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1 oklahomamen sgymnastics NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Brian Dude Media Relations Graduate Assistant University of Oklahoma Men s Gymnastics Contact Office: Fax: briandude@ou.edu Oklahoma men s gymnastics Schedule/Results Date Opponent Time/Results Jan. 12 at Rocky Mountain Open* First, Jan. 20 at Nebraska (w/ Air Force) First, Jan. 26 Michigan W, Feb. 1 nebraska W, Feb. 7 at Winter Cup Challenge^ Individual results Feb. 9 at Winter Cup Challenge^ Individual results Feb. 16 at Iowa 2 p.m. Feb. 23 at Pacific Coast Classic! 9 p.m. March 8 at Ohio State 6 p.m. March 15 MINNESOTA 7 p.m. March 22 at Penn State 6 p.m. April 5 MPSF Championships% 7 p.m. April 17 NCAA Qualifiers# 3 p.m./10 p.m. April 18 NCAA Team Finals# 5 p.m. April 19 NCAA Event Finals# 5 p.m. All start times listed are Central ALL CAPS indicates home meets * Colorado Springs, Colo. Hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy. ^ Las Vegas, Nev. Individual USA Gymnastics ranking event.! Oakland, Calif. Hosted by USA Sports Management. % Lincoln, Neb. Hosted by the University of Nebraska. # Stanford, Calif. Hosted by Stanford University. setting the scene No. 4 Oklahoma at No. 10 iowa Where: Iowa City, Iowa at the Field House (1,500) When: Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008 at 2 p.m. (CST) LIVE SCORES: Live scoring will be available on Iowa s official athletics Web site, HawkeyeSports.com. A link will be provided as part of the meet preview on SoonerSports.com. Following the event, final scores will be posted on SoonerSports.com. WHAT 2 WATCH 4: The Sooners will be looking to post their first big road score of the season against the Hawkeyes. Thus far, Oklahoma s two highest scores of the season have come at home vs. Michigan on Jan. 26 and a season-high vs. Nebraska on Feb. 1. OU has improved its team total every week this season as head coach Mark Williams continues to tinker with lineups in order to put the best team on the floor. The addition of Horton to the floor and vault lineups should provide a big boost on events in which the Sooners are already highly ranked. impact Performer jason laughton8 Laughton has made the leap from role player to impact performer in his junior season. The Northridge, Calif., native set personal bests on pommel horse, rings and parallel bars in the Sooners Feb. 1 home win against Nebraska. Laughton also owns team season-highs on pommel horse (14.350) and high bar (15.000) and is currently ranked 16th in the nation on h-bar with a average. Fourth-ranked sooners back on the road, visit no. 10 iowa Saturday NORMAN, Okla. The fourth-ranked Oklahoma men s gymnastics team begins a three meet road trip Saturday when it visits No. 10 Iowa. The top-10 clash is slated for a 2 p.m. start at the Field House on the Iowa campus. Saturday s event marks the return to NCAA competition for Oklahoma, after five members of the squad competed in the 2008 Winter Cup Challenge, a USA Gymnastics re-ranking event, Feb. 7-9 in Las Vegas, Nev. Oklahoma s last collegiate competition was a record-breaking one. The Sooners defeated MPSF rival Nebraska in Norman on Feb. 1, posting a season-high team score of OU also set season bests on floor (60.250), pommel horse (55.850), rings (60.800) and vault (63.200), while nine Sooners recorded individual season highs. The matchup with Iowa should provide OU head coach Mark Williams the chance to better gauge what his lineup will be as the postseason approaches. Among the additions to the OU arsenal, senior cocaptain Jonathan Horton will likely compete on the floor exercise and vault for the first time this season. Horton is the reigning NCAA floor champion and was earned All-America honors on both events in A strong candidate for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, Horton has gradually increased his competitive work load following a busy summer and fall on the international gymnastics scene. Even without Horton, Oklahoma has boasted two of the best floor and vault lineups in the country. The Sooners are second on vault and fourth on the floor in the Feb. 11 GymInfo rankings. Several of OU s underclassmen have led the way through the first four meets of the season. Freshman Steven Legendre, a two-time MPSF Gymnast of the Week honoree already this season, ranks fourth in the country on floor with an average score of Sophomore Ian Jackson, who claimed the all-around title in the Sooners Feb. 1 win over Nebraska, is tied for fourth in the nation on vault, averaging a score of The Hawkeyes are 4-9 all-time against the Sooners. In last year s matchup between the teams, OU swept all six events en route to a victory in Norman on March 17. Iowa is led by head coach Tom Dunn, who is in his 29th year with the Hawkeye program. Senior Jacob Becker and junior Geoff Reins, both 2007 All-Americans, anchor an Iowa squad that finished ninth at the 2007 NCAA Championships. know the foe No. 10 iowa iowa hawkeyes Location: Iowa City, Iowa Founded: 1847 Enrollment: 29,745 Colors: Old Gold and Black Conference: Big Ten Head Coach: Tom Dunn Alma Mater: Penn State, 1971 Record at Nebraska: (27 years) Career Record: (29 years) The official site of OU Athletics supplies Sooner fans worldwide with the latest news and features on Oklahoma athletics direct from Norman. The site provides the latest press releases, rosters, bios, schedules, statistics, notes, quotes, athlete blogs, photo galleries and audio and video available to both Sooner fans and the media Record: 3-10 Conference Finish: Sixth NCAA Finish: Ninth Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 9/5 All-Americans Returning/Lost: 2/0 Media Relations Contact: Jordin Hatcher Phone: (319) Fax: (319) jordin-hatcher@uiowa.edu Web Site: HawkeyeSports.com oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 1

