Horton's Two Titles Pass Conner

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Junior Jonathan Horton scored NCAA individual national titles on the floor exercise and high bar, passing two-time Olympic gold-medalist Bart Conner for the top spot in the OU record books. Horton also tied his own school record with five All-America honors in Saturday night's event finals at the NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships hosted by Penn State.

"It's definitely not the first thing on my mind when I come to a competition like this," Horton said. "The team always comes first. But it is exciting to say I've broken records set by Bart Conner."

The Houston, Texas, native earned All-America distinction on floor (9.65), rings (9.675), high bar (9.675), vault (8.9) and in the all-around (55.00). His 15 career All-America honors also passed Conner (14) for first in OU history.

"We're thrilled to have two more national championships to take back to Oklahoma," head coach Mark Williams said. "Bart's thrilled to have Jonathan take the records from him."

As a team, Oklahoma led all schools with 11 All-America honors, followed by Stanford and Minnesota with seven honorees each.

2007 NCAA all-around champion Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons upped his career total to nine with four awards.

The Philadelphia, Pa., native, was fifth on vault (9.025), seventh on high bar (8.925) and tied for seventh on rings with a 9.55. He also earned All-America honors for his first-place finish in Friday night's all-around competition.

Earning the distinction for the first time was sophomore Russell Czeschin who scored a 9.525 to tie for third on floor.

Sophomore Chris Brooks repeated as an All-American on high bar, scoring a 9.3 to finish in third place.

"I was thrilled with my team's performance today. It's hard coming back from two grueling days and every one of our guys that had a chance to, finished as an All-American."

The event finals will air Sunday, April 15 at 6 p.m. (CT) on the Comcast Network. Check with your local cable or satellite provider for coverage in your area.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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