Sooner Six Make Strong Case on Day One of Trials

ST. LOUIS -- Day one of the 2016 U.S. Men's Olympic Trials is in the books and several current and former members of the OU men's gymnastics team are poised to make a run at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

After three days of competition, Thursday night in St. Louis plus two days at the 2016 P&G Championships in early June, three Sooners sit in the top six of the all-around scoring and Sooners litter the leaderboards of individual events. Oklahoma has given the committee plenty to think about.

Former Sooner Chris Brooks showed up to St. Louis with a steely-eyed determination. Brooks' fiery, competitive attitude propelled him to second place Thursday with an all-around mark of 89.175. He placed second on high bar (15.325) and third on parallel bars (15.500). Brooks also took second at the P&G Championships just weeks ago and has hit all 18 of his routines in those two days of gymnastics plus Thursday night. With another six-for-six performance on Saturday and perhaps a stronger showing on pommel horse, Brooks will be hard to leave off the Olympic roster.

2012 Olympian Jake Dalton sits in third after an 88.325 on Thursday. Dalton sits in the top five in four events at the Trials, including second-place scores on floor (15.250) and vault (15.225). Dalton's case for the Olympic squad will be tough to ignore if he can continue at his current clip.

Former Sooner Alex Naddour greatly improved his Olympic odds on the first day of Trials. Naddour competed on five events and was rock solid on all of them. Perhaps most importantly he turned in the best score of the night on pommel horse, a huge 15.650. Team USA needs all the help it can get on the horse as the event proved to be its downfall at the 2015 World Championships. Naddour also scored well on rings (2^nd – 15.225) and vault (5^th – 15.125), making a strong case for his inclusion on the Olympic team.

Reigning NCAA all-around champion Yul Moldauer sits in sixth after three rounds of gymnastics. The freshman turned in five top-10 event scores Thursday night and sat in third after five rotations before a stumble on high bar. Moldauer has continued to turn heads with his ability to keep pace with the veterans at the Trials.

Sooner assistant coach Steven Legendre was strong on floor on day one. He scored 15.500, good for third on the night. Kanji Oyama, a 2017 OU graduate, put up steady marks across the board to sit in 11^th after day one. Oyama is making his first appearance on the U.S. Senior National Team.

The second day of competition at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials will take place Saturday at 7 p.m. CT and will be aired on NBC beginning at 8 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be streamed live on the NBC Sports Live Extra App. The 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, consisting of five competitors and three alternates, will be chosen immediately following the competition.