Men's Gymnastics Set to Open Season

NORMAN, Okla. -- In what has become a yearly tradition, the University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team ranked No. 1 in the coaches' pre-season poll will open the season with a trip to Colorado Springs, Colo., for the Rocky Mountain Open on Friday, Jan. 13 and Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006.

The 2006 edition of the competition will feature the Sooners competing against Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rivals, University of Nebraska (No. 10) and the Air Force Academy, in the Clune Arena.

Friday's team competition will begin at 8 p.m. (CST) and will be followed by Saturday's individual event finals at 2 p.m. (CST). To qualify for Saturday's events, an individual must finish in the top 10 on an apparatus in Friday night's competition.

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No more than three athletes per team can compete on the same event and if that occurs, the 11th place finisher or beyond will receive the spot.

“The Rocky Mountain Open is a great event to begin the season with,” said OU head coach Mark Williams. “We had some concerns after taking a break for the holidays and trying to pick up from where we were. We have a short time period to try to regroup and get organized and the Rocky Mountain Open is a great venue for that.

“This is a good opportunity for our team to compete in front of judges and we expect it to give us a good foundation to build upon. Also, this meet has ramifications for the season because the MPSF Championships will be held in the same arena this year, so it gives us a chance to compete and become comfortable with the arena for a more important competition down the road.”

The Nebraska Cornhuskers enter the 2006 season after finishing 10th (214.350) at last year's NCAA Championships. The Huskers, led by head coach Francis Allen, have eight letterwinners returning from the 2005 squad including two All-Americans in junior Paul Chumreonlert (pommel horse) and sophomore Stephen Tetrault (vault). In addition to his All-America honors, Tetrault finished third in the all-around, fourth on the pommel horse and second on the vault at the MPSF Championships.

The Rocky Mountain Open will signal the beginning of a new era for the Air Force program as Kip Simons takes over the helm for the Falcons after long-time head coach Lou Burkel retired this summer after 25 years of service to the Air Force Academy and collegiate gymnastics. The Falcons, who didn't qualify for the 2005 NCAA Championships, return 12 letterwinners led by senior Brian Moore.

Oklahoma will face both teams again this season with Air Force coming to Norman for the Sooners' home opener on Jan. 20. OU will hit the road on March 5 to face Nebraska and return home a week later to host the Cornhuskers on March 11. Finally, the three teams will match up, along with California and Stanford, in the MPSF Championships on March 25 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Rocky Mountain Revisited
In 2005, the Sooners opened up the season posting their lowest team score of the season (215.425), but still managed to capture the team title by defeating MPSF rivals Nebraska (206.625) and Air Force (184.700).

The Sooners took first on every event posting scores of 35.65 on the floor exercise, 34.425 on the pommel horse, 36.5 on the still rings, 36.2 on the vault, 36.35 on the parallel bars and a 36.3 on the high bar.

Jonathan Horton and Jamie Henderson were among the Sooners who performed well. Horton finished second in the all-around (53.9) and Henderson took third place in the all-around (52.5). Jacob Messina also put together a solid performance in his first collegiate meet with a fifth place finish in the all-around (51.9).

On the second day of competition, Henderson and Horton combined for three first place finishes while their teammates put together five other top-five finishes.

Henderson took first with a 9.6 performance on the rings and Horton took first place on two events, one day after taking second in the all-around during Friday's team finals. Horton recorded a 9.4 on the floor exercise and a 9.05 on the parallel bars to take the top spot on the podium in the respective events.

Additionally, James Myers finished second on the high bar (9.35) for the second consecutive year at the Rocky Mountain Event Finals.

40 Years
The beginning of the 2006 season marks the 40th anniversary for the University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics program. During that time period, the Sooners have excelled by winning six NCAA Championships, 18 NCAA Individual Championships, 141 All-America honors, 14 conference championships (7 in MPSF and 7 in Big Eight), 94 individual conference champions and five Nissen Emery awards.

Additionally, four coaches (Russ Porterfield, Paul Ziert, Greg Buwick and Mark Williams) accumulated an all-time record 436-160-1, a winning percentage of 73.1 percent in those 40 years. The Oklahoma program has been responsible for placing 15 gymnasts on the U.S. Senior National Team and sent two members of its program to the Olympics on four different occasions.

Looking Ahead
Oklahoma will return home to Norman to host the Air Force Academy in its first home meet of the season next Friday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m.

It will be the third straight year that OU has opened its home slate with Air Force. In 2005, the Sooners rebounded from a loss to Michigan by topping Air Force 218.7-188. In 2004, the Falcons were defeated by OU 217.650-195.275.

The Sooners will take on the Falcons in the newly-renovated Howard McCasland Field House after spending the 2005 season competing in the Lloyd Noble Center.

Williams Announces Captains
University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics coach Mark Williams has named Jamie Henderson and Jonathan Horton captains for the upcoming 2006 season. The two represent six of the nine All-America honors returning from the 2005 season in which the Sooners captured their third national title in four years.

Henderson enters his senior season for the Oklahoma club after garnering All-America honors on the still rings and capturing an individual championship on the pommel horse at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. Henderson, who was recently named to the U.S. Senior National Team and was the U.S. team's alternate at the Pan American Championships, also picked up All-America honors on the still rings in 2003 and 2004.

“Jamie Henderson has been with this program as long as anybody else on this team,” said Williams. “That, combined with being a three-time All-American, a senior and a member of the U.S. Senior National Team, led me to my decision to select him as one of this season's captains.

