Visa U.S. Championships Update

NORMAN, Okla. Oklahoma's Jonathan Horton stands in third place after the first day of competition at the 2006 Visa U.S. Championships in St. Paul, Minn.

The Houston, Texas, native finished day one with an all-around score of 89.150 and stands just 0.300 points behind leader Alexander Artemev.

Horton, the 2006 NCAA all-around champion, earned first place on the floor exercise with a combined total of 15.500. He was also third on the vault (16.050) and fourth on the rings (15.500).

“I was very pleased with Jonathan's performance,” OU head coach Mark Williams said. “He's put himself in a good position and he's within striking distance of the lead.”

Jacob Messina is in eighth place with an 87.300 total. Messina had top-10 finishes on the pommel horse (T8/14.200), high bar (8/14.350) and parallel bars (T10/14.700) while battling through a mild ankle sprain.

Just behind Messina in the standings is Chris Brooks, whose 86.700 all-around score landed him in ninth place. Brooks finished second on the high bar with a score of 14.850 and tied for fifth on the vault (15.700).

Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons is 16th with a score of 83.900. The Philadelphia, Pa., native earned top-10s on the vault (8/15.500) and parallel bars (9/14.750).

2006 Nissen Emery Award finalist Jamie Henderson is 18th. Henderson finished fourth on the pommel horse with a 14.700 total.

Jason Laughton stands 28th after Wednesday's action with a score of 69.600.

The six OU gymnasts competing at the Visa U.S. Championships will continue with a final round of competition Friday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

“Overall I thought today was a little rough compared to what I've seen in training,” Williams said. “I felt like we left a little bit out there on the floor. But, all six of our guys advanced to the second part of the competition and Friday is a whole new day. We just need to raise our level of performance a little bit and see where we end up.”

The top two finishers in the all-around competition will qualify for the U.S. World Championships team. The other seven spots will be filled based on points.

For quick hit commentary and official results from Wednesday's competition visit www.usa-gymnastics.org.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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