2 2008 Oklahoma Men s Gymnastics Roster Name yr. Ht. Hometown (High School) (Club) pronunciation Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons Sr. 5-7 Philadelphia, Pa. (Home Schooled) (Houston Gymnastics Academy) TAH-key ab-dool-uh Chris Brooks Jr. 5-8 Houston, Texas (Cypress Creek HS) (Houston North Gymnastics) Garrett Carr Jr Mandeville, La. (Fountainbleau HS) (Aces) Russell Czeschin Jr. 6-3 Independence, Mo. (Fort Osage HS) (Great American Gymnastic Express) shuh-sheen Corey English So. 5-7 Covington, La. (St. Paul s HS) (Mandeville Sports Complex) C.J. Grimes Fr. 5-5 Ulysses, Kan. (Ulysses HS) (Littlestar Gymnastics) Jonathan Horton Sr. 5-1 Houston, Texas (Cy-Fair HS) (Cypress Academy) Ian Jackson So. 5-6 Harrisburg, Pa. (Central Dauphin HS) (Artistic Sports Academy Plus) Jason Laughton Jr. 5-6 Northridge, Calif. (Sunland Christian School) (SCATS Gymnastics) lawton Steven Legendre Fr. 5-6 Flower Mound, Texas (Spring Creek Academy) (World Olympic Gymnastics Academy) la-zhahn-dra Kyle McNamara Jr. 5-7 Littleton, Colo. (Heritage HS) (5280 Gymnastics) MAC-nuh-mare-uh Jacob Messina Jr. 5-6 Matthews, N.C. (East Mecklenburg HS) (G & J Speedway) Reed Pitts So. 5-9 Allen, Texas (Allen HS) (Eagle s Wings Athletics) Bobby Shortle Fr. 5-2 Brunswick, Ohio (Brunswick HS) (Gym World) SHORT-uhl Joseph Weaver Sr. 5-6 Garland, Texas (William J. Palmer HS) (Colorado Training Center) Head Coach Mark Williams Ninth Season Nebraska, 1980 Assistant Coach Daniel Furney Third Season Oklahoma, 2004 Assistant Coach Rustam Sharipov Third Season kharkov State, 1997 roos-tom share-ee-pahv Oklahoma Men s Gymnastics News and Notes Coming up next... After visiting No. 10 Iowa on Feb. 16, Oklahoma stays on the road for its next two meets. The fourth-ranked Sooners make their annual trip to Oakland, Calif., for the Pacific Coast Classic on Feb. 23, before visiting rival Ohio State on March 8. Stats masters When your team is ranked fourth in the nation, it s fair to say that you have a team full of solid individual performers. The GymInfo individual event rankings seem to back up that statement. In the latest rankings released on Feb. 11, Oklahoma gymnasts accounted for 23 top- 20 event rankings. The Sooners lead all teams with five top-20 gymnasts on both vault and parallel bars, while OU s four top-20 high bar competitors is also tops in the nation. record day Not only did Oklahoma post a season-high score of in its Feb. 1 victory over Nebraska, it set some records in the process. A a result of the new scoring system in place for 2008, every season high score also establishes a school record. Against the Huskers, OU recorded new program marks on the floor exercise (60.250), pommel horse (55.850), still rings (60.800) and vault (63.200), in addition to its final total. Oklahoma also had nine individual gymnasts set or match a combined total of 24 season and career highs against Nebraska. Junior Jason Laughton set a new OU record on the pommel horse with a , while Jonathan Horton tied his school record on rings with a men land 10 on big 12 honor roll Ten members of the men s gymnastics team earned spots on the Big 12 Commissioners s Honor Roll for the Fall 2007 term. Junior health and exercise science major Russell Czeschin was one of 37 OU student-athletes to earn a perfect 4.0 grade point average. The other Sooner honorees were Chris Brooks, Brian Carr, Corey English, C.J. Grimes, Jason Laughton, Steven Legendre, Reed Pitts, Bobby Shortle and Joseph Weaver. winter cup highlights Five OU gymnasts competed in the 2008 Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas, and all five advanced to the finals competition. Highlighting the Sooners weekend in the desert were third-place performances by Jonathan Horton on rings and Steven Legendre on floor exercise. Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons tied for fifth on rings, while Ian Jackson made it to the event finals on rings and pommel horse in his Winter Cup debut. Perhaps the most balanced performance, however, came from Jacob Messina, another Winter Cup newcomer. The Matthews, N.C., native was the only Sooner to finish in the top 20 on every event in which he competed (PH, SR, HB). Horton vying for third-straight tyson cup Two-time defending Tyson American Cup champion Jonathan Horton will try to make it three-in-a-row at the 2008 event scheduled for March 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Horton could become the first man to win three consecutive American Cup titles since the USA s Blaine Wilson ( ). Hall of fame nominates horton for gymnast of the year Oklahoma s Jonathan Horton is one of seven nominees for the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame 2007 Gymnast of the Year Award. The OU senior won a his second consecutive Tyson American Cup and finished fourth in the all-around at the World Championships last year. The other nominees are: Fabian Hambüchen (Germany), Jade Barbosa (Brazil), Cheng Fei (China), Hisashi Mizutori (Japan), Shawn Johnson (USA), Mitja Petkovsek (Slovenia), Nastia Liukin (USA), Yang Wei (China) and Steliana Nistor (Romania). All-around good guy Sophomore Ian Jackson claimed the all-around title in OU s Feb. 1 win over Nebraska in his first appearance of the season on all six events this season. Jackson posted an to best teammate Kyle McNamara (84.900) and Nebraska s Stephen Tetrault. Jackson also took home the title the last time he competed in the all-around, Feb. 16, 2007 against club teams from the universities of Washington and Texas. oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 2

3 Abdullah-SImmons featured on espn.com8 Though he didn t know it at the time, OU senior Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons all-around victory at the 2007 NCAA Men s Gymnastics Championships was a historic one. Not only did the Philadelphia, Pa., native become the second consecutive Oklahoma gymnast to win the all-around crown, he became the first African-American in the history of the sport to achieve the feat. In honor of Black History Month, ESPN.com is featuring the athletes and events that have helped shape the world of sports. On Feb. 4, writer Jay Weiner highlighted Abdullah-Simmons pioneering victory and chronicled his path to stardom at the University of Oklahoma. Sooners hogging conference honors The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation has awarded Gymnast of the Week honors five times in 2008, and three times the award has gone to a University of Oklahoma gymnast. Steven Legendre was the conference s first honoree of the season after winning the all-around and floor exercise titles at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 12. The freshman from Port Jefferson, N.Y., earned the distinction again on Jan. 28 after claiming his third consecutive all-around and floor exercise crowns in the Sooners Jan. 26 upset of then-no. 2 Michigan in Norman. Jonathan Horton, a two-time MPSF Gymnast of the Year and three-time weekly award winner in 2007, earned his first conference award of the season on Feb. 11 following his performance at the Winter Cup Challenge where he finished third on rings and maintained his spot in the U.S. Senior National Team. Last season, four different OU gymnasts accounted for a total of six MPSF weekly honors MPSF Gymnasts of the Week Jan Steven Legendre, Oklahoma Jan Kyson Buntwong, California Jan Steven Legendre, Oklahoma Feb. 4 - Greg Stine, Air Force Feb Jonathan Horton, Oklahoma feb. 11, 2008 gym info poll By total season average Rank Team region Avg. Home Away 1 Penn State* E Stanford* W California* W OKLAHOMA W Illinois* e Michigan* E Ohio State* E Minnesota* E Temple e Iowa* e Navy e Nebraska* W Illinois-Chicago E Army e William & Mary E Air Force* W Springfield E Arizona State* C M.I.T. e Texas C James Madison E Leading by example The coaching success of Oklahoma s staff is well-documented. Head coach Mark Williams is a four-time national Coach of the Year and seven-time MPSF Coach of the Year, while assistants Rustam Sharipov and Daniel Furney were national Co-Assistant Coaches of the Year in Oklahoma s coaches, however, boast their fair share of competitive successes as well. During his collegiate career at Nebraska, Williams earned All-America honors on high bar in 1978 after winning the Big Eight title on the apparatus. Williams was also a member of two Husker national title teams in 1979 and Sharipov, a former parallel bars specialist, took the gold medal on the event at the 1996 Olympics and also won top honors on the apparatus at both the 1996 World and European Championships as well. Sharipov garnered another Olympic gold medal as a member of the Unified Team in Furney, a 2004 OU graduate, was a member of two national championship teams in Norman (2002 and 2003). Furney also won the Nissen Emery Award in 2003 after claiming NCAA titles in the all-around and on parallel bars. During his OU career, Furney accumulated nine All-America honors, including four during the 2003 season. the upset is an upset OU s upset of then-no. 2 Michigan on Jan. 26 was an upset in itself. The Sooners, ranked sixth this week and fifth when they knocked off the Wolverines, rarely have the opportunity to beat an opponent ranked higher than they are. In fact, prior to this year s win against Michigan, the last time OU scored an upset was at the 2007 Pacific Coast Classic. The Sooners, ranked third at the time, won the event defeating five of the nation s top five teams including... No. 1 Michigan. A Note on the Rankings The GymInfo rankings are based on the following criteria: Jan February 11: Ranking by Total Season Average (average of all scores) February 18 - March 17: Ranking by Three Score Average March 24-31: Ranking by Modified Three Score Average (Select the four highest scores, counting no more than two home meet, and drop the highest score. Average the three remaining scores.) April 7: Ranking by National Qualifying Average * indicates OU opponent oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 3

