Men's Gymnastics Wraps Up 2004 Season With Annual Banquet

The 2004 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team did not win its third consecutive national championship but still had an excellent year finishing as the runners-up for the second time in four years. The 2004 season was one of numerous memories including win streaks, school records, coaching milestones and exposure for the team after the season concluded. Last week the Sooners officially wrapped up the season with their annual banquet honoring some of the individuals whose performances were key in the season's success.

The following individuals received the five awards listed below for the effort and hard work during the 2004 season:

* Heath Mueller - MVP

* Jock Stevens - Most Inspirational

* James Myers - Most Improved

* Brian Trause - "Braveheart"
(given to the athlete who perservered through injuries), Trause completed his second consecutive season with a torn ACL.

* Mike Gehart, David and Jamie Henderson and Josh Gore - "Ironman"
(given to those who are both mentally and physically strong in competitions and in practice).

Below are some of the season highlights:

NCAA National Championship Recap
OU finished second at the title meet with the NCAA's sixth highest score, a 222.300.

OU finished behind Penn State (223.350), which won its NCAA record 11th National Championship. After a disappointing 217.750 in the qualifying session on day one, the Sooners roared back during the team finals with their second highest score of the season.

The Sooners finished the 2004 season at 24-4 and of their eight All-Americans named this season, five return for next season. Among those are Brian Trause (parallel bars), Josh Gore (parallel bars), David Henderson (all-around and rings) and Jamie Henderson (rings).

U.S. Championships
Oklahoma junior Jamie Henderson and 2004 graduate Heath Mueller finished off their time at the U.S. Gymnastic's Championships in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday, June 4. Henderson improved upon his Wednesday score and finished 21st in the competition. Mueller finished off what has been a spectacular career with a 27th place finish in the all-around.

OU assistant coach Guard Young's petition was approved after he was forced to withdraw from the U.S. Championships due to an acute case of tendonitis in his achilles' tendon. Young's approval from the Men's Elite Committee gives him a spot at the U.S. Olympic Trials, slated for June 24-27 in Anaheim, Calif. Young will be among 17 of the United States best gymnasts competing for the six spots that will participate at this summer's Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Three additional spots will also be available on the training squad.

Recruiting Completed
The University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team and head coach Mark Williams announced on that Nick Campagna and Jacob Messina have signed letters of intent to compete for OU next season completing an outstanding recruiting class. The new additions join an already talented class that includes Jonathan Horton, Taqiy Abdullah and Joseph Weaver who all signed last November.

“The signings of these two athletes will have an immediate impact on this team next season,” said Williams. “They give us an outstanding class of five incoming freshmen that will assist in maintaining the program's excellence and keep us in the hunt for the national championship. This might be the best class I have recruited at Oklahoma.”

Post-Season Awards - Gore Honored Twice
University of Oklahoma men's gymnast Josh Gore was named to the 2004 CoSIDA District VI at-large academic first team. Gore, a junior from Pflugerville, Texas, maintained a 3.79 GPA in Zoology. In gymnastics competition, Gore collected All-America honors on the parallel bars with a third place finish during the event finals at the 2004 NCAA Championships. Gore also won the parallel bars title at 2004 MPSF Championships with a 9.187 after qualifying with a 9.250. Gore was also honored along with Mike Gehart, Heath Mueller and James Myers by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for their spots on the conference all-academic team.

NCAA Scoring Record
The men's gymnastics team broke its own NCAA scoring record on March 6 at McCasland Field House in Norman. The then-No. 2 ranked Sooners posted a 225.200 to easily out-distance then-No. 1 Illinois, 221.875. It marked the second time in the season that OU took down the nation's top-ranked team. Earlier, Oklahoma bested Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, on Feb. 13.

Coming into the meet, OU came in with the nation's top three scores in NCAA history under the new scoring system implemented in 2001. Against No. 1 Illinois, OU topped their previous high of 223.500 set at the conference championships last season with an amazing 225.200.

52 Straight
OU's winning streak of 52 straight ended with its second place finish behind California at the 2004 MPSF Championships. The Sooners broke the school record for most consecutive wins by an athletic program topping the old mark held by the football team, which won 47 straight from 1953-1957. The gymnasts streak included 31 on the road, where the Sooners last lost at Stanford on March 9, 2002. Before that, the Sooners rattled off 31 straight victories at home. The last time an OU team lost in Norman was Jan. 28, 2000, against Ohio State.

Undefeated Regular Season
For the second consecutive season, the Oklahoma Sooners finished the regular season without a loss, going 14-0 in 2004. Last season during their second straight NCAA Championship, the Sooners were 12-0 in the regular season and finished 26-0.

School Records
Records are meant to be broken and the Sooners bested four school marks in their NCAA record breaking performance of 225.200 on March 6. The first and most impressive was the team score that shattered their old NCAA record of 223.500 set at the MPSF Championships last season. In addition, OU topped the program's previous highs on the floor exercise, vault and high bar. Since then, the vault record was broken at Nebraska. All the team records broken in 2004 along with the previous marks and the dates recorded are listed below:

New Record			Old Record
Team Score	225.200	3/6/04	223.500	3/28/03
Floor Exercise	37.500	3/6/04	37.350	3/28/03
Vault	37.750	3/12/04	37.400	2/1/03
High Bar	38.275	3/6/04	38.250	2/13/04

On top of breaking five school team records this season, some individual Sooners have also fared well in making school history. Senior Jock Stevens set a school mark on the floor exercise when he competed at the MPSF Individual Event Finals posting a 9.750. Stevens bested the previous record that he held, a 9.725 recorded against Illinois earlier in the season.

Senior Quinn Rowell is the other Sooner this season to set a school mark when he scored a 9.850 on the high bar against then-No. 1 Ohio State. Rowell's score topped the old mark by a point and a half, held by Daniel Furney (9.700).

Williams Reaches 100 Wins
In his fifth season, Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams has won two NCAA titles, finished twice on two occasions and fourth in his first year. He currently owns a record of 117-11 (.914 winning percentage). Williams reached the 100 win plateau when the Sooners defeated Ohio State and California on Feb. 14. Williams only trails Greg Buwick (224) in wins at the school and Buwick earned his 100th victory near the end of his 10th season at OU. Buwick
compiled a 224-74-1 in 16 seasons at OU before giving the reigns over to Williams.

Photo Galleries
Click on the links below to access photo galleries from some of the Sooners' meets this past season.

Meet	Date	Gallery
NCAA Championships (Champaign, Illinois)	April 2-4	Click Here
vs. Minnesota, Michigan and Nebraska (Norman, Okla.-McCasland Fieldhouse)	Feb. 21	Click Here
vs. Air Force (Norman, Okla.- Lloyd Noble Center)	Jan. 23	Click Here

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Men's Gymnastics Wraps Up 2004 Season With Annual Banquet

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