Inland Northwest’s Best: Honor roll – region standouts that just missed the cut

Plenty of long days, sleepless nights and coffee – lots and lots and LOTS of coffee – went into my top-three rankings of the best of the best in Inland Northwest sports history. The three-part series concludes with today’s coverage.

Did you enjoy the articles the past three Sundays? Great!

Did you find my rankings incredibly inept? Great! Well, not really. On the other hand, it would be foolish for anyone to pretend they know everything about every team and individual who has excelled in more than 130 years of organized sports activity in our region.

I’ve been writing about, buying tickets to attend and/or playing in sports events in the Inland Northwest for about half of those 130-plus years, so I like to think I’ve got a better grasp than most on sports history in these parts. That’s why I will be absolutely crushed when I discover that I left out a deserving team or individual.

With that in mind, the following “Hall of Honor” will definitely leave out some worthy folks. That said, I want to salute a select group of Inland Northwest natives who have made great contributions to area sports but did not get mentioned in our top-three lists. Obviously, non-natives also have played huge roles in the Inland Northwest sports scene, but … hey, I can’t satisfy everyone.

Ray Flaherty (NFL, Gonzaga University, Gonzaga Prep) – Pro Football Hall of Fame coach; won NFL championships as coach of Washington, now known as the Commanders, in 1937 and ’42; NFL career coaching record of 54-21-3 (.720) in 7 seasons; played on the New York Giants’ 1934 championship team; 3x All-Pro two-way end (before platooning). … Carl Johnson (Olympics, Michigan, Lewis and Clark HS track and field) – 1920 Olympics silver medalist in the long jump; one of the leading U.S. prep long jumpers of all-time when he attended LC; finished second in the team standings by himself at the 1915 National Interscholastics high school meet. … Brad Walker (Olympics, University of Washington, University HS track and field) – Multiple world, national and NCAA gold medals in the pole vault; set American record of 19 feet, 9¾ inches in 2008. … Drew Bledsoe (NFL, Washington State, Walla Walla HS football) – Prolific quarterback in the NFL, college and high school; won a 2001 Super Bowl ring with New England after getting injured and losing his starting job to some guy named Tom Brady; Pac-12 Hall of Honor member. … Adam Morrison (NBA, GU, Mead HS basketball) – National College Player of the Year in 2005-06, when he led NCAA Division I with 28.1 points per game; set GSL single-season and career scoring records; picked third overall by Charlotte in 2006 NBA draft; enshrined in West Coast Conference Hall of Honor.

Launi Meili (Olympics, Eastern Washington University, Cheney HS) – Olympics gold medalist in the three-position smallbore rifle in 1992; set three world records; won seven national championships. … Annette Hand Peters (Olympics, Oregon, Central Valley HS track and field and cross country) – 4x U.S. national champion in distance races or cross country; American record in the 5,000-meter run in 1993. … Jim DeMers (Oregon, Sandpoint HS track and field) – Set world record in the javelin in 1929 (222-6 3-4 with a wooden javelin) two years after breaking the world high school record. … Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma State, Sandpoint HS wrestling) – National Wrestling Hall of Famer won three NCAA titles, the 2001 national high school tournament and three state high school championships. … Steve Emtman (NFL, UW, Cheney HS football) – College Football Hall of Famer; consensus All-America defensive tackle on Washington’s undefeated co-national champions in 1991; won Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football in ’91; selected No. 1 overall by Indianapolis in the 1992 NFL draft.

Don Monson (Oregon, Idaho, Coeur d’Alene HS basketball) – National college men’s basketball coach of the year in 1981-82, when he guided Idaho (his alma mater) to a 27-3 record; the 27 wins, including the only NCAA Tournament victory in school history, remain a UI record; revived a long-suffering Idaho program after two years as an assistant coach at Michigan State; the Spartans won the NCAA championship in 1978-79, Monson’s first year at Idaho; compiled 100-41 record (.709) in five years at Idaho before going 116-145 (.444) in nine years at Oregon; highly successful high school coach at Cheney and Pasco before joining old friend Jud Heathcote (a former WSU assistant coach and West Valley HS head coach) at Michigan State; Monson’s recruiting work helped bring legendary point guard Magic Johnson to MSU. … Tom Sneva (EWU, Lewis and Clark HS) – After three second-place finishes, Sneva won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983; notched two IndyCar season championships. … Jeanne Eggart Helfer (WSU and Walla Walla HS athlete; Mead HS and Mt. Spokane HS girls basketball coach) – Held WSU records for years in career basketball points and the javelin; first woman to receive full athletic scholarship at WSU; finished fourth at the 1980 U.S. Olympics Trials in the javelin (top three advanced to the Olympics); scored 47 points in a state tournament basketball game; won a state javelin title; coached Mead to three state titles in the 1990s before starting the girls basketball program at Mt. Spokane. … Samantha Skillingstad (Oregon, Shadle Park HS softball) – Back-to-back seasons with 28-1 records, sub-0.40 ERAs and .400-plus batting averages as a junior and senior at Shadle; All-American and state Player of the Year both seasons; as senior in 2008, struck out 396 in 178 innings.

