INW Hall of Fame selects four

Idaho football star and NFL quarterback John Friesz is one of four who will be inducted into the 2009 class of the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame.

Friesz, coaches Irene Matlock and Roy Graffis and contributor Jon Heimbigner will be inducted Oct. 13 during a luncheon in the Veterans Memorial Arena.

Joining them on the Hall Scroll of Honor are volleyball official Dale Goodwin and WSU women’s administrator Marcia Saneholtz.

Open to the public, ceremonies begin at 10:30 in the Hall of Fame wing, followed by a no-host social hour and induction at 11:45 a.m. Bud Nameck is master of ceremonies.

Inductions are every two years. This will be the fourth held at the Arena. It is put on by the Hall of Fame committee, the Spokane Regional Sports Commission and Public Facilities District. Rosauer’s Super Markets is major sponsor.

“Two things stand out,” said Heimbigner, who has chaired the hall committee for 27 years. “It is the standout quality and that we only get to pick four every other year. It’s a tough process.”

Friesz played three sports at Coeur d’Alene High, leading the Vikings to a state title in football. While at the University of Idaho, he won the Walter Payton Award as Divison I-AA player of the year and went on to a National Football League career.

Matlock’s volleyball coaching career began at Sandpoint after playing for the University of Washington. While at Commuity Colleges of Spokane, she won more than 700 matches and made 19 postseason appearances before concluding with an interim season at Eastern Washington University.

Graffis became the first Washington coach to win both a boys and girls state basketball championship, also coached two state football champions while teaching in Oakesdale and Columbia in Hunters in a 38-year small-schools career.

Heimbigner has organized, administered and participated athletically as driving force behind the INW Hall of Fame, with State B basketball, Spokane Regional Sports Commission and its annual Youth Awards Luncheon. He is member of CCS, EWU and two softball halls of fame.

Goodwin, head of public information at Gonzaga University, has officiated volleyball for 29 years, working six NCAA Division 1 national championships. He is in the Professional Association of Volleyball Officials National Hall of Fame.

Saneholtz retired in 2008 after 29 years as senior associate athletic director and administrator at WSU. She spearheaded the push that has brought numerous NCAA tournaments to Spokane and helped guide the unification of the Cougars athletic programs into one department.