B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Saturday, May 15, 2021
Oregon, Ohio State will be FOX’s
‘Big Noon’ kickoff game on Sept. 11
Eugene Register Guard
EUGENE — Oregon
football’s game at Ohio
State on Sept. 11 will kick
off at 9 a.m. in the “Big
Noon” broadcast window
on Fox, the net work
announced on Thursday,
May 13.
The Ducks and Buckeyes
were scheduled to meet at
Autzen Stadium last season,
but that game was canceled
because of the COVID-
19 pandemic as both the
Pac-12 and Big Ten played
conference-only schedules.
Both teams won their
respective conference titles
for the second consecutive
season last year. The Buck-
eyes went 7-1 last season
and didn’t lose until fall-
ing to Alabama 52-24 in
the College Football Play-
off national championship
game.
Ohio State will be seek-
ing its fi fth straight Big Ten
title, but will do so with
a new quarterback after
Justin Fields went in the
fi rst round of the NFL draft
to the Chicago Bears.
O r ego n a n d O h io
Jennings:
Continued from Page B1
Ea rlier t h is week ,
Jennings ordered a Nordic
Valhalla 800 Medium NXS
javelin from a company in
Sweden. It’s designed for
throwers who are less tech-
nical, but more powerful.
It’s a little forgiving, allow-
ing throwers to make minor
technical errors without
aff ecting their throw.
The NXS — Next Gener-
ation Sharp — tip is made
for maximum lift in all wind
conditions.
“I’m still not extremely
technical with my throwing,”
Jennings said. “This one has
a medium to hard core and it
won’t destroy me.”
His new javelin set him
back $1,200, with shipping.
“The original plan was I
was going to buy it myself
before summer,” Jennings
said. “My mom said we
should start a GoFundMe,
and the next thing I know my
brother (Perry) set it up, and
my sister-in-law wrote a nice
thing to go with it. That saves
me a lot of lawns to mow.”
Through games played May 13
MEN’S COLLEGE
BASKETBALL
NWAC EAST DIVISION
Team
Wenatchee Valley
North Idaho
Walla Walla
Columbia Basin
Big Bend
Yakima Valley
Spokane
Treasure Valley
Blue Mountain
League Overall
8-1
8-1
4-1
4-1
4-2
4-3
3-2
4-2
3-4
3-5
2-3
3-3
3-6
3-6
2-4
2-4
0-6
0-6
WOMEN’S COLLEGE
BASKETBALL
NWAC EAST DIVISION
Team
Big Bend
Walla Walla
Spokane
Treasure Valley
Wenatchee Valley
Columbia Basin
North Idaho
Yakima Valley
Blue Mountain
College baseball
League Overall
8-0
8-0
7-1
7-1
5-2
6-2
3-2
3-2
3-3
3-3
3-6
3-6
1-2
1-3
1-6
1-6
0-9
0-9
NWAC EAST DIVISION
Sean Meagher/The Oregonian, File
Oregon’s Jevon Holland (8) during a game against California in Eugene in October 2019.
Fox announced that Oregon’s game with Ohio State will kick off at 9 a.m. on Sept. 11,
2021, in the “Big Noon” broadcast window.
State last met in the CFP
national championship
game following the 2014
season when the Buck-
eyes downed Marcus Mari-
ota and company 42-20 in
Arlington, Texas. That was
the fi rst year of the College
Football Playoff .
The Ducks, who went
4-3 last year after losing
34-17 to Iowa State in the
Fiesta Bowl, will open the
2021 season at home against
Fresno State on Sept. 4.
Before the GoFundMe
could get any traction, a
kind benefactor stepped up
and gave Jennings the funds
he needed to place the order
now.
“My mom pulled out a
bunch of money one day
and said Grandpa (Howard
Rowell) wanted to pitch
in,” Jennings said. “That’s
Grandpa, he likes to help out,
and have things to brag to his
friends about.”
Rowell is getting a lot of
mileage out of his grandson
this spring.
The GoFundMe account,
https://gofund.me/7b7d8fec,
which has raised $380 in two
days, still is viable. He plans
to use the funds to help with
travel costs to Junior Nation-
als.
