2006 Men's Gymnastics Season Preview

Outlook
Under head coach Mark Williams, the University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics have contended for a national championships every season by fielding a team that is solid on each event. The 2006 edition of the Sooners is no different as Williams' team sports depth across the board with returning scorers and new faces on every event. In the preseason coaches poll, OU was ranked No. 1 for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

“I think that this year's team will have an opportunity to be very successful,” said Williams, “Half our team was a part of last year's national championship, so they know the process of winning a title. Now the newcomers have to take it upon themselves to learn that process. They have to work hard to get to a point where we can develop, as a team, through the season and be one of the top overall teams at the end of the season.”

Leadership will be vaulable as the OU team is comprised of 10 underclassmen and only three upperclassmen. Leading the way in 2006 will be captains Jamie Henderson and Jonathan Horton. Henderson, a 2005 U.S. Senior National Team member, along with James Myers comprise the 2006 senior class.

“Jamie recently made the U.S. Senior National Team and that speaks highly of his work. I would say that he's in contention to be a finalist for the Nissen Emery award this year,” said Williams. “James was a great performer at NCAA Championships last year and I expect to see some of that greatness come out in his last go around. James also brings a lot of experience to the table and knows what it takes to suceed.”

The third upperclassmen and lone junior on the team, Brian Carr, also is expected to help show the youngsters the ropes. Carr is one of the top scorers returning on the pommel horse and vault and looks to excel on both events in 2006.

“Brian works hard and is competing on four events right now,” commented Williams. “In the past, we used him primarily on the pommel horse, but we'd like to see him more on the vault and high bar and possibly the parallel bars.”

After the upperclassmen, the remainder of OU's lineup is made up of 11 underclassmen (four sophomores and seven freshmen). Although young, the sophomore class is not lacking in the talent department. The four sophomores were responsible for a total of eight All-America honors at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Leading the way with five of those honors was U.S. Senior National Team member Horton.

“This class has the potential to be one of the best classes at Oklahoma,” said Williams. “Those guys came in and were immediately national champions. Now that they have experienced greatness, I know that they want to contend for that again because it was a lot of fun.”

The newcomers are the next area that will give OU a lot of support and will face the tall order of trying to replace the depth of last year's seven seniors. Three of the six, Wesley Aderhold, Chris Brooks and Jason Laughton, were members of the U.S. Junior National Team.

“They are half the team and the part of the program that I really don't know a whole lot about yet,” said Williams. “They have many things they will need to learn along the way. It will be up to them whether they want to raise their level of gymnastics in order to support the other half of the team who definitely has its sights set on competing for a national championship.”

Floor Exercise
Top Returning Scores:
9.825 - Jonathan Horton
9.525 - Jacob Messina

With two All-Americans (Horton and Messina) returning on the event, the floor exercise could very easily be a strength for this year's Sooners. The 2006 freshman class will look to provide depth on the event and will be assisted by sophomore Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, who didn't compete on the event all year last season before taking the floor at the NCAA finals.

“I think our floor team will be stronger than it was last year with the addition of our newcomers,” commented Williams. “I definitely can see Reed Pitts and Russell Czeschin being guys who will make the lineup and contribute throughout the year. In addition, Chris Brooks is notorious for being a strong tumbler and Wesley Aderhold will contribute on the event. The floor exercise may turn out to be an event that I'm able to rotate guys in and out of.”

Pommel Horse
Top Returning Scores:
9.7 - Jamie Henderson
9.525- Brian Carr

The pommel horse is one of two events hit hard by graduation and Williams will look toward Henderson and Carr to lead the way on the apparatus. Both upperclassmen have been two of the more consistent performers on the event for OU in the past, but Williams will need some others to step up and fill the holes left by last year's senior class.

“As a group, we may have a little more concern here than we did last year because we lost a couple of key gymnasts to graduation,” said Williams. “I think we'll develop a consistent team and with the four top guys, we have a good pommel horse team.”

The sophomore class will look to contribute on the pommel horse as well. Abdullah-Simmons, Horton and Messina will all see time on the apparatus, as will freshman Jason Laughton.

Still Rings
Top Returning Scores:
9.825 - Jonathan Horton
9.7 - Jamie Henderson

The still rings is another event led by last year's senior class and the 2006 Sooners will have to replace 2005 NCAA Champion David Henderson, who was lost to graduation. His brother, Jamie, is a perfect replacement as his previous success on the apparatus includes three All-America honors. The rings team will feature another 2005 All-American on the event, Horton, and he will be joined by Messina who will be asked to contribute right away.

