Horton, Williams Earn MPSF Honors

NORMAN, Okla. Once again, Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams and junior Jonathan Horton have been honored by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation as Coach and Gymnast of the Year. The awards come three days after OU won its third consecutive MPSF title and eighth in the last nine years.

Williams earned Coach of the Year honors for the seventh time in his eight seasons as Oklahoma's head coach. He has guided the Sooners to seven MPSF titles and four NCAA championships in that span and his gymnasts have earned 70 All-America honors.

“It's always great to have your peers recognize what you've done,” Williams said. “The credit really goes to our staff and the athletes that have bought into the program and strive to be champions. It's a great honor to be able to work with people who have the drive and determination to reach lofty goals.”

MPSF Recap

Horton is also a back-to-back MPSF award winner, having claimed the conference's top honors in 2006. At this season's MPSF Championships on March 31 the Houston, Texas, native captured the all-around title and shared first place on high bar. Horton also defended his floor exercise and still rings crowns for his sixth and seventh career conference titles.

“Jon has always risen to high challenges,” Williams said. “He certainly helped lead this team to the conference championship and we're looking for more of that leadership at NCAAs.”

The Sooners, ranked No. 2 in the final regular season GymInfo poll, travel to University Park, Pa., April 12-14, for the 2007 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships hosted by Penn State. Oklahoma will be competing for a third consecutive national title and fifth in six years.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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