“Everyone in this town
knows Sam,” Bowden said.
“He has a lot of support
behind him.”
school, Jennings picked
up a regulation javelin and
found that he had a talent for
making it fl y.
“It is the weirdest event,”
he said. “I don’t know why I
started throwing it.”
Bowden said Jennings is
a natural.
“He is the most advanced
javelin thrower we have
had in a really long time,”
Bowden said. “It’s a blast to
work with him. It’s rare to
fi nd athletes in high school
who have that drive to do
things outside of school. He
throws in the summer and
went to the Junior Olympics
and placed fourth.”
When COVID shut every-
thing down, Bowden wasn’t
able to work with Jennings,
nor was Jennings able to
throw on school grounds.
He threw at the park near his
home, but it wasn’t the same
without the runway.
“With COVID, he ended
up taking almost a year off ,”
Bowden said. “When he
jumped back into it, I was
afraid he would go from
his 180 at to state to a lower
number. He never did.”
Adding in sprints and
working with the Bucks’
relay teams has helped
Jennings with his throwing.
It keeps him from throwing
all day, and it has improved
his speed on the runway.
“That has helped him so
much with his approach,”
Bowden said. “I told him
he couldn’t be a one-event
athlete. His friends were
doing the relay and he
wanted to do it too. He is fast
and has beautiful technique.
He put the speed he learned
on the track into his throw-
ing and that has benefi ted
him so much. He is going to
do whatever he can to get to
200 feet. He is his own moti-
vation.”
Jennings’ throw of 198-11
ranks first in Oregon and
eighth in the nation. He and
Jack Olsen (199-3) of Olym-
pia, Washington, are the only
throwers west of the Missis-
sippi River on the nation’s
top 10 list.
The top mark in the nation
this year is 211-0¼.
“It’s hard not to look
at it,” Jennings said of the
rankings. “Being No. 1 in
the state is pretty cool. Being
ranked in the nation is the
biggest thing I have achieved
so far.”
Hard work pays off
Jennings first threw a
javelin in middle school. In
that age group, they throw a
turbo javelin, which is half
the length of a regulation
javelin.
When he got to high
Pac-12:
Continued from Page B1
a significant competitive
advantage for the Pac-12,”
he said.
Kliavkoff, a for mer
Boston University rower,
has also served on the Board
of Governors of the WNBA.
Scott announced in Janu-
ary he would be stepping
down at the end of June.
The Pac-12 said the change
in leadership was mutually
agreed upon by Scott and
the university presidents,
but it had become appar-
ent that his term was likely
to end before his contract
expired in June 2022.
Scott’s 11-year tenure
as commissioner began
with the conference land-
ing a transformational
billion-dollar television
LOCAL STANDINGS
Ralph Freso/Associated Press, File
The Pac-12 logo is displayed on the fi eld at Sun Devil Stadi-
um during an NCAA college football game between Arizo-
na State and Kent State in Tempe, Ariz., on Aug. 29, 2019.
deal, but the Pac-12 strug-
gled to keep up with some
of its Power Five conference
peers when it came to reve-
nue and exposure.
The Pac-12 launched a
television network under
Scott, but it never became
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT:
www.EastOregonian.com
a cash cow like those in the
Big Ten and Southeastern
Conference.
Scott, who came to the
Pac-12 from the Women’s
Tennis Association, was
often criticized for being
out of touch with campus-
level decision makers in
college sports and over-
spending on the conference
offi ce.
Kliavkoff takes over as
commissioner with Pac-12
football struggling to assert
itself nationally.
The conference has only
placed a team in the College
Football Playoff twice since
the CFP began in 2014.
Scott began pushing for
playoff expansion late in his
tenure, and now it seems to
be heading in that direction.
“My work on football
will begin with meetings
with athletic directors and
coaches, and with my new
colleagues at the conference
offi ces,” Kliavkoff said. “I
believe personally the solu-
tion to elevating Pac-12
football is a combination
of addressing the structural
issues and a more focused
approach on recruiting.”
