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TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2022
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A10
Jennings hits best throw in the nation at La Grande Invite
Pendleton javelin
thrower breaks
own school record
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
LA GRANDE — Pend-
leton’s Sam Jen n i ngs
unleashed a throw of 209
feet, 5 inches to win the jave-
lin event by more than 70 feet
on Friday, April 8, at the La
Grande Invite.
The throw was the best
in the nation this spring, and
Jennings also broke his own
school record of 198-11, set
on April 30, 2021.
“He was throwing into
the wind and still threw
209,” Pendleton coach Larry
Brizendine said. “He hit that
on his fi rst throw. It was 40 to
50 feet out of the fl agged-in
area.”
Jennings said it was all
about timing the wind.
“It would stop blowing
for like 30 seconds,” he said.
“Once the wind gets a hold of
it, you aren’t getting it back. I
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Pendleton’s Sam Jennings had a winning javelin throw of 209 feet, 5 inches on Friday, April 8,
2022, at the La Grande Invitational. Jennings’ mark is the longest in the nation this spring.
was hoping for a little more,
but the conditions weren’t
ideal for big throws. I was
happy to get over 200 feet.”
The Pendleton boys won
the team title with 152 points,
followed by Baker (73),
College Place (65) and host
La Grande (62).
“We had a fantastic day,”
Brizendine said. “It was a
cold, windy day and they
still did a whole bunch of
good stuff .”
Starting with senior Drew
Reyburn, who won the 300
hurdles in a time of 43.76
seconds. He also was fourth
in the 110 hurdles (18.65).
“Drew just absolutely
exploded today,” Brizendine
said. “He was really good
in the 300s. We were really
strong in the hurdles today.”
So phomo r e Nat h a n
Neveau won the shot put with
a mark of 45-7 ¼, and was
second in the discus (137-2).
Both marks were personal
bests.
Pe n d l e t o n’s B r o c k
Mackey won the 200 (23.66),
was third in the 100 (11.73),
and ran the second leg on the
4x100 relay team (46.51) that
placed second to Baker by a
half step.
Nolan Mead of Pendle-
ton cleared 6 feet to win the
high jump, and had a leap of
18-5 ¾ to fi nish second in the
long jump. Teammate Ben
Jennings was third in the
long jump (18-3 ¾) seventh
in the triple jump (36-3 ½).
James Thatcher added a
second-place fi nish in the 800
(2:06.38) for the Bucks, while
Trey Boston was second in
the 400 (53.69).
Mac-Hi’s Johnny Koklich
ran a personal best 11.70 to
NO HOLDING HER BACK
place second in the 100,
and was seventh in the 200
(24.55).
In the girls’ meet, Pend-
leton won the team title with
122.5 points, followed by
Baker (95.5) and La Grande
(88).
Pendleton’s Reilly Lover-
check won the 100 hurdles
(17.09), the 300 hurdles
(48.58) by almost 4 seconds,
and soared to victory in the
long jump with a mark of
16-2 — a foot better than
teammate Muriel Hoising-
ton, who was second.
Kelsey Lovercheck won
the 200 (27.32), and led a
parade of three Pendleton
pole vaulters with a height of
9 feet. Julia Naughton (8-0)
was second, and Shaelynn
Silva (7-6) was third.
Pendleton’s Jamie Gau
won the high jump at 4-10.
Stanfi eld/Echo’s Jacque
Kerns had a busy, yet
productive day. She placed
second in the high jump
(4-8), was third in the 400
with a personal best time of
1:05.54, and she fi nished fi fth
in the long jump (14-6).
ON THE SLATE
Schedules are subject to change
TUESDAY, APRIL 12
Jenness to play
volleyball at
Thiel College
to watch the team play. I was still
hurt at the time.”
While Jenness played mostly
middle for the Bucks, she also has
played outside hitter, a position
she plays for her club team East-
ern Heat 18U.
“I’m playing outside for my
club team, and I think he (North)
wants me to play outside too. I like
outside a lot better.”
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
P
EN DLETON —
College volleyball
didn’t look too prom-
ising for Daisy Jenness
after she missed her senior year at
Pendleton High School.
The 5-foot-11 middle/outside
hitter tore her ACL on June 17,
2021, during the third quarter of a
basketball game against Redmond
and did not return.
She had surgery, went through
months of rehab, and was able
to play the last few games of her
senior year of basketball.
“At fi rst I didn’t think I would
be able to play college sports and
I kind of lost myself for a bit,”
Jenness said. “I was determined
to get back for basketball season.
I think I played fi ve games. The
doctor said I wouldn’t be able to
come back for basketball, but I got
to. I was excited to be back.”
College sports are now a real-
ity for Jenness, who recently
signed to play volleyball for Thiel
College in Greenville, Pennsyl-
vania.
“They found me through a
recruiting app I have,” Jenness
said. “The head coach (Tyler
North) reached out to me. I did a
lot of research when I got his text.”
Jenness made a visit to the
campus in December. It felt like
home, she said, minus the Pend-
leton Round-Up.
“It was really nice, but it was
cold,” Jenness said. “It was really
pretty. I am going so far away to
go to a town just like Pendleton.”
