E AST O REGONIAN
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
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Pendleton’s Sam Jennings throws the
javelin during the IMC District Track
and Field Championships on May 15,
2021, in Pendleton. Jennings has
signed to throw at BYU.
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
A10
SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS
Garton sets
record for
strikeouts
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
Jennings is ranked No. 1 in the nation, holds PHS javelin record
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
P
ENDLETON — Sam
Jennings spent a good
amount of time look-
ing at colleges and what
they had to off er.
Pendleton’s elite
javelin thrower knew
he found the right place at BYU, and the
fact that Provo, Utah, has a half dozen or so
miniature golf courses sweetened the deal.
“I took a trip to the University of
Oregon,” Jennings said. “The only words
to describe it, is the best. That’s what it is.
There was a lot to consider when there’s
a choice to be made. BYU was a better
fi t. I love Provo. I have visited a handful
of times in the past. I could see myself
living there. It’s green, it’s nice, they have
a million diff erent things to do and there
are like fi ve mini golf courses.”
Jennings, the No. 1-ranked prep jave-
lin thrower in the country this spring with
a throw of 209 feet, 5 inches at the La
Grande Invite on April 8, made a visit to
Provo in December.
His resume was quite impressive when
he arrived on campus.
Jennings’ personal best is 224-9 ¾,
thrown on July 10, 2021, at the USA Track
& Field Oregon Association Youth Track
and Field Championships in Portland.
Since it was out of season, the 209-5 stands
as the Pendleton school record.
“When I went to BYU, it was with a
bunch of other throwers,” Jennings said.
“We all ended up signing. I have never
had so much fun with a group of athletes.
I got to hang out with their (BYU) throws
group. I hope they are still there when I get
there. It is extremely exciting. I’m really
looking forward to it.”
One of those thrower is senior Cameron
Bates, who has thrown 225-3 ½ for BYU,
and is 24th in the college rankings this
spring.
Jennings will graduate from Pendleton
this spring, then will fulfi ll his mission for
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints before he dons the blue and white of
the BYU Cougars, where a full scholarship
awaits him.
He expects to get his mission letter in
the next few weeks.
“My availability date is July 17,”
Jennings said of his mission. “I will go
serve my mission, then come back and
throw. That’s the best part of BYU, their
“IT’S AN EXCITING
TIME. IT’S MY LAST
SEASON, I’D BETTER
ENJOY IT.”
— Sam Jennings, Pendleton high school
whole track team is returning missionaries.
I will be a freshman in college at 21 or 22.
I can’t imagine going straight from high
school to college with the wear and tear
on the body. There is a diff erence between
man strength and boy strength. I look at
what they (current BYU throwers) did in
high school and what they are doing now.”
Jennings plans to get a business degree
at BYU, and maybe a few other things.
“I want to study sports medicine and
sports science,” he said. “I thought coach-
ing would be fun.”
Pendleton’s fi nest
With his throw at the La Grande Invite,
Jennings broke his own school record of
198-11, which he set April 30, 2021.
“He is a great kid,” Pendleton coach
Larry Brizendine said. “He’s a once-in-
a-lifetime javelin thrower. He’s No. 1 in
the nation. It’s a source of pride. He was
OSAA Athlete of the Week. People might
look at Pendleton in a diff erent way. We are
the real deal over here.”
Geoff Herd previously held the school
record at 186-10, set in 2009.
Brizendine said Jennings is more than
an elite thrower. He is a true team guy.
“He was unanimously voted by the
coaches to be a team captain this year,”
Brizendine said. “He is not cocky or arro-
gant. You would not know he was the
top thrower in the nation. After we won
districts last year, he said ‘Briz, let’s go do
it again.’ ”
Jennings is not one to follow the rank-
ings or compare himself to other throwers.
He likes throwing in front of family and
friends, and is enjoying his fi nal year with
the Bucks.
“It’s an exciting time,” he said. “It’s my
last season, I’d better enjoy it.”
This year’s 5A state track meet will be
held at Hayward Field in Eugene.
Jennings placed fourth his freshman
year at state with a throw of 181-7. There
was no state meet in 2020 because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 meet
was not Oregon School Activities Associ-
ation sanctioned.
Jennings won the 2021 state meet that
was held in Wilsonville, with a throw of
190 feet.
“We have not been to Hayward in a
while,” Brizendine said. “Just as a coach,
to walk in there, you get goose bumps
just thinking of all the athletes who have
competed there. I’m excited to see what
they have done there, and hopefully with
a whole bunch of kids with us.”
Expect Jennings to be the fi rst man
on the bus.
PENDLETON — Sauren Garton
struck out 37 batters on the day as
Pendleton opened Intermountain
Conference play on Friday, April 15,
with a 5-0 and 3-1 sweep of The Dalles.