Team
Spokane
Yakima Valley
Big Bend
Columbia Basin
Wenatchee Valley
Treasure Valley
Walla Walla
Blue Mountain
College softball
League Overall
18-2
25-5
17-7
17-7
11-5
12-8
12-6
16-10
6-12
6-12
6-14
6-14
2-10
2-10
2-18
2-20
NWAC EAST DIVISION
Team
North Idaho
Walla Walla
Big Bend
Treasure Valley
Columbia Basin
Yakima Valley
Wenatchee Valley
Spokane
Blue Mountain
League Overall
19-4
20-4
14-4
18-4
5-5
5-9
8-12
10-16
6-10
6-10
4-7
7-12
4-12
4-12
3-9
4-13
0-0
0-0
COLLEGE MEN’S
SOCCER
NWAC EAST DIVISION
Team
Blue Mountain
Wenatchee Valley
North Idaho
Columbia Basin
Spokane
Treasure Valley
Walla Walla
League Overall
6-0-2
6-0-2
3-3-2
3-3-2
3-3-1
3-4-1
2-3-1
3-3-1
1-2-2
1-2-2
0-4-0
0-4-0
0-0-0
0-0-0
COLLEGE WOMEN’S
SOCCER
NWAC EAST DIVISION
Team
Walla Walla
Columbia Basin
Spokane
Blue Mountain
Yakima Valley
North Idaho
Treasure Valley
Wenatchee Valley
League Overall
5-2-4
5-2-4
5-2-2
5-2-2
3-0-3
3-0-3
4-3-0
4-3-0
2-3-3
2-3-3
1-4-2
1-4-2
0-6-0
0-6-0
0-0-0
0-0-0
PREP BASEBALL
5A INTERMOUNTAIN
CONFERENCE
Team
Pendleton
Hood River Valley
Redmond
League Overall
9-0
11-3
7-2
9-4
4-4
5-7
The Dalles
Ridgeview
Crook County
3-6
2-6
1-8
3-11
2-11
1-11
3A SPECIAL DISTRICT 5
Team
Burns
Nyssa
Vale
Umatilla
Riverside
Irrigon
Wallowa Valley
League Overall
4-2
6-7
3-3
3-8
2-4
3-9
1-0
7-7
1-1
5-7
1-2
6-4
0-0
10-2
2A/1A SPECIAL DISTRICT 7
Team
League Overall
Heppner/Ione
3-0
12-1
Dufur/South Wasco Co. 3-1
9-1
Weston-McEwen
3-1
5-6
Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii/
Ukiah
3-3
9-4
Sherman/Arlington/
Condon
2-2
6-5
Stanfi eld/Echo
1-2
4-10
Grant Union/Prairie City 1-2
2-9
Union/Cove
1-3
1-9
Adrian
0-0
0-1
Lyle/Wishram/
Klickitat/Trout Lake
0-3
1-12
Glenwood
0-0
0-0
PREP SOFTBALL
5A INTERMOUNTAIN
CONFERENCE
Team
League Overall
Pendleton
8-0
12-1
Ridgeview
5-3
8-5
Hood River Valley
5-4
8-6
Crook County
4-5
6-7
The Dalles/Dufur/
Sherman/Wasco Co.
3-6
5-8
Redmond
0-7
0-11
3A SPECIAL DISTRICT 2
Team
Burns
Nyssa
Vale
Wallowa Valley
Riverside
Umatilla
Crane
Irrigon
League Overall
5-0
9-1
2-3
2-10
1-5
3-10
0-0
9-4
0-0
3-6
0-0
0-13
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
2A/1A-SD6 SPECIAL DISTRICT 6
Team
League Overall
Stanfi eld/Echo
4-1
10-5
Grant Union/Prairie City 3-1
9-2
Union/Cove
3-1
9-3
Weston-McEwen
1-2
8-5
Heppner/Ione
0-2
4-8
Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii
0-4
4-9
Adrian
0-0
0-0
Elgin
0-0
0-0
PREP BOYS
BASKETBALL
4A/3A MID-COLUMBIA
Team
Kamiakin
Hanford
Kennewick
Walla Walla
Richland
Pasco
Chiawana
Southridge
Hermiston
League Overall
2-0
2-0
1-0
1-0
1-0
1-0
1-1
1-1
1-1
1-1
0-0
0-0
0-1
0-1
0-1
0-1
0-2
0-2
PREP GIRLS
BASKETBALL
4A/3A MID-COLUMBIA
Team
Kamiakin
Kennewick
Pasco
Richland
Hanford
Southridge
Chiawana
Walla Walla
Hermiston
League Overall
2-0
2-0
1-0
1-0
1-0
1-0
1-0
1-0
1-1
1-1
0-1
0-1
0-1
0-1
0-1
0-1
0-2
0-2
ON THE SLATE
Times subject to change
MONDAY, MAY 17
SATURDAY, MAY 15
College men’s basketball
Columbia Basin at Blue Mountain,
5:30 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Hermiston at Richland, 1 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Richland at Hermiston, 5 p.m.