4 He s Baaaaaaack After sitting out the first two meets of the season to recuperate from a long summer of international competition, senior co-captain Jonathan Horton will made his 2008 debut against Michigan. The senior co-captain s impact was felt immediately. Horton competed on just four events and won two of them. His winning scores of on rings and on p-bars marked team season bests. good first impressions Oklahoma s freshmen have made an immediate impact, as Steven Legendre has claimed three all-around titles and three floor crowns and Bobby Shortle owns a vault championship through three meets. But the newcomers aren t the only one s contributing important firsts this season. Junior Kyle McNamara has already matched his 2007 win totals on vault and p-bars, placing first on both events at the Rocky Mountain Open. Classmate Jason Laughton won the high bar title against Nebraska and Air Force, marking his first career win on the event. And Chris Brooks, a 2007 All-American on high bar, took his first individual crown on the apparatus against the Huskers and Falcons after claiming none last season. Sooners run with the Popular crowd A reader survey by Inside Gymnastics magazine showed the OU men s gymnastics team and senior Jonathan Horton as among the most popular in the sport. The survey results, published in the January/February 2008 issue, tabbed Horton as the U.S. Male Gymnast of the Year, while 61 percent of voters named him as their favorite NCAA male athlete. The Sooners were also honored as the readers favorite NCAA men s team with 28 percent of the votes. Road Warriors With only three home meets scheduled during the 2008 season, OU is going to have to make its living on the road this season. After back-to-back competitions against Michigan (Jan. 26) and Nebraska (Feb. 1) in Norman, the Sooners will be away from the McCasland Field House for the remainder of the season, save a March 15 matchup with Minnesota. Included in OU s road plans are visits to No. 4 Ohio State (March 8), No. 9 Iowa (Feb. 16), and defending NCAA champion No. 2 Penn State (March 22). The Sooners will also face several of the nation s top teams, including MPSF rivals No. 1 Stanford and No. 5 California at the Pacific Coast Classic in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 23. Sooners team up with local school Despite classes of their own and training for the season, members of the OU men s gymnastics team still find time in their busy schedules to make weekly visits to Norman s Cleveland Elementary School to assist teachers and mentor students. Gymnasts are assigned to assist a specific teacher with day-to-day activities including reading, practicing grammar skills and math exercises. The Sooners have partnered with the school as part of a Partners in Education program instituted by Cleveland teacher Regina Bell, the program coordinator, and OU head coach Mark Williams, himself a former English teacher. In with the new(comers) Oklahoma added talent and depth in the 2008 freshman class. Joining the Sooners this season are Steven Legendre from Port Jefferson, N.Y., and Bobby Shortle from Brunswick, Ohio. Legendre comes in as a highly-acclaimed junior gymnast and will be expected to be an impact all-around performer. Shortle is expected to challenge for a spot in the lineup on both vault and floor exercise. C.J. Grimes, who redshirted in 2007, could also see action on rings this season. Conference Dominance Under head coach Mark Williams the Sooners have ruled the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Since 2000, Williams first season at the helm, Oklahoma has claimed seven conference titles and lost only twice to conference rivals. The Sooners finished as runner-up to Cal at the 2004 MPSF Championships, the only time under Williams that OU has not worn the conference crown. OU also lost a road dual to Stanford on March 9, Williams names captains Seniors Jonathan Horton and Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons were named co-captains of the 2008 Sooner squad by head coach Mark Williams. Horton s leadership and contributions to the team are well-documented. The 2006 NCAA all-around champion owns the OU records for career individual NCAA titles (five) and career All-America honors (15). He is serving his third stint as a team captain. The 2007 NCAA all-around champion and a nine-time All-American, Abdullah-Simmons will look to close out his impressive OU career by leading the Sooners to a third NCAA title in four years. Sooners debut at No. 3 Oklahoma was ranked third in the preseason GymInfo Coaches Poll released on Nov. 5, 2007, receiving two first-place votes. The Sooners have debuted in the top three in each of head coach Mark Williams eight seasons at OU and were the coaches preseason No. 1 five times in that span ( and ). The Sooners boast 12 returning letterwinners from a team that went 26-4 last season and finished second at the NCAA Championships. The 2007 squad also captured the program s ninth Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title. Legendre earns Pan-Am gold Freshman Steven Legendre took the gold medal in the all-around competition at the Junior Pan-American Gymnastics Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on Nov. 23. Team USA swept the top four spots in the all-around to capture the team gold as well, recording a , 10 points better than silver-medalist Brazil and 22 points ahead of third-place Argentina. Legendre, from Port Jefferson, N.Y., scored an to best teammate and runner-up Glen Ishino (86.967). The USA s Alexy Bilozertchev earned the bronze medal with an , while fellow American Danell Leyva finished fourth (85.866). OU Gymnastics: A National Name 8 What is the main recruiting area for OU head coach Mark Williams? Try the entire United States. Oklahoma s 15-man roster includes student-athletes from 10 different states. The Sooners also have both coasts covered, with one gymnast from California (Jason Laughton) and two from the Eastern seaboard in Jacob Messina (North Carolina) and Steven Legendre (New York). The state with the most Sooner gymnasts? Texas with four (Chris Brooks, Jonathan Horton, Reed Pitts and Joseph Weaver), followed by Louisiana (Garrett Carr and Corey English) and Pennsylvania (Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons and Ian Jackson) with two apiece. oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 4