“They were good victories,” Pend-
leton coach Tim Cary said. “They are
a solid team all the way around. They
were ranked third coming in.”
After striking out 17 in the fi rst
game, Garton struck out a school
record 20 in the second game.
Garton has struck out 126 batters in
54 innings this season.
“Sauren is absolutely amazing,”
Cary said. “I don’t even know what
to say about her. Thank goodness we
have fantastic pitching, we couldn’t
score a run today. Thankful to her for
keeping them off the board. Sauren has
thrown well every single time out this
year. She throws hard and she throws
a variety of pitches. We are lucky to
have her.”
In the second game, the second-
ranked Bucks scored one run in the
second inning off a solo home run by
Daisy Jenness, and the two runs scored
in the third were off Riverhawk errors.
Melanie Boatman went 3-for-3 for
the Bucks (10-1 overall), while Brie
Youncs was 2-for-3.
In the opener, Garton hit an RBI-tri-
ple in the fourth inning, while Sam
Wilks hit a two-run double in the fi rst
inning as the Bucks jumped out to a
3-0 lead.
“It has been a good start for us so far,”
Cary said. “We just have to keep it going.”
ON THE SLATE
TUESDAY, APRIL 19
Prep baseball
Umatilla at Riverside, 4 p.m.
Union at Stanfi eld/Echo, 4 p.m.
Kamiakin at Hermiston, 4 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Heppner, 4:30 p.m.
The Dalles at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m.
Prep softball
Kennewick at Hermiston, 4 p.m.
Umatilla at Echo/Stanfi eld JV, 4 p.m.
Irrigon at Heppner/Ione, 4 p.m.
Pendleton at The Dalles, 4:30 p.m.
Boys soccer
Kennewick at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Prep tennis
La Grande at McLoughlin, 3 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Riverside, 3:30 p.m.
Richland at Hermiston, 4 p.m.
Ione/Heppner at Stanfi eld/Echo, 4 p.m.
Prep lacrosse
Hermiston at Chiawana, 7:30 p.m.
Track and fi eld
Heppner, Pilot Rock, Stanfi eld/Echo at District
2A-5 Preview, Weston-McEwen, 3:30 p.m.
College softball
Blue Mountain at Treasure Valley (2), 1 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20
Track and fi eld
MCC meet at Hermiston, 3:30 p.m.
Pendleton at Hood River Valley, TBD.
Prep golf
Hermiston at MCC pod, Horn Rapids Golf
Course, noon.
Prep baseball
Liberty Christian at Irrigon, 4 p.m.
Prep tennis
Crook County boys at Pendleton, 3 p.m.
Pendleton girls at Crook County, 3 p.m.
College baseball
Blue Mountain at Wenatchee Valley (2), 1 p.m.
SPORTS SHORT
EOU softball earns Team of the Week honor
East Oregonian
LA GRANDE — The Eastern
Oregon University Mountain-
eers softball team is the Under
Armour Team of the Week for
April 11-17, the Cascade Colle-
giate Conference announced
Sunday afternoon, April 17.
The recognition came after the
team went 4-0 in weekend play
and secured a spot in the 2022
CCC Championship.
Despite a spring snowstorm
that delayed EOU’s departure
from La Grande, the Moun-
taineers made it to Bellevue,
Washington, and took down the
Eagles, 4-0. The sweep brought
the team’s overall record to 34-11
overall and 19-5 in league play.
The Mountaineers’ 34 wins are
now the third most in a single
season and a career best in a
season for third-year head coach
Nicole Christian.
Eastern also continues to
receive votes in the NAIA Soft-
ball Coaches’ Top-25 poll. With
their spot locked in for the CCC
Championships, the Mountain-
eers now have made the confer-
ence postseason each of the last
two seasons. Eastern sits third
in the league standings behind
No. 6 College of Idaho and No. 2
Oregon Tech entering the fi nal
two weeks of regular season
action.
EOU will ret u r n home
next weekend to face league
leader No. 2 Oregon Tech for
Senior Weekend. The series will
take place Friday-Saturday, April
22-23, at Peggy Anderson Field.
Day One action will begin at
2 p.m. for the doubleheader. Day
Two action is set for an 11 a.m.
start. It will be Senior Day and
EOU will honor eight seniors
between the two games.
Eastern Oregon
University infi elder
Madison Stateler
take a swing Friday,
Feb. 15, 2022, against
Northwest University
in Bellevue,
Washington. The
Mountaineers
swept the Eagles
4-0 in weekend
play, earning
a spot in 2022
Cascade Collegiate
Conference and the
Under Armour Team
of the Week for
April 11-17.
Isabella Evans/
Eastern Oregon University