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TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2019
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A8
Jennings places fourth in the javelin at national meet
His top throw of
173-1 came on
his fi rst attempt
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Sam
Jennings did not burst onto the
high school track scene leav-
ing opponents in his wake. It
took a good four months for
that to happen.
As a freshman at Pend-
leton High School, Jennings
debuted for the Bucks at their
intrasquad meet March 21. He
threw the javelin 77 feet, 6
inches.
Jennings
u n le a s h e d
a throw of
173-1
on
Sunday to
place fourth
in the 15-16
Jennings
age
divi-
sion at the USATF National
Junior Olympic Track and
Field Championships in
Sacramento.
“It was pretty cool,” Jen-
nings said of the experience.
“I have thrown against the
top three before, so we have a
friendship.”
Dash Sirmon of Walla
Walla won the event with a
toss of 188-5.
Jennings qualifi ed for the
event with a personal best
throw of 182-8½ at the Region
13 Championships the fi rst
week of July at Mt. Tahoma
High School in Tacoma.
Jennings’ top throw was
his fi rst of the competition.
“I don’t know what was
wrong,” he said. “It was an off
day. One day you hit your PR,
the other you are lucky to get
what I got. I will have plenty
of chances to compete against
Dash.”
Ben Bradley, who helps
coach Jennings, watched the
live stream of the competition.
“He had couple of good
throws, but not his best,”
Bradley said. “He fi nished
where he was ranked going
in. It’s impressive to come out
at the end of the season with
a 182, and being consistent
between 170-175. He has such
a bright future.”
Jennings made a big splash
at the 5A State Track and Field
Championships in May, plac-
ing fourth with a toss of 181-7
inches at Mt. Hood Commu-
nity College.
The Pendleton school
record is 186-10, set by Geoff
Herd in 2009.
“We were teammates in
high school,” Bradley said of
Herd. “He was impressive,
but I think Sam will take that
record down next season.”
That is the plan.
“I had no idea I would be
so close to breaking the school
record my fi rst season,” Jen-
nings said. “That is my goal
for next year.”
He’d also like to go up
against the top throwers in the
Northwest at the Nike/Jesuit
Twilight Relays. He had an
invite this spring, but was not
able to go.
“I want to go and compete
against the 6A schools,” he
said. “The best throwers are
there.”
Central Catholic’s Joseph
Nizich won the Nike/Jesuit
title in May with a toss of 203-
11. He later won the 6A state
title with a throw of 206-3.
NFL
GOODRICH
LASSOES
TITLE AT
NJHFR
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Met-
calf makes a catch Monday during training
camp in Renton, Wash.
Metcalf
settling into
fi rst Seattle
camp
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Gator Goodrich of Stanfi eld won the National Junior High Finals Rodeo ribbon roping title in June, and his horse Goldilocks
took home Horse of the Year honors.
Stanfield teen wins
ribbon roping title, and
his horse Goldilocks
earns top award
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
G
ator Goodrich has
had a rope in his hand
since he was 3 years
old.
He’s
lassoed
everything from the
family cat to the patio
furniture, which did
not stand a chance
once the young cow-
boy had it trussed up (there is video
evidence).
Goodrich’s perseverance paid off
in late June when the Stanfi eld teen
won the ribbon roping title at the
National Junior High Finals Rodeo
in Huron, S.D.
“It was really cool,” Goodrich
said. “I was nervous in the fi nals.
About 5 minutes before I ran, I
knew I couldn’t make any mis-
takes. Not enough breathing room
to make any mistakes.”
In ribbon roping, one partner
ropes the steer, while the other runs
out, takes the ribbon off the animal’s
tail and returns to the starting box.
In this case, Goodrich roped the
steer, while his partner Adriene Stef-
fen, of Sisters, retrieved the ribbon.
Goodrich and his partner got off
to a good start at nationals with a run
of 10.17 seconds in the fi rst round.
