Attention all Division-I collegiate track & field coaches in Idaho: there’s a bidding war going on, and you ain’t in it.

Yet.

The subject? A kid in Aberdeen throwing the plastic-tipped javelin 180 feet. That translates to about 200-210 feet with a regulation collegiate steel tip.

Multiple sport athlete? Check.

Three-time all-state football player, state wrestling champion, and current state championships record holder in the javelin.

Self starter? Check.

This kid taught himself the javelin, basically typing “how to throw a javelin” into Google and YouTube.

Coachable? Check.

This kid improved his position in football, wrestling and track each of his years as a high schooler, committing to both the weight room and classroom with zeal.

Idaho State alum and All-American heptathlete Cassie Merkley (now coaching at Snake River) can attest to this coachability, helping this kid convert his YouTube search into state gold.

Multiple-sport star. Self-starter. Coachable. Checkity-check-check.

And he’s no longer a kid.

The young man’s name is Tannon Nelson, and this week he graduates from high school to join polite society as a gentleman javelineer.

For the next 11 months Nelson will have the longest javelin throw in the history of the Idaho State High School Track and Field Championships, regardless of classification.

His 179-7 at Middleton High School in May drew some oohs and more than a few aahs.

“My goal coming into the state championships was to get 170, and I exceeded that by a little ways,” Nelson said with a smile. “It’s just cool to see all my hard work — my hundreds and hundreds of hours — pay off.”

Idaho introduced the javelin in 2025, leaving the then-novice Nelson two seasons to figure out the sport.

Athletes like Tannon’s younger brother Brogan Nelson will have more time to improve, and the junior high kids will have yet more time. All of that makes Tannon smile.

“To be on top like that, knowing it’s other people’s goal to beat me is kind of amazing,” Tannon said. “Like my brother. His goal is to beat me, which is awesome.”

Tannon has spent significant time in the weightroom and loves a good bench press. He also credits yoga for his flexibility — a critical component in javelin.

“We did yoga in wrestling and I’ve gained all this flexibility through the years and it really helps,” he said. “I’ve tried teaching some of my friends and they just can’t get into that (throwing) position.”

Something all collegiate track and field coaches can also appreciate is an accomplished pole vaulter, which Tannon is also. Tannon won the pole vault competition at the Bingham County meet at 12-6 and set a personal best of 13-0 at the district championships.

Somehow, the most accomplished prep javelineer in Idaho hasn’t seen any offer sheets from NAIA, JUCO, or NCAA D2/D3 programs.

As Division-I schools, Idaho State, Boise State and Idaho can’t legally contact track athletes until June 15. but is there need for a Tannon Nelson at ISU, BSU or the U of I?

Boise State? Your best throw was 223-1, by a junior.

University of Idaho? Kudos to you for recruiting Blake Sturgis who went 240-2 and is going to the NCAA regionals.

Idaho State? Your best of 2026 was 202-10, by a senior — which was good for fifth at the Big Sky Championships.

Seems like an incoming freshman who went from zero to 179 (translated to 200) over 16 months might be worth a gamble.

“I really want to throw in college,” Tannon said. “It would be fun, and I feel like with where I am now I have a lot of potential. If I got the right training, and with the drive I have and the high goals I set for myself, I really feel like I could excel.”

So keep an eye on your phone, Tannon Nelson. And your front porch. And probably your back porch.

Come June 15, you may start meeting a bunch of smiling strangers bearing scholarships and steel-tipped javelins.