Top-three event finishes by Horton and Legendre highlight OU performances in Las Vegas.
Feb. 10, 2008
NORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma gymnasts produced several strong performances in Saturday night's finals competition at the 2008 Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas, Nev. Highlights of the two-day USA Gymnastics event included top-three finishes by senior Jonathan Horton on the still rings and freshman Steven Legendre on the floor exercise.
Legendre, the all-around gold-medalist for the U.S. squad at the 2007 Junior Pan Am Championships, recorded a two-day total of 30.750 on the floor to finish just behind Senior National Team member David Sender (30.950) and Winter Cup all-around champion Paul Hamm (31.950). Legendre also finished 13th on vault (31.300) after leading the event after Thursday's preliminary round, and earned top-25 finishes on high bar (27.200) and parallel bars (28.150), while placing 34th on the pommel horse (23.900).
Horton, who has already secured a spot on the Senior National Team as a member of the 2007 U.S. World Championships squad, competed in only four events at the Winter Cup. In addition to his third-place finish on rings (31.150), the Houston, Texas, native also placed seventh on the p-bars (30.150) and was the highest-scoring collegiate gymnast on the event. Horton also tied for 14th on the high bar with a two-day total of 27.900 and placed 28th on pommel horse with a score of 25.350.
Senior Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, competing in only three events, secured top-15 finishes on both the still rings and parallel bars. Abdullah-Simmons earned a final score of 30.450 on rings to tie for fifth place and tied for 15th on p-bars with scores of 14.400 and 14.500. He also placed 30th on the high bar with a two-day total of 26.150.
Junior Jacob Messina, making his first Winter Cup appearance, was the only Sooner gymnast to finish in the top 20 in every event in which he competed. Messina tied for 11th on rings (29.450), tied for 13th on pommel horse (27.400) and finished 18th on the high bar (27.400).
Sophomore Ian Jackson, the first alternate for Saturday night's finals competition, competed on the still rings where he recorded scores of 14.050 and 13.400 to place 29th.
The Winter Cup Challenge serves as a re-ranking competition for the U.S. Men's Senior National Team. Based on performance at the Winter Cup Challenge, seven gymnasts will be named to the Senior National Team in the coming days after deliberation by the Men's Program Committee. The seven members of the 2007 World Championship Team, including Horton, automatically retain their national team status.