Prep baseball
Crook County at Pendleton (2), 11 a.m.
Union/Cove at McLoughlin (2), 11 a.m.
Riverside at Sherman/Arlington/Con-
don (2), noon
Grant Union/Prairie City at Weston-McE-
wen (2), 11 a.m.
Prep softball
Pendleton at Crook County (2), 11 a.m.
Union/Cove at Umatilla (2), 11 a.m.
Weston-McEwen at Grant Union/Prairie
City (2), 11 a.m.
Prep track and fi eld
IMC District Championships at Pendle-
ton, 11 a.m.
McLoughlin at GOL District Champion-
ships, Ontario, 10 a.m.
Griswold at Jo-Hi Invite, 11 a.m.
Prep wrestling
Hermiston at Hanford, 9 a.m.
College men’s soccer
Blue Mountain at Spokane, 5:15 p.m.
College women’s soccer
Blue Mountain at Spokane, 3 p.m.
SUNDAY, MAY 16
College baseball
Yakima Valley at Blue Mountain (2),
1 p.m.
“Scramble for Scholarships”
Friday, June 11th
TUESDAY, MAY 18
Prep boys basketball
Southridge at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Irrigon at McLoughlin, 7:30 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m.
Riverside at Stanfi eld, 7:30 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, TBD
Condon/Wheeler at Echo, 7:30 p.m.
Sherman at Ione/Arlington, 7:30 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Hermiston at Southridge, 7 p.m.
Irrigon at McLoughlin, 6 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Umatilla, 6 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, TBD
Condon/Wheeler at Echo, 6 p.m.
Sherman at Ione/Arlington, 6 p.m.
Prep bowling
Hermiston at Southridge, 2 p.m.
College men’s basketball
Big Bend at Blue Mountain, 7:30 p.m.
College women’s basketball
Big Bend at Blue Mountain, 5:30 p.m.
College volleyball
Blue Mountain at Big Bend (2), 5 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19
Prep boys basketball
Griswold at Umatilla JV, 6 p.m.
Baker at Nixyaawii, 7:30 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Baker at Nixyaawii, 6 p.m.
Prep baseball
TBA at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m. (loser out)
College women’s soccer
Walla Walla at Blue Mountain, 2 p.m.
OVERSTOCK TREE
SALE
1pm Shotgun Start
Big River Golf Course - Umatilla
Golfers of all skill levels are invited to participate in the 28th annual
“Scramble for Scholarships” golf tournament. Four person teams
can sign up together or individual pairings can be made by the
tournament committee. Your $70 entry fee covers green fees,
a box lunch, and makes a charitable donation to the foundation
to use in awarding scholarships to local medical students.
Register at gschfscramble.eventbrite.com or call
541-667-3405. Entry deadline is June 9th.
Great prize holes and Hole-in-one on #1 & #9
WINS $25,000 towards a new car sponsored by
ROGERS TOYOTA of HERMISTON
$ 175
ea.
3 or more $150 ea.
Autumn Blaze &
Red 1 Sunset
Maple
1/2” - 2” Diameter
AL PHILLIPS
DON JORGENSEN
541-571-8572 541-980-6042
IRRIGON, OR
Oregon Dept. of Agriculture #AG-L 1042745ND