Thiel College is a private
A three-sport star
East Oregonian, File
Pendleton’s Daisy Jenness (9) leaps to hit the ball during the fi rst set
against Hermiston on March 11, 2021. Jenness has signed to play vol-
leyball at Thiel College in Pennsylvania.
liberal arts school with an enroll-
ment of about 800 students in the
heart of scenic northwest Penn-
sylvania. Volleyball is one of its
25 NCAA Division III varsity and
club sports.
The Tomcats play in the Pres-
idents’ Athletic Conference,
where they lost in the champion-
ship quarterfi nals last fall. They
finished 11-7 in PAC play and
11-19 overall.
“I liked the idea of going to a
small school,” said Jenness, who
plans to major in biology and
minor in journalism or Spanish.
“It seemed like a good place to
start. I got to go to an open gym
Jenness also is a talented
basketball and softball player, but
volleyball always has been her
favorite.
“I think volleyball has been my
favorite since I’ve been in high
school,” she said. “I wanted to play
in college. It will be sad not to play
basketball and softball. Going to a
school like Pendleton lets you be
able to try diff erent things. You
can play multiple sports and not
have to pick one or another.”
Jenness was named a second-
team Intermountain Conference
middle her sophomore and junior
volleyball seasons.
“She wanted to pursue volley-
ball and she made it happen,” said
former Pendleton volleyball coach
Amanda Lapp, who stepped down
after last season. “She’s put in a lot
of hard work coming back from
her injury, but she’s ready to dive
in.”
Despite missing the last three
games of her junior basketball
season, Jenness earned first-
team Intermountain Conference
honors.
This spring, she’s playing her
fourth year of softball for the
Bucks, who are 8-1 to start the
season. Jenness is hitting .346
with two doubles, one triple, one
home run and seven RBIs.
“I’m really liking it this year,”
said Jenness, who plays center fi eld.
“We have a pretty good team.”
Prep baseball
Irrigon at Umatilla, 4 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Riverside, 4 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Stanfi eld/Echo, 4 p.m.
Southridge at Hermiston, 4 p.m.
La Grande at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m.
Heppner at Grant Union, 4:30 p.m.
Prep softball
McLoughlin at Echo/Stanfi eld (2), 3 p.m.
Pendleton at La Grande, 4 p.m.
Irrigon at Umatilla, 4 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Riverside, 4 p.m.
College Place at Weston-McEwen, 4:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Kennewick, 5 p.m.
Boys soccer
Hermiston at Pasco, 7 p.m.
Prep tennis
Hermiston at Southridge, 4 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Ione/Heppner,
3:30 p.m.
Stanfi eld/Echo at McLoughlin, 4:30 p.m.
College softball
Blue Mountain at Columbia Basin (2), 2 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13
College baseball
Blue Mountain at Treasure Valley (2), noon
Prep tennis
Pendleton boys at The Dalles, 3 p.m.
The Dalles girls at Pendleton, 3 p.m.
Prep golf
Echo at Burns Invite, Valley Country Club,
TBD
Pendleton girls at Hood River, noon
THURSDAY, APRIL 14
Prep baseball
Pendleton JV at Heppner, 3 p.m.
Irrigon at La Grande JV, 4 p.m.
Prep softball
Pendleton JV at Irrigon, 4 p.m.
Boys soccer
Hermiston at Chiawana, 7 p.m.
Prep golf
Hermiston at MCC pod, Richland, 10:30 a.m.
Prep tennis
Weston-McEwen boys and girls at Pendle-
ton, 3 p.m.
Hanford at Hermiston, 4 p.m.
Riverside at Sherman, 4 p.m.
Stanfi eld/Echo at Arlington, 4:30 p.m.
Track and fi eld
Hermiston at River City Relays, Hanford,
TBD
Ione, Irrigon, Umatilla at Columbia River
Invitational, Riverside, 3:15 p.m.
SPORTS SHORT
Forfeit improves Bend semipro
indoor football team to 2-1
EO Media Group
R E DMON D — T h e
Oregon High Desert Storm
indoor semipro football team
improved its record to 2-1
after the SoCal Red Tails
forfeited the game Saturday,
April 9.
The Storm lost its season
opener March 26 at Pasco
against the Tri-City Rush
51-13, but then rebounded on
April 3 at home, defeating the
Washington Elite 58-20.
The Storm (2-1) play in
the American West Football
Conference, which this season
includes six teams: the Storm,
the Elite, the Rush, the Idaho
Horsemen, the Wenatchee
Valley Skyhawks, and the
SoCal Red Tails. The Red
Tails’ home arena is the Grand
Arena in the City of Industry,
California, east of Los Ange-
les.
The Storm is scheduled
to play nine regular season
games, the fi nal game slated
for June 18. Their next home
game is against the Rush on
April 30.
Tickets, a complete schedule
and more information are avail-
able at www.oregonstorm.com.
The Oregon High
Desert Storm’s
Parker Lapsley (22)
runs through the
Idaho Horsemen’s
defenders during
a semipro indoor
football playoff
game in 2021 in
Redmond. The
Storm is at 2-1 in
the new season
after the SoCal
Red Tails forfeited
Saturday, April 9,
2022.
Dean Guernsey/
The (Bend) Bulletin, File