North Idaho Hall of Fame trying again with four inductees for 2021 banquet

COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho – One year later, they're trying again.

Two former all-around multiple sports athletes join two former University of Idaho football players as this year’s inductees to the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame, officials announced.

Former North Idaho College and Washington State University basketball and football player Dick Schultz and former Coeur d’Alene High and University of Montana standout Ann Jaworski (nee Schwenke) join former UI football players Jason Shelt and Robert Young as the four honorees.

Originally, the four were scheduled to be inducted into the Hall in 2020, but the event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead, the four will be inducted during the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet, which is set for Saturday, April 17, at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. Tickets for the banquet, which also features the North Idaho High School Awards, are $29.43 and must be purchased online at www.nihof.org and clicking on “Purchase Tickets” brown button in the lower left area.

Tickets are on a first-come, first-serve basis and social distancing and other safety guidelines will be followed at the Resort.

Schultz graduated from Lakeland High in 1964 where he lettered three years in football, basketball, baseball and track. He was voted all-state in football and qualified for state in the high jump. Following graduation, he walked on to play basketball at North Idaho College and was captain of the team his second year when the club went 26-2-1. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard averaged 15 points per game and led the team to the regional title. He was named co-captain of the All-West Region Junior College Team.

He also played shortstop on the NIC baseball team and excelled in the javelin, triple jump and high jump in track. He was inducted into the NIC Hall of Fame in 2015.

After NIC, Schultz played basketball for two seasons for legendary coaches Marv Harshman and Jud Heathcote at WSU where the team finished second to UCLA in the Pac-8 standings. After his senior year, he still had one year of eligibility remaining and decided to play on the Cougar football team where as a defensive back he led the club in interceptions.

Schultz later went on to coach and teach 35 years at the high school level, winning a state football title in 1980. He retired in 2004.

Jaworski was a three-sport standout in volleyball, basketball and softball at Coeur d’Alene High where she earned numerous all-Inland Empire League honors. She helped the Vikings win their only state volleyball title in school history in 1987. She eventually chose the University of Montana in 1988 to continue her volleyball career.

Jaworski was a four-year starter as a setter for the Grizzlies and earned the Big Sky Conference MVP award her final season when UM won the conference title. She was first-team all-league as well as an AVCA All-Region second-team selection during her junior and senior seasons. She was also a Big Sky all-tournament team selection her final two years.

Montana posted an 87-31 record during her four years there. As a freshman, Jaworski earned honorable mention all-Big Sky honors, and eventually was a two-time academic all-conference selection as well as the school’s conference scholar-athlete during her senior year.

Her name is dotted throughout the Grizzlies’ record book. She is the program’s all-time assist leader with 4,650 and she also is tops in assists per set at 11.05. She holds the single-match school record for assists with 98 and she has four of the top five single-match assist marks, also recording 78 assists twice and 77 once during a match. She also ranks both fourth and fifth for single season assist totals at the school.

Shelt played linebacker at Idaho during 1992-97 and is the program’s second-leading all-time tackler with 461. He led the team in tackles three of the four seasons he played and was chosen as the team’s Defensive MVP in both 1993 and ’96. He also was a first-team all-Big West Conference selection in 1996 and a second-team all-Big Sky pick in 1993.

Shelt took over as the Vandals’ starting middle linebacker in the season opener of his freshman year after an injury to another player. He was named both the national Division I-AA and Big Sky Player of the Week for his performance against Utah when the Vandals knocked off the Utes 28-17. In that game, Shelt finished with a game-high 20 tackles and an interception. He finished his freshman year with 148 tackles, which tied him for the second-highest total at UI in a single season.

After a knee injury forced him to redshirt during the 1994 season, he came back strong during his final two seasons. He made 128 tackles and tied for team-high honors in interceptions with two during his senior year. He finished his career with seven interceptions and six fumble recoveries.

Both Shelt and Jaworski will join their fathers in the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame. John Shelt was inducted into the Hall three years ago, while longtime Coeur d’Alene High softball coach and athletic director Larry Schwenke was inducted in 2009.

Young played for the Vandals during 1965-68 and was the backup to Ray McDonald at running back during his sophomore year. He led the team in rushing his final season with 979 yards on 206 carries for an average of 4.8 yards per carry. He also scored three touchdowns.

He won several honors for his senior season, including first-team all-Big Sky Conference, the Idaho Inspirational Award as voted on by his teammates, the Vandal Booster Top Offensive Back of the Year, and the coach’s Kicker Award for being the top hustler on the kickoff team. He was co-captain of the squad, which wound up tied with Weber State for the Big Sky title. He was the team’s Player of the Game for his effort against Idaho State as well.

He signed a free-agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was cut before the start of the season. He then signed and played with the Spokane Shockers semi-pro team and spent a half season with the Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League.

The finalists for the awards will be named in the next week.

For more information on the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame or the banquet, contact Rick Rasmussen at Rick.Rasmussen@surgerypartners.com or 208 699-7495.