Five OU Gymnasts in Top Seven at USA Championships

Aug. 17, 2011

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – After the first night of competition, the University of Oklahoma has placed an unprecedented five current or former gymnasts in the top seven of the 2011 Visa Championships on Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn.

The Visa Championships, USA Gymnastics' national championship, features the country's best gymnasts vying for national titles and spots on the U.S. National Team. OU currently has eight gymnasts in the senior division representing the program.

Jonathan Horton, winner of the 2009 and 2010 Visa Championships, is in second place with an all-around 90.400, trailing first-place Danell Leyva by 2.100. Horton had the opening round's second-highest score for rings (15.300) and second-highest on high bar (15.800).

Recent OU graduate and Nissen-Emery Award winner Steven Legendre is in third place with an 89.400, claiming the second-highest scores for floor (15.950) and vault (16.700).

Chris Brooks (89.150), Jacob Dalton (87.850) and Alex Naddour (87.550) round out the Sooners' presence in the top seven, sitting in fifth, sixth and seventh place, respectively.

Dalton, a junior, had the night's top scores on floor (16.100) and vault (16.800), while Naddour's 15.400 on the pommel horse was the best of the 42-man field.

Incoming freshman Dylan Akers (85.450) is in 13th, sophomore Preston Ellsworth (81.100) is in 27th and junior Chris Stehl (80.450) is in 29th.

The gymnasts competed in all six events Wednesday and will do the same Friday. There will be 14 gymnasts from the senior division who will be named to the 2011 U.S. Men's National Team based on a USA Gymnastics point formula. Of those 14, six will be selected by a committee to compete in the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in October. With the 2012 Olympic Games approaching, this year's World Championship squad will compete to secure a spot in London next summer.

Dalton, Naddour, Legendre, Brooks and Horton are all current members of the U.S. Men's Senior National Team after their strong performances at last year's Visa Championships. Horton took home the all-around title for the second year in a row.

Men's competition concludes with the final session Friday night at 6:30. NBC Sports and Universal Sports will broadcast and webcast the action from the men's and women's gymnastics competitions. Universal Sports will air the finals live beginning at 7 p.m. Friday night on both TV and a free webcast at UniversalSports.com. On Aug. 21, NBC (Cox Channel 4, 704 HD in Oklahoma City) will air a taped recap show of men's finals at 1:30 p.m. CT.

Live standings can be viewed here.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Five OU Gymnasts in Top Seven at USA Championships

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