Abdullah Wins All-Around, OU Second

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The last time Oklahoma was defeated in the NCAA Men's Gymnastics Champions, the Sooners finished runners-up to Penn State in 2004. Friday night in their home gym the Nittany Lions ended OU's reign again, scoring a 221.000 to win the program's 12th national title.

Oklahoma finished with a 220.200, the team's second-best score of the season. OU has finished in the top two at the NCAA Championships in each of the last seven seasons.

The evening was not without a title, however, as junior Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons claimed the all-around crown with a career-best 55.75. It is the first NCAA individual championship for the Philadelpia, Pa., native. Abdullah-Simmons' teammate, 2006 all-around champion Jonathan Horton, finished in a tie for second with Illinois' Wes Haagensen (55.00).

"It's always great to win any competition, especially nationals," Abdullah-Simmons said. "It's nice to have that and to be in the class of such great people who have won the all-around. It's kind of hard to talk about because the team always comes first."

Stanford was third in the team competition with a 218.450, followed by Michigan (218.400), Illinois (217.300) and Minnesota (217.150).

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Despite missing out an a third straight title, OU head coach Mark Williams said he considers the season a success none the less. The Sooners lost 2006 All-American Reed Pitts to a torn Achilles tendon right before the season started and all-around competitor Jacob Messina to a torn ACL in the first meet of the year. In spite of the setbacks and regular season losses to Michigan and Ohio State, Williams' team won a third consecutive MPSF crown and made a strong run at the NCAA title.

"I was proud of the fight," Williams said. "For all the things my team has been through this year we feel this was still a great success."

Oklahoma once again started the meet on the parallel bars, recording a team score of 36.100. Chris Brooks earned his second-highest score of the season with a 9.05, while Abdullah-Simmons scored a 9.3. Also adding to the Sooners' team total were Kyle McNamara (8.8) and Jason Laughton (8.95).

On the high bar, OU's lone senior Brian Carr contributed an 8.8, followed by a season-best 9.5 by Brooks. Abdullah-Simmons set a career high with a 9.5 and Jonathan Horton finished out the event with a 9.55, giving OU a team total of 37.350, its second-highest of the season.

Oklahoma then moved to the floor exercise, one of the team's strongest events. Brooks set a season high with a 9.6 and Russell Czeschin tied his career mark with a 9.65. Jonathan Horton added a 9.6, while Abdullah-Simmons scored a career-high 9.5. As a team, the Sooners finished just 0.05 points from matching the school floor record (38.400) set at the MPSF Championships on March 31.

After sitting out the bye rotation, OU moved to the pommel horse. Harrisburg, Pa., native, Ian Jackson earned an 8.05, while Abdullah-Simmons added an 8.65. Brian Carr scored an 8.75 and Horton scored an 8.6 to give Oklahoma a 34.050.

On still rings Oklahoma set a season high and school record with a 38.300. OU's first five competitors on the apparatus scored career-highs including a 9.35 by Laughton and a 9.55 by Jackson. Abdullah-Simmons tied his career mark with a 9.7, while Horton added a 9.7 of his own to round out the Sooners' score.

The Sooners finished on the vault where Abdullah-Simmons wrapped up the all-around title with a 9.1. Horton added a 9.15 and Czeschin and Garrett Carr each recorded an 8.9.

Oklahoma finished first on vault (36.050) and high bar (37.350) and were second on floor with a 38.350.

The Sooners held a 1.5-point lead going in to the last rotation, but the Nittany Lions finished on rings, a high-scoring event, while vault is a lower-scoring event.

"Not every event is equal and we knew we had to finish on an event that wasn't one of the higher scoring events," Williams said. "In the end they were stronger. Their pommel horse team was incredible and they finished up strong on rings. We struggled on horse. We got through with a score that kept us in it, but we didn't have anything like what they had on that event."

The following OU gymnasts qualified for Saturday night's event finals and a chance to earn an individual national championship and All-America honors:

Floor Exercise
Jonathan Horton
Chris Brooks
Russell Czeschin

Still Rings
Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons
Jonathan Horton

Vault
Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons
Jonathan Horton

High Bar
Chris Brooks
Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons
Jonathan Horton

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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