5 7Dynamic duo Senior co-captains Jonathan Horton and Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons have accounted for the last two NCAA all-around titles. Horton was the 2006 champion, while Abdullah- Simmons claimed last year s crown (Horton was runner-up). No other team in NCAA history has boasted two all-around champions on the same squad at the same time. Career highs for everyone NCAA men s gymnastics will be using a new scoring system for the 2008 competition season. No longer will routines be judged on a 10.0 scale. Instead, men s collegiate gymnastics has adopted the Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) Scoring System which allows for an open-ended Code of Points. Instead of scores like 9.65, or 9.8, routines are given scores such as 15.3, 14.8, etc. The result? Every men s gymnast in the NCAA, points-wise, set new career highs on every event the first time they competed in Welcome back In addition to 2007 All-Americans Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, Chris Brooks, Russell Czeschin and Jonathan Horton, OU welcomes back 2005 FX All-American Jacob Messina and 2006 FX and V All-American Reed Pitts. Both Messina and Pitts redshirted last season due to injury. Sooners sign three for 2009 The best keep getting better as head coach Mark Williams signed three of the nation s top junior gymnasts to National Letters of Intent. Patrick Piscitelli, Chad Crumley and Troy Nitzky will join the Sooners for the 2009 season. Piscitelli hails from Charlotte, N.C., and trains under Jie Ding at G&J Speedway, the same program as current OU gymnast Jacob Messina. In addition to being an honors student and Academic All-America honoree at Charlotte Catholic High School, Piscitelli was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team from He has also won back-to-back all-around titles in Region 8. A native of Long Grove, Ill., Crumley is a six-time Junior Olympic National qualifier and an Academic All-American from Adlai E. Stevenson High School. He also helped his club program, Buffalo Grove Gymnastics Center, to the 2007 Club Team Championship. Crumley is coached by Don Osborne and his father, Kelly Crumley, who competed at Iowa while Williams was competing at Nebraska. Nitzky, from Southampton, Pa., attends William Tennent High School. He is coached by San Juan Jones at Temple University Boys Gymnastics where he has been a Junior Olympic National qualifier each of the last four years. In 2007, Nitzky finished second in the all-around at the Pennsylvania State Championships. Historic win Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons 2007 NCAA all-around title was noteworthy, and not just because he was the second Sooner gymnast to claim the crown in as many years. According to research by OU and the NCAA, Abdullah-Simmons became the first African- American in NCAA men s gymnastics history to claim the all-around championship. Crimson & Cream on the U.S. National Team Oklahoma has always had a noticeable presence in USA Gymnastics. Over the program s history, OU has placed 15 athletes on the U.S. Senior National Team. The Sooners have had two Olympians, four World Championships participants and sent three athletes to the Pan American Games, Pan American Championships and World University Games. Since taking over in 2000, Coach Williams has placed four gymnasts on the Senior National Team, including current OU standouts Jonathan Horton and Taqiy Abdullah- Simmons. Assistant coach Daniel Furney and recent graduate Jamie Henderson have also been a part of the U.S. Team. Horton leads Team USA to 2008 Olympic berth In case anyone needed more proof that Jonathan Horton is among the best gymnasts in the world, his performance in the all-around finals at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships cemented his stature. The Houston, Texas, native scored a in Stuttgart, Germany, to finish in fourth place, just 0.2 points from earning a bronze medal. Horton became just the fourth American man to record a top-four all-around finish at the World Championships and the first since 2004 Olympic gold medalist Paul Hamm took the title in Only Hamm and Kurt Thomas (2nd, 1979) have finished higher than Horton. Blaine Wilson also finished fourth at the 1999 World Championships. Horton finished ninth in the all-around in the preliminary round. Being fourth in the world is pretty exciting, said OU head coach and U.S. assistant Mark Williams. He also recognizes that he was very close to a medal and that will certainly motivate him for next year to get up on the podium. Horton started the event on pommel horse, admittedly his weakest event. He turned in a solid routine, scoring a By the time the sixth and final rotation was finished, he had jumped 20 places from 24th to fourth. I knew I would be playing catch up all day, Horton said. I started on my worst event and I knew it was going to happen. I had to work my way up, getting to my stronger events. Fueling Horton s charge up the standings were impressive routines on the still rings and high bar, where he posted scores of and , respectively. Both totals ranked among the top five scores of the day on each apparatus. Finishing on floor exercise, Horton turned in perhaps his best performance of the day scoring a , tying his best mark on the event in the World Championships. His total was also the third-best floor score of the day, behind only Fuliang Liang of China (15.850) and Korea s Dae Eun Kim and Spain s Rafael Martinez who posted matching scores of Horton s fourth-place finish was the second in as many days for a resurgent American squad. The U.S. also just missed a bronze medal in the team finals, finishing with a , 1.25 points behind third-place Germany. To come so close - to have two fourthplace finishes in two days gives me a lump in my throat, Horton said. To know that we were that close is a lot of motivation for the road to Beijing. The showings by both Horton and the U.S. team should help alleviate some of the concern after a disappointing showing by the USA at the 2006 World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. Competing with an inexperienced squad, the U.S. finished 13th in the team standings. Guillermo Alvarez was the top American in the all-around, finishing in 18th place. oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 5

6 2008 Event recaps Recap winter cup challenge feb. 7-9, 2008 NORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma gymnasts produced several strong performances in Saturday night s finals competition at the 2008 Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas, Nev. Highlights of the two-day USA Gymnastics event included top-three finishes by senior Jonathan Horton on the still rings and freshman Steven Legendre on the floor exercise. Legendre, the all-around gold-medalist for the U.S. squad at the 2007 Junior Pan Am Championships, recorded a two-day total of on the floor to finish just behind Senior National Team member David Sender (30.950) and Winter Cup all-around champion Paul Hamm (31.950). Legendre also finished 13th on vault (31.300) after leading the event after Thursday s preliminary round, and earned top-25 finishes on high bar (27.200) and parallel bars (28.150), while placing 34th on the pommel horse (23.900). Horton, who has already secured a spot on the Senior National Team as a member of the 2007 U.S. World Championships squad, competed in only four events at the Winter Cup. In addition to his third-place finish on rings (31.150), the Houston, Texas, native also placed seventh on the p-bars (30.150) and was the highest-scoring collegiate gymnast on the event. Horton also tied for 14th on the high bar with a two-day total of and placed 28th on pommel horse with a score of Senior Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, competing in only three events, secured top-15 finishes on both the still rings and parallel bars. Abdullah-Simmons earned a final score of on rings to tie for fifth place and tied for 15th on p-bars with scores of and He also placed 30th on the high bar with a two-day total of Junior Jacob Messina, making his first Winter Cup appearance, was the only Sooner gymnast to finish in the top 20 in every event in which he competed. Messina tied for 11th on rings (29.450), tied for 13th on pommel horse (27.400) and finished 18th on the high bar (27.400). Sophomore Ian Jackson, the first alternate for Saturday night s finals competition, placed 29th on rings (27.450) and 32nd on pommel horse (24.200). oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 6

