie has also played volleyball at Liberty, but she has made her mark in golf. The defending Region IV 3A champion has accepted a partial scholarship to Montana State University.

Leslie said she selected the Bozeman school because the cooler climate will allow her to be a part-time golfer.

“It’s not my primary focus now to play golf year-round,” Leslie said. “It’s never been to the point where I can’t do basketball, for example, because of golf.”

Leslie placed fourth at the State B golf tournament as a freshman. At the time, the rules allowed her to compete at the State B level despite playing the regular season at Cheney. The rules changed for her sophomore season, and she has competed at the State 3A tournament the last two seasons. She tied for seventh place last spring.

Leslie’s parents are presidents of Liberty’s athletic boosters. Mike, her father, previously distributed Sport Court, a Lego-like interlocking tile used for volleyball and basketball courts. Liberty received its Sport Court from Washington State, when the college purchased a new one.

Leslie’s older brother, Pat, played football for Fletcher at Liberty and attends the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Younger brother Craig, an eighth-grader, knows his way around 18 holes as well as Erica. His talent is such that Fletcher jokes about putting together a Liberty golf team just to coach Craig for four years.

Erica’s four-year run is down to a precious few months. With their 2-10 non-league record, the Lancers are looking for wins, but Leslie said her senior season has been enjoyable.

“We had a really bad season (2-18) last year, but the team attitude is 100 percent better,” Leslie said. “In the next few years, I expect this team to blossom.”

This sidebar appeared with the story:

NEA basketball

Saturday’s openers: Colfax at Kettle Falls, Freeman at Liberty.

Last year’s champions: Boys - Freeman, Reardan (tie). Girls - Colfax. All three also qualified for state after the district tournament.

Returning all-leaguers: Boys - none. Girls - Becky Vantine, Colfax; Heather Wilkerson, Freeman; Leslie Fredrickson, Kettle Falls.

One out, one in: Former league member Reardan dropped in its enrollment and returned to the Bi-County League. Liberty, formerly of the Bi-County, took Reardan’s place in the NEA.

New coaches: None.

Projected finish: Boys - Freeman, Liberty, Kettle Falls, Colfax. Girls - Colfax, Freeman, Liberty, Kettle Falls.