OU Wins Fourth-Straight MPSF Title

April 5, 2008

LINCOLN, Neb. - Senior Jonathan Horton won the all-around and second-ranked Oklahoma came from behind on the final rotation to win the program's fourth consecutive conference title Saturday at the Bob Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb. The Sooners' conference crown is their ninth in 10 seasons competing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Trailing No. 4 California by 1.85 points going into the final rotation, Oklahoma posted a 60.700 on the rings to finish with a team score of 359.150, while the Golden Bears earned a team total of 55.750 on the high bar to finish at 356.050. No. 1 Stanford, the only team to defeat the Sooners in the regular season, recorded a 61.900 in its final rotation on floor to slip into second place ahead of Cal with a team total of 357.200.

"I'm really pleased with the way the team competed today," said OU head coach Mark Williams. "It was important to show that we could beat Stanford at a neutral site. We still have some things we can improve on in order to compete for a national championship."

Horton scored a 90.500 to claim his third career MPSF all-around title, besting U.S. National Team teammate David Sender of Stanford (89.550). The Houston, Texas, native also defended his conference rings title, scoring a 16.000 to up his career conference championship tally to 10.

"Winning the all-around is just icing on the cake," Horton said. "For me, it's all about the team winning. That's the most important thing."

Also earning individual conference honors for the Sooners was freshman Steven Legendre. The nation's top-ranked gymnast on the floor exercise matched his personal and program-best with a 15.800 to tie Sender for the event crown.

Final results

OU gymnasts set or tied 10 career bests at the event, including a number of clutch performances on rings in the Sooners' final rotation. Juniors Kyle McNamara and Jacob Messina earned season-high scores of 14.85 and 15.35, respectively, while classmate Chris Brooks added a personal-best 14.300. Horton's event-winning score of 16.000 was just 0.05 points shy of his career high set in the Sooners' March 15 Senior Night win over Minnesota.

Oklahoma held the lead through the first four rotations, despite posting its second-lowest score of the season (55.550) on high bar. Needing a strong performance on pommel horse, the team's weakest event, to vault them back into contention, the Sooners responded with their second-highest score on the apparatus this season (56.350), the best score for any team on the event.

Leading the charge was junior Jason Laughton who posted a personal-best 14.450, his highest score on the event since Oklahoma's Feb. 1 dual meet with Nebraska and good for second place. Messina also added a steady 14.100, just 0.1 points off his career-best, while sophomore Corey English chipped in with a 13.950 and Horton added a 13.850.

"It was an exciting meet," Horton said. "We weren't perfect today, we had some mistakes and we need to work on the little things and polish our performances. It's the minor details that can mean the difference between first and second.

"It's great that we can walk into nationals as conference champs, but at the same time we have to stay motivated and consistent."

The Sooners will take two weeks off before traveling to Stanford, Calif., for the 2008 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships, April 17-19 on the Stanford University campus. Oklahoma has claimed four of the last six national titles, including back-to-back wins in 2002-2003 and 2005-2006.

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