Legendre Takes Second at Winter Cup

LAS VEGAS – The Oklahoma men's gymnastics program continued the tradition of having a large presence on the U.S. Senior National Team on Saturday as former Sooner Steve Legendre and current sophomore Allan Bower have each earned spots on the senior squad after their performances at the Winter Cup.

After injuries kept former Legendre out of last year's P&G Championships and the 2014 World Championships, Legendre needed a big showing at the Winter Cup in Las Vegas, Nev., to ensure himself a spot on the U.S. National Team through the 2015 P&G Championships.

Like many times in his OU career, the former Sooner delivered when needed and posted a two-session score of 174.700 to take second place and guaranteed himself a spot on the team. Legendre scored an 87.100 in the finals, which included phenomenal performances on the floor exercise (15.450) and vault (15.300).

Legendre posted a number of top-five finishes on the individual events, winning the floor exercise (31.100) and finishing second on the vault (30.500) and third on the rings (29.700).

Paul Ruggeri won the Winter Cup with a two-day score of 175.250, followed by Legendre, Donnell Whittenburg (174.500), Marvin Kimble (173.800) and Donothan Bailey (172.050) to round out the top five finishers.

Five current Sooners were also in Las Vegas battling against the country's best at the competition. Sophomore Allan Bower had a very good showing over the weekend, finishing seventh overall with a mark of 171.700. The score earned Bower the distinction of posting the second-best score from a collegiate athlete, finishing just behind California's Kevin Wolting, who scored a 171.700 for sixth.

Bower's performance over the competition paid huge dividends, earning the sophomore a spot on the U.S. Senior National Team alongside Legendre.

Freshman Hunter Justus and sophomore Colin Van Wicklen also notched top-20 performances for the Oklahoma program. Justus posted a score of 169.150 to finish 12th and Van Wicklen grabbed 15th with a 167.350. OU finished with three of the top seven collegiate gymnasts at the World Cup.

Other current members of the team who performed over the weekend were senior captains Danny Berardini and Alec Robin. Both competed in a number of events but not the full all-around competition. Robin's best event of the evening was the vault, in which he scored a 14.950, while Berardini excelled on the high bar with a mark of 14.650.

The team returns to competition for a home meet against No. 3 Illinois. The Sooners and Illini will square off on Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. in McCasland Field House.