“He has always been a role model as far as the amount of time he spends working in the gym. This season we will rely on him to help guide the team, not only with his actions, but by being a vocal leader as well.”

Horton returns for his sophomore season after picking up a school-record five All-America honors on the floor exercise, vault, still rings, high bar and in the all-around. The Houston, Texas native also won the MPSF championship on the still rings. Currently, Horton is a member of the U.S. Senior National Team for the second time in his career and recently led the U.S. team to gold at the Pan American Championships by finishing a team-best fifth in the all-around.

“Jonathan Horton was probably our most valuable gymnast last year,” added Williams. “He picked up five All-America honors, returned to the U.S. Senior National Team, was a member of the NCAA's top team as a freshman and has now competed internationally. That is quite a list of accomplishments for somebody who is only in their second year of college.

“I feel like he is somebody who has earned a leadership role as a sophomore and will be a huge part of this team's success. I can see him leading this team for three straight years.”

Oklahoma No. 1 in Preseason Poll
The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team, coming off its third national title in four years, was voted No. 1 in the GymInfo Coaches' poll.

The Sooners received five first place votes followed by Illinois (4), Ohio State (4) and Stanford (1). OU has been the preseason No. 1 team in each of the last five seasons and ranked in the top five of the preseason poll over each of the last nine seasons.

OU was voted No. 1 prior to last season and went on to win the program's sixth national title in West Point, N.Y.

“As always we're extremely proud to be considered among the top teams and recognized by our fellow coaches,” said OU head coach Mark Williams. “We have a lot to do to live up to this ranking, but I'm sure that the team will work hard to fulfill these expectations.”

Williams Signs English
Oklahoma men's gymnastics coach Mark Williams announced the signing of Corey English on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005. The Covington, La., native is a former club teammate of current Sooners Brian and Garrett Carr.

“We are excited to announce the addition of Corey English to the Oklahoma men's gymnastics program,” said Williams. “We feel like he'll be a good fit for our system and will be someone who can contribute to our recent success.”

English, who trains at the Mandeville Sports Complex under Alexandre Shostak, finished second in the all-around at the 2005 Louisiana Gymnastics State Championships. In 2004, English took the all-around title at the Louisiana State Championships. The past three years, English has qualified for the U.S. Junior Nationals Championships.

English attends St. Paul's High School and is the son of Wayne and Sandra English.

Horton Leads U.S. to Pan-Am Gold
University of Oklahoma sophomore gymnast Jonathan Horton finished a team-best fifth in the all-around, with a score of 52.650, and helped lead the U.S. team to a gold medal in the 2005 Pan American Championships in the October 8th competition in Rio de Janeiro.

Along with helping the U.S. team establish the top team score of 159.825, Horton posted the night's top score on the vault with a 9.525.

The U.S. team, led by OU head coach Mark Williams and University of Minnesota coach Mike Burns, consisted of Horton, David Durante, Joseph Hagerty and Guillermo Alvarez. OU senior Jamie Henderson was the team's alternate.

In the following day's event finals, Horton placed eighth on the vault and high bar with scores of 8.675 and 8.175, respectively. Alvarez took silver on the floor exercise and Hagerty took bronze on the high bar.

The Pan Am Championships is a qualifying tournament for the 2007 Pan American Games, slated for July 13-29, in Rio de Janeiro. In 2003, Horton tied for fourth in the all-around and was a member of the U.S. team that finished third at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Horton Named to U.S. National Team
One day after finishing fifth in the all-around at the 2005 Visa U.S. Championships, University of Oklahoma gymnast Jonathan Horton was named to the 2005-06 U.S. Men's Gymnastics Senior National Team. The appointment, which was announced on August 13, marks Horton's second stint on the U.S. Senior National Team, having been a member of the 2004-05 team.

The sophomore from Houston, Texas entered the second round in 12th place after a disappointing score of 50.250 in the first round. Horton bounced back on the second night and posted the second-highest all-around score, 53.375. The score was just .25 points off eventual champion Todd Thornton's 54.000.

Horton also managed to place fifth on the floor exercise (two-day combined total of 17.750) and fifth on the vault (18.800).

“Jonathan performed like a true champion,” said OU head coach Mark Williams. “He kind of rose from the dead in the second day of competition. On the first day, he competed with intentions of making the team that will compete at the World Championships. He had new routines that he wasn't fully prepared for.

“On the second night, we made some adjustments and Jonathan hit all six routines and his score reflected that. I think that performance made the statement that he deserves to be on the U.S. National Team.”

Horton continues to build an impressive resume in the sport of gymnastics. In addition to his accomplishments on the USA scene, Horton, in his first year as a Sooner, helped OU to the program's sixth NCAA Championship in 2005 and added a program best five All-America honors.

Henderson Named to U.S. National Team
On August 30 the U.S. Men's Gymnastics Senior National Team has selected another University of Oklahoma gymnast to represent the nation in international competition. Jamie Henderson was selected to the team after finishing seventh in the 2005 Visa U.S. Men's Gymnastics Championships on August 10-12 in Indianapolis, Ind.

“I feel great about being named to the U.S. team,” said Henderson. “It's a great honor for all my hard work to be rewarded with a spot on the national team. I was a little disappointed by my finish in the Visa Championships, but it all worked out in the end.”

After finishing sixth on the first night of competition, Henderson posted a score of 51.375 in the all-around on the second night, giving him a two-day total of 102.475 and a seventh place finish.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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