Sooners Travel to P&G Championships

NORMAN – Thirteen total incoming, current and former members of the Oklahoma men's gymnastics program will take part in the P&G Gymnastics Championships this Friday and Sunday at the Banker's Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.

The P&G Championships is the country's premiere gymnastics meet in 2015. The top gymnasts from around the nation will compete with places on the U.S. national teams on the line.

Being part of the national championship is an honor for these guys.
Head Coach Mark Williams

Colin Van Wicklen, Danny Bernardini, Michael Reid and Hunter Justus, as well as former OU gymnasts Chris Brooks and Jonathan Horton, all qualified for the P&G Championships with their performances at the national qualifier in Colorado Springs, Colo., in late July.

Oklahoma's six qualifiers are joined by OU alumni Jake Dalton, Steven Legendre, Alex Naddour and current junior Allan Bower, who all earned an automatic bid by virtue of their position on the 2014 U.S. Senior Men's National Team.

Rounding out the Sooner contingent are incoming freshmen Peter Daggett, Yul Moldauer and Levi Anderson.

OU head coach Mark Williams is excited about the opportunity his gymnasts have to compete in the event and their prospects for making the national team.

“Being part of the national championship is an honor for these guys,” he said. “We have some juniors (junior division) with their sights set on the national team and some seniors (senior division) with the ability to make the senior national team.”

Williams is hopeful that Legendre and Dalton can lead the way at this weekend's competition.

“Steve and Jake are working to be on the national team and beyond that on the world championship team,” Williams said. “It is proof of what we have done over the summer. Hopefully they have good competitions and show some of the work and success they have had to this point.”

Legendre, who was recently named OU's assistant coach, has plenty of experience on the senior national team. He has twice been a team captain on the world championship team and was an alternate for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Legendre is confident in his abilities to get back to that level.

“I feel healthier than I have since probably before the 2012 games,” Legendre explained. “I am feeling confident in the gym and am having great workouts. I just need to relax and try to do the same things I have been doing in the gym.”

Legendre will serve double duty at the competition, performing as an athlete, but also as a coach. He will be a valuable asset to the other 12 Sooners in contention.

“My expectations are high for these guys,” Legendre said. “We want to put as many guys on the junior and senior national teams as possible. There have been some upgrades in start values so anytime you add new skills you want to get out there be confident in what you are doing.

“I think it is going to be something that feels almost like the NCAA season to them, so it should be a lot of fun.”

Bower made the senior team in 2014 and has his eyes on doing the same thing this year.

“I hope to make the senior team again,” he said. “It is going to be very hard. There are a lot of good guys there this time. I know Colin (Van Wicklen), Hunter (Justus) and most of the guys want to make senior team so that is what we are shooting for.”

Oklahoma's 13 participants are the most of any program in the nation, continuing the trend of a dominant Sooner presence on the national stage.

“It puts us in a really good position for next year,” Bower said. “Not just nationals, but NCAAs and Winter Cup as well.”

The P&G Championships will be used to select the U.S. National Team, with 15 members to be selected. The top two finishers in the all-around competition will receive an automatic berth for the U.S. squad to compete at the World Championships in October and the remaining four members will be selected by the U.S. Gymnastics selection committee.

Players Mentioned

Levi Anderson

Allan Bower

Peter Daggett

Hunter Justus

Yul Moldauer

Michael Reid

Colin Van Wicklen

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics