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.

PENDLETON — Sam Jennings spent a good amount of time looking at colleges and what they had to offer.

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 fit. 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 different things to do and there are like five mini golf courses.”

Jennings, the No. 1-ranked prep javelin 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 fulfill 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 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 difference 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 coaching would be fun.”

Pendleton’s finest

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 different 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 arrogant. 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 rankings or compare himself to other throwers. He likes throwing in front of family and friends, and is enjoying his final 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 Association 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 first man on the bus.