7 2008 Event recaps Recap nebraska feb. 1, 2008 NORMAN, Okla. - Sophomore Ian Jackson won his first all-around title of the season as the Oklahoma men s gymnastics team defeated No. 12 Nebraska Friday night at the Lloyd Noble Center. The sixth-ranked Sooners moved to 3-0 on the season against their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rivals. In a dominating performance in front of a crowd 1,238, the Sooners claimed team titles on all six events and OU gymnasts won at least a share of each individual event crown. Oklahoma set team season highs on the floor exercise (60.250), pommel horse (55.850), still rings (60.800) and vault (63.200) en route to the victory. The Sooners swept the top four spots on floor, with junior Russell Czeschin winning the event title with a season-best Freshman Bobby Shortle was second with a , while sophomore Reed Pitts and freshman Steven Legendre tied for third (14.750). Oklahoma also took the top four places on rings, vault and high bar. Jackson was the vault champion, tying Shortle s team season high with a Senior co-captain Jonathan Horton took the rings crown for the second straight week with a and also won the high bar title with a OU s other event titleists were senior co-captain Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons on p-bars (14.900) and junior Jason Laughton, who tied Nebraska s T.J. Schmidt for first on the pommel horse with a score of Junior Kyle McNamara, all-around runner-up to Legendre in OU s first two meets, finished second once again, this time to Jackson. The Littleton, Colo., native recorded an total to finish just behind Jackson s McNamara was fourth on both rings (14.550) and vault (15.700), while Jackson earned top-five finishes on pommel horse (13.700), rings (14.400) and high bar (13.900) in addition to his vault title. Recap michigan jan. 26, 2008 NORMAN, Okla. - In a top-five showdown at the McCasland Field House Saturday night, the fifth-ranked Oklahoma men s gymnastics team opened its home season in style, defeating No. 2 Michigan, Freshman Steven Legendre claimed his third straight all-around title with an and OU scored team season highs on rings (60.000), vault (63.000) and parallel bars (58.550) to earn a thrilling come-from-behind victory. Trailing by two full points, , after the first two rotations, Oklahoma surged back into the lead with outstanding performances on rings and vault. Spurred on by a boisterous crowd of 1,485, the Sooners closed the gap to points on the rings. Senior co-captain Jonathan Horton, competing for the first time in 2008, scored a to take the event title, while junior Jacob Messina recorded a seasonhigh to claim third place. Moving to the vault, the Sooners took back the lead and never relinquished it. Though the Wolverines David Chan took the event title with a , Oklahoma gymnasts claimed the next six spots in the standings. Freshman Bobby Shortle and sophomore Ian Jackson tied for second on the apparatus with matching scores of , while juniors Kyle McNamara and Russell Czeschin rounded out the OU score with a pair of s and in a tie for fourth place. Recap nebraska and air force jan. 20, 2008 NORMAN, Okla. - The third-ranked Oklahoma men s gymnastics team claimed its second straight victory over No. 10 Nebraska and Air Force Sunday at the Bob Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb. The Sooners scored a to beat the second place Huskers ( ). Air Force finished third with a Oklahoma defeated both programs en route to a season-opening win at the Rocky Mountain Open, Jan. 12, in Colorado Springs, Colo. OU s Steven Legendre added to the stellar start to his freshman season, scoring an to take his second consecutive all-around title. Junior Kyle McNamara, runnerup in the all-around to Legendre at last week s Rocky Mountain Open, also finished second on Sunday with an total. In addition to his all-around crown, Legendre was once again champion on the floor exercise, scoring a The Port Jefferson, N.Y., native also finished third on the parallel bars (14.600) and high bar (14.900) and was fourth on the pommel horse with a Also claiming event titles for the Sooners were junior Jason Laughton and freshman Bobby Shortle. Shortle, a walk-on, was the vault champion with a team season-best , while Laughton tied Nebraska s Kyle Shanahan (15.000) for first place on the high bar. As a team, OU improved on its scores from last week on every event besides rings and placed first on floor (59.500), pommel horse (54.950), vault (62.550), p-bars (57.950) and high bar (58.950). Recap rocky mountain open jan. 12, 2008 NORMAN, Okla. - For the ninth consecutive year, the Oklahoma men s gymnastics team started the season with a victory at the Rocky Mountain Open. The third-ranked Sooners scored a Saturday night in Colorado Springs, Colo., to win the collegiate portion of the competition, while freshman Steven Legendre claimed the first all-around title of his OU career with an The Sooners were without several key contributors, including senior Jonathan Horton, who continues to rest after a busy summer of international competition. Oklahoma also had several other gymnasts who were limited to a few events while nursing minor injuries. No. 10 Nebraska finished second with a total, while host Air Force was third ( ). Club teams from Arizona State University ( ) and the University of Washington ( ) placed fourth and fifth, respectively. A team comprised of athletes from the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs scored a but was ineligible for awards in the collegiate division. Oklahoma gymnasts claimed individual titles on five events. In addition to his allaround victory, Legendre, from Port Jefferson, N.Y., took the floor exercise crown with a Senior co-captain Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons won the still rings with a score of , while junior Chris Brooks was the high bar champion (14.600). Competing in the all-around for the first time as a collegian, junior Kyle McNamara turned in the best performance of his OU career, claiming event titles on vault (15.550) and parallel bars (14.750) and finishing as the runner-up in the all-around competition. Horton claimed his second event title of the night on parallel bars, scoring a Horton s classmate and co-captain Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons finished third with a , and Legendre and junior Chris Brooks earned matching scores of to tie for fourth. Legendre has been a key addition to the Sooner squad. In addition to his all-around win Saturday night, the Port Jefferson, N.Y., native also took his third consecutive floor exercise title with a oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 7

8 2008 Individual event titles (21) 2008 TEAM event titles (21) Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons (2) Still Rings (1): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08 Parallel Bars (1): vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 Chris Brooks (1) High Bar (1): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08 RUSSELL CZESCHIN (1) Floor Exercise (1): vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 jonathan horton (4) Still Rings (2): vs. Michigan, , 1/26/08; vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 Parallel Bars (1): vs. Michigan, , 1/26/08 High Bar (1): vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 IAN JACKSON (2) All-Around (1): vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 Vault (1): vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 JASon laughton (2) Pommel Horse (1): vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 Floor Exercise (3): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08; vs. Nebraska and Air Force, , 1/20/08; vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 Pommel Horse (3): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08; vs. Nebraska and Air Force, , 1/20/08; vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 Still Rings (3): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08; vs. Michigan, , 1/26/08; vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 Vault (4): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08; vs. Nebraska and Air Force, , 1/20/08; vs. Michigan, , 1/26/08; vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 Parallel Bars (4): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08; vs. Nebraska and Air Force, , 1/20/08; vs. Michigan, , 1/26/08; vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 High Bar (4): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08; vs. Nebraska and Air Force, , 1/20/08; vs. Michigan, , 1/26/08; vs. Nebraska, , 2/1/08 High Bar (1): vs. Nebraska and Air Force, , 1/20/08 Steven Legendre (6) All-Around (3): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08; vs. Nebraska and Air Force, , 1/20/08; vs. Michigan, , 1/26/08 Floor Exercise (3): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08; vs. Nebraska and Air Force, , 1/20/08; vs. Michigan, , 1/26/08 Kyle McNamara (2) Vault (1): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08 Parallel Bars (1): Rocky Mountain Open, , 1/12/08 BOBBY SHORTLE (1) Vault (1): vs. Nebraska and Air Force, , 1/20/08 sooners in the national rankings individual (by total season average) Event gymnast rank Avg. Floor Exercise...Steven Legendre Floor Exercise...Bobby Shortle Still Rings...Jonathan Horton Still Rings...Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons Still Rings...Jacob Messina Vault...Ian Jackson... T Vault...Bobby Shortle Vault...Russell Czeschin Vault...Kyle McNamara Vault...Jonathan Horton sooners in the national rankings team (by total season average) Event rank Avg. Floor Exercise Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault Parallel Bars High Bar Team Total Parallel Bars...Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons Parallel Bars...Jonathan Horton Parallel Bars...Kyle McNamara Parallel Bars...Steven Legendre... T Parallel Bars...Chris Brooks High Bar...Chris Brooks High Bar...Jason Laughton High Bar...Jonathan Horton High Bar...Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons All-Around...Steven Legendre All-Around...Ian Jackson All-Around...Kyle McNamara oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 8