“We're going to be weaker on rings this year,” commented Williams. “We lost three of the guys who were key to the lineup last year and we are struggling to fill that void.”

Some other Sooners expected to round out the lineup on rings and provide some additional scoring power are Abdullah-Simmons, Myers and sophomore Joseph Weaver.

Vault
Top Returning Scores:
9.5 - Jonathan Horton
9.3 - Brian Carr

In a reversal from 2005 when it was OU's weakest event, the vault looks to be one of the Sooners' strengths in 2006. This year's freshmen class looks to provide depth to complement Jonathan Horton, a returning All-American on the event. Newcomers Garrett Carr, Czeschin, Pitts and Brooks will all see time on the event.

“Our vault team has a lot of potential this season,” commented Williams. “After thinking about the depth that we have on the event, I am breathing a little easier and am excited to see how the team performs.”

In addition to Horton and the above mentioned freshmen, Abdullah-Simmons and Messina will see a fair amount of time on the apparatus.

Parallel Bars
Top Returning Scores:
9.6 - Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons
9.45 - Jonathan Horton

Coming off a 2005 freshman season which saw him garner All-America honors on the apparatus and break the school record on the event, Abdullah-Simmons will combine with Horton to lead the way on the parallel bars for OU.

With a strong foundation in place with Horton and Abdullah-Simmons, Williams will depend on Henderson and Messina to post consistent scores on the apparatus throughout the season. After those four competitors, a big question mark remains about who can provide the depth needed on what is a traditionally lower-scoring event in the sport.

“Taqiy and Jonathan will be an incredible one-two punch” said Williams. “We don't really know who may step up for us in the freshman class, but we definitely are going to need some help here.”

High Bar
Top Returning Scores:
9.65 - Jamie Henderson
9.65 - Jonathan Horton

Probably one of the most exciting high bar teams in the nation in 2005, OU will look to maintain that reputation in 2006. A solid group of gymnasts gives Willliams plenty of depth on the apparatus, including Horton, a returning All-American, and Henderson.

“Jamie and Jonathan are amazing on the high bar,” added Williams. “We have a chance to be a very dynamic and exciting high bar team to watch this season. The high bar is probably the most exciting event to watch in our sport and we have the luxury of featuring some of the best on that apparatus in the country.-”

In addition, Abdullah-Simmons, Brian Carr, Messina, Myers, Garrett Carr and Aderhold will provide plenty of depth on the event.

Schedule
The Sooners will compete in 10 meets all together and will open the 2006 season with a trip to the Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Jan. 13-14. That meet will put OU up against Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) foes Air Force and Nebraska, along with the Arizona State club team.

On Friday, Jan. 20, OU will face Air Force for the second straight weekend in the Sooners' home opener. The defending champions will be looking to avenge their only 2005 regular-season loss on Jan. 27, when they host Michigan. OU's third home meet is scheduled for March 11 and will feature two other MPSF teams, Stanford and Nebraska.

Another highlight on the schedule is a trip on Feb. 25 to the Pacific Coast Classic in Oakland, Calif. The classic will feature some of the nation's best teams including OU, California, Michigan, Iowa, Stanford and Minnesota.

This year's MPSF Championships will be hosted by the Air Force Academy on March 25 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“We start out with our usual trip to the Rocky Mountain Open, it's always a good tune-up to open the season with,” said Williams. “After that we have two home meets and we are excited to face Michigan in the second of those two. They are always one of the top teams in the nation and will provide a great challenge.

“In February, all of our meets are on the road with the highlight being a trip to face the 2005 NCAA runner-up Ohio State. This year we will also be participating in the Pacific Coast Classic, which is a big invitational with six teams. After that we will finish up with our yearly trip to Nebraska and then host a tri-meet with Stanford and Nebraska. Then it's on to the conference championships where we hope to duplicate last year's success.”

The 2006 season will end with the Sooners hosting this year's NCAA Championships inside the Lloyd Noble Center. The competition will run April 6-8 and will include the nation's top 12 teams. The Sooners last hosted the NCAA Championships in 2002 and finished a 28-1 season with the program's fourth national championship.

“We are thrilled to host the NCAA Championships,” added Williams. “We are hoping to attract a very loud and supportive Oklahoma crowd as we contend for our seventh national championship.”

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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