Connor Halliday (WSU, Ferris HS) – Set the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision single-game passing record of 734 yards in a 2014 that contest that WSU somehow found a way to lose, 60-59, to California; Halliday threw six touchdown passes and zero interceptions; two years later, Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes tied Halliday’s record. … Dennis LaRue (SFCC, Gonzaga Prep) – Hockey referee in four Olympics and 58 NHL playoff games, including the 2008-09 Stanley Cup Final; when LaRue retired after 25 seasons as an NHL referee, he ranked first among Americans and eighth among all NHL referees with 1,222 games. … Joey August (Idaho, Gonzaga HS now Prep) – August, a talented amateur and pro boxer, coached Gonzaga’s only national championship team in 1950, when boxing was still an NCAA sport; the Bulldogs tied Idaho for the title; August became a successful businessman in Spokane and supported all levels of area sports teams with hundreds of thousands of dollars, plus training services that he often provided at little or no cost.

Bill Etter and Bob Minnix (Notre Dame, Lewis and Clark HS football) – Prep All-Americans (Etter at quarterback, Minnix at running back) headed to Notre Dame after leading the 1967 Tigers to a state title in the pre-playoffs era; Tigers finished 9-0, outscoring foes by an average score of 36-5; frequently mentioned in debates over the best high school football teams in Spokane history. … Angie Bjorklund (Tennessee, University HS basketball) – All-American and state Player of the Year averaged 25.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.7 steals as a U-High senior in 2006-07; four-year starter at Tennessee; played on NCAA champions as freshman. … Brett Rypien (NFL, Boise State, Shadle Park HS football) – Set career passing records in the GSL (13,044) and the Mountain West Conference (13,581 yards); now with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. … Rolly Williams (Idaho, North Idaho College, Kellogg HS basketball) – No sooner did Williams graduate from Idaho than he took over as men’s basketball coach and athletic director at NIC; left 35 years later with a glistening 731-314 record (.700) after taking on many of the nation’s top junior college teams; retired in 1996; member of the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

Steve Gleason (NFL, WSU, G-Prep football) – Gleason grinded out a 7-year playing career as an NFL journeyman, but he has achieved true greatness since retiring as a player; has helped raise more than $20 million to fight Lou Gehrig’s disease (also known as ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis); Gleason was diagnosed with the incurable disease in 2011, five years after his NFL career came to an end. … John Friesz (NFL, Idaho, Coeur d’Alene HS football) – Won the 1989 Walter Payton Award as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA (now the Football Championship Subdivision); passed for 4,048 yards, 31 touchdowns and just eight interceptions; played 11 seasons in the NFL. … J.C. Sherritt (Canadian Football League, EWU, Pullman HS football) – Won the 2010 Buck Buchanan Award as the best defensive player in the FCS; helped the Eagles win the FCS championship that year; 2012 CFL Defensive Player of the Year with Edmonton. … Katie Knight (UW, North Central HS track and field and cross country) – Multiple state titles and top-four finishes at national high school and youth meets. … Bud Roffler (NFL, WSU, Rogers HS) – Played football, basketball and baseball in high school and college; some folks say he might be the greatest all-around athlete in Spokane high school history. … Albert Johnson (Milan) – Rode Kentucky Derby winners in 1922 and ’26; won the Belmont Stakes in 1925; made his jockey debut at Spokane’s old Playfair Race Course; U.S. (horse) Racing Hall of Famer.

Jason Hanson (NFL, WSU, Mead HS football) – College Football Hall of Famer played 21 years in the NFL, all with Detroit; ranks fourth in NFL history with 2,150 points, fourth with 495 field goals and seventh with 327 games played; drafted in the second round (unusually high for a kicker) by the Lions in 1992. … Jen Stinson Greeny (WSU and Lewis-Clark State volleyball coach, WSU and Davenport HS athlete) – Held state record for career points in girls high school basketball (2,229) for 25 years; also starred in volleyball and track and field at Davenport; volleyball standout at WSU; has guided Cougars to NCAA tournaments the past seven years; led L-C State College to NAIA tournaments all four years she coached in Lewiston; remarkable 112-24 (.824) record at LCSC. … John Drager (Mullan HS football and boys basketball coach) – The Wallace HS graduate stayed close to home, coaching Mullan football for 32 years and boys basketball for 28 years; his football teams were 229-51 (.818), won state championships in 1983 and ’84 and finished No. 1 in the state poll twice before Idaho added state playoffs.

