Six OU Gymnasts at U.S. Qualifier

NORMAN, Okla. Six University of Oklahoma gymnasts are headed to the 2006 U.S. Men's Qualifier, July 15, at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Jonathan Horton, Jason Laughton, Jacob Messina, Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, Chris Brooks and Jamie Henderson will compete for a chance to qualify for the 2006 Visa Championships.

“This year we've actually got quite a number going to the qualifier,” OU head coach Mark Williams said. “These guys all have aspirations of working toward making the senior national team and having opportunities beyond the NCAA.”

Horton and Abdullah-Simmons are already pre-qualified to USA's. Horton advanced as a former U.S. Senior National Team member, while Abdullah-Simmons qualified with his all-around performance at the NCAA Championships. Both will compete in the qualifier in preparation for the Visa Championships.

The other four individuals will be working to make it through to championships.

Henderson, a finalist for the 2006 Nissen Emery Award, has been a member of the U.S. Senior National Team before. “Jamie's been in a position to certainly get to USA's and has been on the brink of being on and off the team,” Williams said. “He made it last summer at the USA Championships and made the national team and was a part of the Pan-Am Championships last year as an alternate. He's struggling a little bit with injuries but hopefully he'll be able to still qualify through from the weekend.”

For Laughton and Brooks, both freshmen on OU's 2006 NCAA champion squad, the U.S. qualifier presents a new challenge but a great opportunity. “Both those guys it's been awhile since they have gone to something like this and it has been a great opportunity for them to be training for this level of event,” Williams said. “I've seen a lot of progress from both of them that has been important to their development in gymnastics.”

Williams said he is especially pulling for Messina, who will compete in the all-around competition at the qualifier. The junior from Matthews, N.C., has been hampered by back problems in his first two years at Oklahoma and was unable to compete in the all-around competition for the Sooners. “As well as he's been doing in training, I really feel like he has an opportunity to advance if he just has his normal practice day that he's been having,” Williams said.

“I think it's a great event for us to be able to commit to the training schedule and the process of moving forward to be at the championships and beyond,” he said.

The 2006 U.S. Men's Qualifier is a one-day competition featuring a morning and afternoon session. After the conclusion of the second session the determination will be made about which athletes will advance to the Visa Championships, Aug. 16-19, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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