9 2008 meet-by-meet results at Rocky Mountain Open ( ) fx ph SR V pb hb Total No. 3 OKLAHOMA No. 10 Nebraska Air Force Arizona State Washington at Nebraska w/ Air Force ( ) fx ph SR V pb hb Total No. 3 OKLAHOMA No. 10 Nebraska Air Force Michigan ( ) fx ph SR V pb hb Total No. 5 OKLAHOMA No. 2 Michigan Nebraska ( ) fx ph SR V pb hb Total No. 6 OKLAHOMA No. 12 Nebraska at Iowa ( ) fx ph SR V pb hb Total No. 4 OKLAHOMA... No. 10 Iowa... at Pacific Coast Classic ( ) fx ph SR V pb hb Total No. 4 OKLAHOMA... No. 2 Stanford... No. 3 California... No. 6 Michigan... No. 5 Illinois... No. 10 Iowa... at Ohio State ( ) fx ph SR V pb hb Total No. 4 OKLAHOMA... No. 7 Ohio State... Minnesota ( ) fx ph SR V pb hb Total No. 4 OKLAHOMA... No. 8 Minnesota... at Penn State ( ) fx ph SR V pb hb Total No. 4 OKLAHOMA... No. 1 Penn State... at MPSF Championship ( ) fx ph SR V pb hb Total No. 4 OKLAHOMA... No. 2 Stanford... No. 3 California... No. 11 Nebraska... No. 16 Air Force team event highs 2008 individual event highs Event Score Last Time Floor Exercise Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault Parallel Bars High Bar Total Event Score gymnast(s) All-Around Legendre Floor Exercise Czeschin, Legendre Pommel Horse Laughton Still Rings Horton Vault Legendre Parallel Bars Horton High Bar Laughton oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 9

10 Oklahoma men s Gymnastics Records Under FIG Scoring Code (2008) 6Team Records Event record Date(s) Set Total Floor Exercise Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault Parallel Bars High Bar Individual Records Event Record Record Holder (Date Set) All-Around S. Legendre ( ) Floor Exercise S. Legendre ( ) Pommel Horse J. Laughton ( ) Still Rings J. Horton ( ) Vault S. Legendre ( ) Parallel Bars J. Horton ( ) High Bar J. Laughton ( ) Oklahoma Men s Gymnastics Quick Facts General Information Location... Norman, Okla. Enrollment...29,721 Founded President...David L. Boren VP for Intercollegiate Athletics/AD...Joe Castiglione Nickname... Sooners Colors...Crimson & Cream Conference... Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Arena(s)...Howard McCasland Field House (2,300) Lloyd Noble Center (12,000) OU All-Time Record (.749) Team Information 2007 Overall Record (.867) High Score MPSF Finish...First NCAA Finish... Second Letterwinners Returning/Lost...13/1 All-Americans Returning/Lost...11/0 Coaching Staff Head Coach... Mark Williams Year...Ninth Season Alma Mater... Nebraska, 1980 Record at OU (.920) Career Record (.920) Assistant Coach...Rustam Sharipov Year... Third Season Alma Mater...Kharkov State, 1997 Assistant Coach... Daniel Furney Year... Third Season Alma Mater... Oklahoma, 2004 The Sam Viersen Gymnastics Center Men s Gymnastics Office Phone...(405) Men s Gymnastics Office Fax...(405) Season in review The 2007 Oklahoma men s gymnastics team narrowly missed the program s first three-peat as national champion. Locked in a battle with the championship host Penn State, the NCAA crown came down to the final event as OU, finishing on vault, couldn t overcome the Nittany Lions strong performance on the rings. Oklahoma finished with a to Penn State s The Sooners, led by head coach Mark Williams, recorded their third runner-up finish in his tenure (four NCAA titles) The weekend did not end without OU adding some hardware to its trophy case, however. Junior Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons turned in perhaps the best performance of his OU career to claim the NCAA all-around national title. The Philadelphia, Pa., became the second consecutive Sooner to earn the individual title, as classmate Jonathan Horton won the championship in Abdullah-Simmons also claimed All-America honors in the all-around and on vault, high bar and still rings. Horton also made history at the event, winning NCAA event titles on the high bar and floor exercise. With five career individual national titles, Horton broke Bart Conner s school record. The Houston, Texas, native also broke Conner s program mark for career All-America honors, earning the distinction on five events (AA, FX, SR, HB, V) to up his career total to 15, while also tying the school record for honors in a season. For the fourth straight year Oklahoma led the nation, acquiring 11 total All-Americans at the NCAA Championships. In addition to the nine All-America honors won by Horton and Abdullah-Simmons, sophomore Russell Czeschin (FX) earned the distinction for the first time in his career, while Chris Brooks repeated as an All-American on high bar. Horton also claimed another prestigious title in At the Tyson American Cup in Jacksonville, Fla., on March 3, against a field of the world s top gymnasts, he claimed his second consecutive Cup championship, edging Japan s Nakase Takuya. Horton became the first male gymnast to win back-to-back Tyson American Cup titles since the USA s Blaine Wilson won three straight from Prior to the NCAA Championships, the Sooners continued their reign in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Despite season-ending injuries to Jacob Messina and Reed Pitts, and losses to Michigan and Ohio State, head coach Mark Williams led the Sooners to the program s eighth MPSF conference championship on the campus of the University of California-Berkeley. Horton and Abdullah-Simmons finished first and second, respectively, in the all-around standings. Horton also defended his conference titles on rings and floor and tied for first on the high bar en route to his second consecutive MPSF Gymnast of the Year award. Williams was also honored as the conference s Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his eight seasons at Oklahoma as his Sooners finished the season with a record of Oklahoma men s Gymnastics schedule/results Date Opponent results Rocky Mountain Open Team Finals First, Rocky Mountain Open Event Finals 13 placed Nebraska & Air Force First, Michigan L, Nebraska W, Winter Cup Individual results Winter Cup Individual results Washington & Texas First, Pacific Coast Classic First, Ohio State L, Iowa W, MPSF Championship First, NCAA Qualifiers Second, NCAA Team Finals Second, NCAA Event Finals 11 All-Americans 2007 team event highs 2007 individual event highs Event Score Last Time Floor Exercise Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault Parallel Bars High Bar Team Total Event Score Gymnast(s) All-Around Horton Floor Exercise Horton Pommel Horse B. Carr, Laughton Still Rings Horton Vault Horton Parallel Bars Horton High Bar Horton ou men s gymnastics notes Page 10

