Post sports columnist Phil Mushnick was named yesterday New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

It’s the sixth time since 1997 the NSSA has so honored The Post’s TV sports columnist.

“I think it goes to the first person whose dues check clears,” Mushnick said jokingly.

Also honored were CBS’s Jim Nantz as National Sportscaster of the Year and WNBC TV’s Bruce Beck as New York State Sportscaster of the Year.

The awards are voted on by peers. Presentations will be made May 3 in Salisbury, N.C., site of the NSSA Hall of Fame.