Bishop Sankey (NFL, UW, G-Prep) – Set GSL rushing records with 4,355 yards in a career, 2,518 yards in one season and 359 yards in one game; rushed for 1,870 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior at Washington in 2013; drafted in the second round by the NFL’s Tennessee Titans in 2014. … Jon Schuh (University HS fastpitch and slowpitch softball) – The Rogers HS graduate compiled superlative coaching records of 411-131 (.758) in 21 years of U-High fastpitch and 249-12 (.954) in the first 13 years of U-Hi slowpitch; won state 4A fastpitch tournament in 2003; won seven GSL titles in fastpitch and 13 straight in slowpitch before he stepped down. … Sue Doering (Colfax HS, Deer Park HS volleyball) – Won more than 900 matches and 14 state championships in 33 years as a head coach; all of the titles (and six second-place finishes) came at Colfax, where she spent 29 years before retiring in 2017. Doering attended Bonners Ferry HS. … Rick Giampietri (Central Valley HS football) – The North Central graduate, a popular figure in the GSL for more than half a century, coached football, wrestling and other sports as a head coach or assistant at CV and Lewis and Clark; posted a 146-87-1 (.624) record in 23 years as CV’s head football coach; his 1997 state champs (13-1), who featured powerful running back Tyree Clowe, an enormous offensive line and a stiff defense, rank among the better teams in state history.

Dwight Church (Lewiston HS and Lewis-Clark American Legion baseball) – Won 23 state American Legion titles and seven state high school titles in 30-plus years at both jobs; Lewiston HS grad relished the longer Legion seasons and compiled a 1,763-659 record (.728) with the Twins. … Vanessa Shippy (Oklahoma State, Lake City HS softball) – Idaho Gatorade High School Softball Player of the Year in 2004, when she hit .622 and stole 31 bases; 3x All-American in college; 2x Big 12 Conference Player of the Year; career .404 hitter in college. … Alli Nieman (Idaho, Sandpoint HS basketball, volleyball) – All-state in high school basketball 4x and All-Big West Conference in college basketball 4x; two decades after graduating from Idaho, she remains the school’s career leader in points and rebounds; also starred in volleyball at Sandpoint and played volleyball as a freshman at Idaho. … Roger Boesel (Central Washington, EWU, Brewster HS basketball) – Boesel had his moments as a college player, but how do you top winning 82 straight games (still the state record) and three consecutive state B titles when he played for Brewster in the mid-70s? … Deb Copenhaver (Wilbur) – Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer was crowned the pro saddle bronc riding champion in 1955 and ’56. … Corey Baerlocher (Colfax HS girls basketball) – Won eight state titles and posted a 397-108 (.786) record in 18 years; attended Prairie HS in Cottonwood, Idaho.

Rod Funseth (PGA Tour, North Central HS golf) – Tied for second, 1 stroke behind Hall of Famer Gary Player, at the 1978 Masters; three PGA Tour victories … Shawn Amos (Coeur d’Alene HS football) – The Moscow HS graduate has won three state championships in 26 years as coach of the Vikings. … Van Troxel (Lake City HS football) – Another Moscow HS grad, Troxel coached the Timberwolves during the school’s first 22 years (1994-2015); 2x state champion. … Bill Frazier (G-Prep football, baseball) – Yet ANOTHER Moscow HS graduate who excelled in coaching at an area high school; coached Prep football and baseball for 34 years; won 16 baseball titles and 15 football titles in the Spokane City League (now the GSL); four unbeaten football teams; 1971 baseball club finished 29-3. … Wayne Gilman (Ferris HS boys basketball) – Gilman posted a 347-113 (.754) record in 18 years at Ferris; won state in 1993-94; lost state title game four times; attended Mary Walker HS in Springdale.

Ken Hobart (CFL, USFL, Idaho, Kamiah HS) – Came to Idaho as a walk-on, then helped coach Dennis Erickson transform Idaho into an NCAA Division I-AA powerhouse; Hobart earned first-team All-America honors in 1983, when he led I-AA with 3,618 passing yards and 32 touchdown passes. … Ron Adams (Spokane Stars girls youth basketball) – The former Central Valley HS star coached or organized teams that helped raise the caliber of girls play in the region; a steady stream of Stars went on to play for Division I schools or other colleges. … Nick Menegas (Post Falls HS and Lewiston HS football) – The Shadle Park HS and EWU graduate coached four NFL players and 44 college players; won state championships at Lewiston in 1993 and 1996. … Ron Brooks (Shadle Park HS baseball) – Coaching record of 426-348 (.550) in 37 years at his alma mater; two state semifinals; produced more than 60 college players; dedicated supporter of local baseball.