11 head coach mark williams four-time national coach of the year seven-time MPSF coach of the year Williams by the numbers 8 Year Record Conference (Finish) Postseason (Finish) MPSF (First)... NCAA (Fourth) MPSF (First)... NCAA (Second) MPSF (First)... NCAA (First) MPSF (First)... NCAA (First) MPSF (Second)... NCAA (Second) MPSF (First)... NCAA (First) MPSF (First)... NCAA (First) MPSF (First)... NCAA (Second) Total Winning Percentage If you re looking for tradition and sustained excellence in NCAA men s gymnastics, look no farther than Norman, Okla. At the University of Oklahoma, four-time National Coach of the Year Mark Williams has led the Sooners to four NCAA titles and three runner-up finishes in the last seven seasons. Not since has a team produced a finish of second place or higher in six or more consecutive seasons. Williams was named head coach of the program in 2000 and has positioned Oklahoma as a legitimate national contender every year with an overall mark of in eight seasons. During his tenure OU has recorded impressive numbers, including 81 All-America honors and producing the nation s top gymnast in 2003, Daniel Furney (Nissen Emery Award). Williams 2007 OU squad won the program s eighth MPSF title in nine seasons and finished as national runner-up. Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons claimed the NCAA all-around crown and Jonathan Horton won the floor exercise and high bar titles, breaking Bart Conner s OU record for career NCAA championships. Outside of coaching on the collegiate level, in 2004 Williams was also on the Olympic scene. Williams helped guide former OU assistant coach Guard Young to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Young had been coached by Williams since he was 11 years old and, at the age of 27, Young achieved his goal of competing for the U.S. at the Olympics with Williams at his side. Not only did Young compete in the games, but his performance helped the team earn silver, the first team medal for the U.S. since Although Williams has returned gymnastics at OU to the top of the sport, another one of his primary goals as head coach has been to revitalize OU s presence on the international gymnastics scene. With Young s showing at the 2004 Olympic Games and numerous other gymnasts competing on the world scene, Williams has achieved just that. In his 26 years as a professional gymnastics coach, Williams has guided gymnasts to the Olympic, World Championship, Pan American Games and University Games teams. He has also coached numerous senior and junior U.S. national team members including: Casey Bryan (1994 World Team member); Darren Elg (1987 U.S. Junior champion); Dan Fink (1998 NCAA champion on rings); John Goodwin, Matt Hervey, Jarrod Hanks (1991 World Team members); Jeremy Killen (1997 NCAA champion on floor exercise); Josh Landis (NCAA Champion on floor exercise and pommel horse); Jeff Lutz (1991 University Games Team member); Heath Mueller, Curtis O Rorke, and Jock Stevens (2001 U.S. National Championships participants); Jamie Henderson and Mueller (2004 U.S. National Championships participants) Mike Racanelli, Guard Young (2001, 2002 and 2003 World Championships Team member); and Jonathan Horton (2005 Pan Am and 2006 and 2007 World Championship team member). In addition to his coaching prowess, Williams is a nationally and internationally certified judge. He has also served as the vice president for the U.S. Men s Elite Coaches Association, as a member of the Men s Program Committee for USA Gymnastics (USAG) and on the USAG Board of Directors. Williams was also a member of the 2000 Olympic Selection Committee. Williams career as an athlete was equally impressive. A high school standout from La Grange Park, Ill., he went on to compete at Nebraska ( ). He received All-America honors on the high bar (1978) in addition to the two national championship titles he earned with his team (1979, 1980). Williams graduated from Nebraska with a bachelor s degree in secondary education/english and completed his master s degree in journalism at OU. Williams was married to the former Susan Southhall in May of The couple welcomed their first child, son Cooper, in The Williams Honor Roll Career Coaching Highlights 2007 MPSF Coach of the Year 2006 U.S. World Championships HC 2006 USA Gymnastics Coach of the Year 2006 NCAA National Champions 2006 National Coach of the Year 2006 MPSF Coach of the Year 2005 NCAA National Champions 2005 National Coach of the Year 2005 MPSF Coach of the Year 2004 U.S. Olympic Personal Coach 2003 NCAA National Champions 2003 National Coach of the Year 2003 MPSF Coach of the Year 2003 World Championship Personal Coach 2002 World Championship Personal Coach 2002 NCAA National Champions 2002 National Coach of the Year 2002 MPSF Coach of the Year 2001 MPSF Coach of the Year 2001 West Region NCAA Coach of the Year 2001 World Championship Personal Coach 2000 MPSF Coach of the Year 1999 Pan American Games Head Coach 1996 Assistant Olympic Coach 1995 Assistant World Championship Coach 1994 World Championship Personal Coach 1994 USA Gymnastics Coach of the Year 1994 NCAA Assistant Coach of the Year 11-time USA International Team Coach Coaching Accomplishments Athlete on U.S. Olympic Team Two Athletes on World Champ.Teams Athlete on Pan American Games Team Athlete on Pan American Champ. Team Athlete on World University Games Team Nine Athletes on USA Senior National Team Seven Athletes on Junior National Team 81 NCAA All-America Athletes 11 NCAA National Champions Two USA Junior National All-Around Champions Gymnastics Activities NCAA Rules Committee Chair (2005) NGJA Nationally Certified Judge ( ) F.I.G. Certified Judge ( ) USAG Men s Program Committee Member ( ) U.S. Men s Elite Coaches Association Sec./Treas. & V.P. ( ) USAG Board of Directors Sr. Rep ( ) Coached on six NCAA National Championship Teams (1981, 1991, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006) oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 11

12 Year... Senior Height Hometown...Philadelphia, Pa. Club...Houston Gymnastics Academy High School...Home Schooled Events...All-Around All-Around...N/A Floor Exercise...N/A Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault...N/A Parallel Bars High Bar taqiyabdullah-simmons 2008: Tied for fifth on rings (30.450) and tied for 15th on p-bars (29.900) at Winter Cup Challenge... Won parallel bars with a season-high and placed second on rings (15.600) and fourth on h-bar (13.950) in home win against Nebraska... Finished third on p-bars (14.600) in Michigan win... Third on rings (14.250) against Nebraska and Air Force... Won rings title (15.000) at the seasonopening Rocky Mountain Open. Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 12

13 Year...Junior Height Hometown...Houston, Texas Club...Houston North Gymnastics High School...Cypress Creek HS Events...All-Around All-Around...N/A Floor Exercise Pommel Horse...N/A Still Rings Vault...N/A Parallel Bars High Bar chrisbrooks 2008: Third on p-bars with a season-high in home win against Nebraska... Finished third on high bar (14.450) and tied for fourth on p-bars (14.400) in Michigan win... Fourth on h-bar (14.700) against Nebraska and Air Force... Won high bar (14.600) and was third on p-bars (14.300) at the Rocky Mountain Open. Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 13

14 Year...Junior Height Hometown... Mandeville, La. Club...Aces High School...Fountainbleau HS Events...PH, V, PB, HB All-Around...N/A Floor Exercise...N/A Pommel Horse...N/A Still Rings...N/A Vault Parallel Bars...N/A High Bar...N/A garrettcarr 2008: Tied for sixth on vault (15.200) at Rocky Mountain Open... Out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 14