They followed up with an 8.84 run
to reach the fi nals.
“We had a huge lead going into
the fi nals on everyone but one team,”
Goodrich said. “We had a 0.3-sec-
ond lead on them. They missed, and
I fi gured we need a 13-something to
win.”
Goodrich, 14, and Steffens turned
in a time of 11.73 seconds for the
title.
“We got the start we wanted, and
he went to the right,” Goodrich said.
“I held him steady so she could get
the ribbon.”
The champions in each event
receive a saddle, buckle and a trea-
sure trove of other items.
But Goodrich’s fortunes did not
end there.
His horse, Goldilocks, 18, was
named the AQHA Boys Horse of
the Year. Goldilocks is used to the
limelight, having performed at the
Pendleton Round-Up with ropers
Tuf Cooper, Trevor Brazile, and
Goodrich’s dad, Brad.
This honor brought Goodrich
another saddle and a scholarship.
“She is really good,” he said.
A busy week
Though Goodrich placed in just
one event, he qualifi ed for nationals
in fi ve and competed in four.
He also competed in goat typing,
tie-down roping, chute dogging and
team roping. He opted not to com-
pete in the shooting event.
At state, he won the goat tying
and tie-down roping, was second in
chute dogging and ribbon roping,
and was third in team roping. He was
the reserve all-around champion.
He had a couple of tough runs at
nationals, including in his signature
event — tie-down roping.
“I missed one, and that brought
everything down,” Goodrich said.
As Goodrich moves to the high
school level this next year, he will
continue with tie-down roping, team
roping and steer wrestling.
A family affair
Goodrich was just 6 months old
See Rodeo, Page A9
RENTON, Wash. — Because of the posi-
tion he plays, his slide during the NFL draft
and the team that selected him, DK Metcalf
has spent the offseason in the spotlight.
As much as he’s trying to avoid drawing
the same kind of attention during his fi rst
training camp with the Seattle Seahawks,
the 6-foot-4, 229-pound rookie receiver
can’t shake it. Fans are already showing up
for practices wearing No. 14 jerseys, even
though Metcalf hasn’t caught a single pass
in an NFL game. Coach Pete Carroll even
joked that there is a Metcalf jersey hanging
in the coaches’ locker room.
“I was a nobody at one point in my life,”
Metcalf said Monday. “I’ve just got to keep
that same mentality.”
There’s a reason for all the excitement.
Metcalf’s pre-draft workouts, where he ran
a 4.33 40-yard dash, sent the league buzz-
ing. Then his fall in the draft got even more
attention. Expected to potentially go in the
fi rst round, Metcalf ended up being selected
with the 64th pick in the second round after
Seattle traded up, hoping to acquire the kind
of target it has longed to add to its passing
game — big, physical and bruising.
“He’s worthy of it. He’s an extraordinary
athlete and what a tremendous addition to
our club,” Carroll said.
Metcalf was among the Seattle receiv-
ers who spent time in Southern Califor-
nia before the start of training camp work-
ing out every day with quarterback Russell
Wilson. In fact, Metcalf came in a week ear-
lier than many of the others and was using
the fi elds at UCLA as the sun was rising.
“He wants to learn. I mean, we were get-
ting up at 5:30, working out at UCLA at
5:45, me and him the week before,” Wilson
said.
The goal of the workouts was for Wil-
son and Metcalf to accelerate the acclima-
tion process. Wilson already has a feel for
what Tyler Lockett, Jaron Brown and David
Moore are going to do in certain situations
because they’ve been together at least one
season.
“I think it’s important to make sure you
spend that time with certain guys and try
to build those one-on-one relationships,”
Wilson said. “DK, being the guy that he is
and the position he got drafted in, there’s a
lot of high expectations on him and letting
him know that hey, we are here to do every-
thing we can to make you the best player
you could possibly be. The great thing is he
makes it easy on us because he wants to put
the work in.”