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Coleman top pro athlete

New York Jets safety Erik Coleman celebrates an interception against the San Diego Chargers on Sept. 19. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
By Mike Vlahovich mikev@spokesman.com(509) 927-2180
New York Jets safety Erik Coleman celebrates an interception against the San Diego Chargers on Sept. 19. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Erik Coleman’s rookie season was a hit during the New York Jets’ National Football League playoff season.

Wednesday, he will receive the Inland Northwest Sportswriters and Broadcasters 2004 Professional Athlete of the Year Award during the 27th Spokane Regional Sports Commission Youth Awards Luncheon in the Ag Trade Center.

The lunch’s major sponsors are Bank of Whitman and State Farm Insurance. Many other area businesses help defray the cost of the annual lunch for area high school athletes in attendance.

SWABs Junior Awards winners will be announced in front of an audience of nearly 1,200 during the noon luncheon.

The SWABs senior winners will be recognized and several special awards will be presented, including the Rockwood Clinic Trainer of the Year.

Coleman, a Lewis and Clark graduate and Washington State University football standout, joins an otherwise basketball-heavy list among this year’s 2004 SWAB award winners.

Blake Stepp repeats as Amateur Male Athlete of the Year and his Gonzaga University men’s basketball Bulldogs are Team of the Year once more.

Amateur Female Athlete of the Year is University of Idaho basketball player Emily Faurholt from Idaho, and former Eastern Washington University men’s basketball coach Ray Giacoletti is Coach of the Year.

Coleman had a major impact with the Jets.

New York went 11-7 during the season, finishing second to Super Bowl champion New England in the AFC East and reached the second round of the AFC playoffs.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound safety led the Jets in interceptions with four and was third on the team with 100 tackles, 73 unassisted, during the regular season and had one fumble recovery.

He added 17 more tackles in the playoffs, second on the team and ninth among playoff individuals. Twelve of his tackles were unassisted during New York’s 20-17 wild-card win over San Diego and 20-17 loss in overtime to AFC North champion Pittsburgh.

Coleman was a fifth-round draft pick of the Jets out of WSU last spring. He worked his way into the starting lineup when a teammate suffered an injury and made the most of it.

Stepp was All-West Coast Conference Player of the Year for the second time and an Associated Press second-team All-American while averaging 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. He extended a run of GU basketball players to be voted SWABs Athlete of Year to five straight years.

Faurholt, from Kennewick and currently a junior at Idaho, was the nation’s leading scorer with a 25.4 average last season. Of late she’s been on a similar tear.

Gonzaga University compiled a 28-3 record and was ranked as high as second nationally last year before losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the school’s sixth straight tournament appearance, but first the Team of the Year award since 2001.

Giacoletti, now at Utah, where the Utes are 20-3 and unbeaten in conference, took EWU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Eagles went 69-50 during his four-year tenure and 41-17 in the Big Sky Conference.

The awards are voted on by more than 30 members of Inland Northwest media organizations.