15 Year...Junior Height Hometown...Independence, Mo. Club... Great American Gymnastic Express High School...Fort Osage HS Events...FX, V russellczeschin 2008: Won the floor title with a season-high in home win against Nebraska... Also set a season high on vault against the Huskers (15.750), good for a third-place finish... Tied for fourth on vault with a against Michigan... Fourth on floor (14.600) and vault (15.600) against Nebraska and Air Force... Placed second on floor (14.900) and vault (15.500) at the Rocky Mountain Open. All-Around...N/A Floor Exercise Pommel Horse...N/A Still Rings...N/A Vault Parallel Bars...N/A High Bar...N/A Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 15

16 Year...Sophomore Height Hometown... Covington, La. Club...MGA High School... St. Paul s HS Events...PH, PB All-Around...N/A Floor Exercise...N/A Pommel Horse Still Rings...N/A Vault...N/A Parallel Bars High Bar...N/A coreyenglish 2008: Tied for third on pommels (13.550) in Michigan win... Placed third on pommel horse (14.000) against Nebraska and Air Force. Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 16

17 Year... Senior Height Hometown...Houston, Texas Club...Cypress Academy High School...Cy-Fair HS Events...All-Around All-Around...N/A Floor Exercise...N/A Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault Parallel Bars High Bar jonathanhorton 2008: MPSF Gymnast of the Week for Feb Placed third on rings (31.150) and seventh on p-bars (30.150) at Winter Cup Challenge... Set season highs on pommel horse (13.900), p-bars (15.400) and high bar (14.850) and tied season-best on rings (15.750) at Winter Cup... Won event titles on rings (15.750) and high bar (14.700) in home win against Nebraska... Won event titles on rings (15.600) and parallel bars (15.150) versus Michigan... Also tied for third on pommel horse (13.550) against the Wolverines. Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 17

18 Year...Sophomore Height Hometown... Harrisburg, Pa. Club... ASAP High School...Central Dauphin HS Events...All-Around All-Around Floor Exercise Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault Parallel Bars High Bar ianjackson 2008: Placed 29th on high bar (27.450) and 32nd on pommel horse (24.200) at Winter Cup Challenge... Won the all-around (85.400) and vault (15.900) titles in home win against Nebraska... Also earned top-five finishes on pommel horse (13.700), rings (14.400) and high bar (13.900) against the Huskers... Tied for second on vault with a against Michigan. Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 18

19 Year...Junior Height Hometown...Northridge, Calif. Club... SCATS Gymnastics High School... Sunland Christian School Events...All-Around All-Around...N/A Floor Exercise...N/A Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault...N/A Parallel Bars High Bar jasonlaughton 2008: Tied for first on pommel horse with a season-high in home win against Nebraska... Also placed second on h-bar (14.450) and set a season high on p-bars (14.450) against the Huskers... Shared high bar title (15.000) and was second on pommel horse (14.250) against Nebraska and Air Force... Second on high bar (13.850) and fourth on pommel horse (13.500) at the Rocky Mountain Open. Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 19

20 Year... Freshman Height Hometown...Port Jefferson, N.Y. Club...World Olympic Gymnastics Academy High School...Spring Creek Academy Events...All-Around All-Around Floor Exercise Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault Parallel Bars High Bar stevenlegendre 2008: Placed third on floor (30.750) and 13th on vault (31.300) and earned top-25 finishes on p-bars (28.150) and high bar (27.200) at Winter Cup Challenge... Led vault standings after season-high in Winter Cup prelims... Tied for third on floor (14.750) in home win against Nebraska... MPSF Gymnast of the Week for Jan Claimed third straight all-around (85.850) and floor exercise (15.250) titles in Michigan win... All-around (87.650) and floor exercise (15.450) champion against Nebraska and Air Force... Placed third on p-bars (14.600) and h-bar (14.900) and fourth on pommel horse (13.700) against the Huskers and Falcons... MPSF Gymnast of the Week for Jan Won the all-around (84.950) and floor exercise (15.400) in his first collegiate competition at the Rocky Mountain Open... Also placed second on p-bars (14.350), third on vault (15.400), and fifth on high bar (13.050) at the RMO. Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 20

21 Year...Junior Height Hometown...Littleton, Colo. Club Gymnastics High School...Heritage HS Events...All-Around All-Around Floor Exercise Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault Parallel Bars High Bar kylemcnamara 2008: Set season highs on rings (14.550) and vault (15.700) en route to a second-place all-around finish in home win against Nebraska... All-around total of against the Huskers marked a season best... Tied for fourth on vault with a in Michigan win... Placed second on p-bars (14.650) and was the all-around runner-up (83.750) against Nebraska and Air Force... Won the vault (15.550) and p-bars (14.750) at the Rocky Mountain Open... Also placed third on pommel horse (13.600) and was runner-up in the all-around (84.150) at the RMO. Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 21

22 Year... Junior (RS) Height Hometown...Matthews, N.C. Club...G & J Speedway High School...East Mecklenburg HS Events...All-Around All-Around...N/A Floor Exercise...N/A Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault...N/A Parallel Bars High Bar jacobmessina 2008: Earned top-20 finishes on rings (29.450), pommel horse (27.400)and high bar (27.400)at the Winter Cup Challenge... Set a season high with a on rings in the Winter Cup finals... Placed third on pommel horse (14.200), rings (14.900) and high bar (14.300) in home win against Nebraska... Set season bests on horse and high bar against the Huskers... Placed third on rings with a season-high in Michigan win... Second on rings (14.450) and fourth on p-bars (14.550) against Nebraska and Air Force... Placed second on pommel horse (13.800) and tied for fourth on rings (14.800) at the Rocky Mountain Open. Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com Page 22

23 Release no. 6 feb. 16, 2008 reedpitts Year...Sophomore (RS) Height Hometown... Allen, Texas Club... Eagle s Wing Athletics High School...Allen HS Events...FX, V 2008: Tied for third on floor with a season-high in home win against Nebraska... Earned a season-highs onvault (15.500) in Michigan win... Tied for fourth on floor (14.150) at the seasonopening Rocky Mountain Open. All-Around...N/A Floor Exercise Pommel Horse...N/A Still Rings...N/A Vault Parallel Bars...N/A High Bar...N/A Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com page 23

24 Release no. 6 Feb. 16, 2008 bobbyshortle Year... Freshman Height Hometown...Brunswick, Ohio Club...Gym World High School... Brunswick HS Events...FX, V 2008: Placed second on floor (15.300) and vault (15.850) in home win against Nebraska... Tied for second on vault (15.850) in Michigan win... Won the vault title (15.900) and was second on floor (15.400) against Nebraska and Air Force... Tied for fourth on floor (14.150) and was fifth on vault (15.250) in his first collegiate competition at the Rocky Mountain Open. All-Around...N/A Floor Exercise Pommel Horse...N/A Still Rings...N/A Vault Parallel Bars...N/A High Bar Date Event FX PH SR V PB HB AA Rocky Mountain Open Nebraska (w/ Air Force) MICHIGAN NEBRASKA Winter Cup Challenge Winter Cup Challenge Iowa Pacific Coast Classic MINNESOTA Penn State NCAA Event Finals... oklahoma men s gymnastics notes Soonersports.com page 24