Sooners Finish Second in Oakland

Feb. 24, 2008

OAKLAND, Calif. - It came down to the final event, but the third-ranked Oklahoma men's gymnastics team fell just short of toppling No. 1 Stanford Saturday night at the 2008 Pacific Coast Classic. Senior Jonathan Horton claimed his third-straight Pacific Coast all-around title, and the Sooners recorded their highest score of the season (359.800), but could not overcome the top-ranked Cardinal competing in its own backyard at the Oakland Convention Center in downtown Oakland, Calif.

The Cardinal posted its highest score of the season (361.650) to claim its first PCC crown. No. 4 California was third with a 354.400, while sixth-ranked Michigan finished fourth (348.950) in the team standings.

Competing in the all-around for the first time in 2008, Horton scored a team season-best 91.150 to outpace California's Tim McNeill (88.500) and Kyson Bunthuwong (86.900).

OU gymnasts set or tied 13 individual season highs, and Oklahoma set team program marks on pommel horse (56.850), still rings (62.000) and vault (63.900).

"We had some opportunities and let some of those slip away," said OU head coach Mark Williams. "At this point in the season we'd like to be hitting more routines overall and that didn't happen tonight."

Final Results: Team | AA | FX | PH | SR | V | PB | HB

The Sooners started strong on the pommel horse, posting a team-record 56.850. Sophomore Corey English, competing third for OU, scored a personal and team season-high 14.600, only to have his record erased three turns later by Horton's 14.750.

Moving to the still rings, Oklahoma got season high scores from its final three competitors to post another team record with a 62.000. Abdullah-Simmons recorded a career-best and team season-high 15.900 in the fifth position, only for Horton to once again eclipse the mark with a 15.950. The senior co-captains finished third and second, respectively, on the event.

One week after posting an NCAA-best 63.800 on vault in a win at Iowa, the Sooners outdid themselves, scoring a program-record 63.900 and sweeping the top six spots in the event standings. Horton won his first vault title of the season with a personal-best 16.200, while freshman Steven Legendre was just 0.05 points shy of his best score in NCAA competition, posting a 16.050 to finish in second place. OU also got a season-best performance from junior Kyle McNamara (15.900), good for third place. Junior Russell Czeschin also tied his season high with a 15.750.

The Sooners struggled on the parallel bars, recording a 57.800, their second-lowest total of the season. Legendre tied his season-high with a 14.600 on the event, but Oklahoma was forced to count a fall towards its team score on the apparatus.

Oklahoma came back strong on the high bar, earning a team total of 58.500, its second-highest score of the season. Abdullah-Simmons paced the Sooners with a season-high 14.750 and Steven Legendre added a 14.700. Rounding out the OU score on the event were junior Chris Brooks (14.500) and Horton (14.550).

The Sooners finished on the floor exercise, where Legendre scored a personal and team season-best 15.650 to claim the event title. Horton and Czeschin added matching scores of 15.100, and Brooks scored a 14.900 to give Oklahoma its second-best floor score of the season (60.750).

"We certainly have things that we need to work on when we get back in the gym," Williams said. "Hopefully this team will be a little bit more motivated."

OU takes a week off before traveling to rival Ohio State on March 8. The Buckeyes are currently ranked seventh in the nation and are one of only two teams to defeat the Sooners in the 2007 regular season. The meet is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CST) start in Columbus, Ohio.

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