Former Sooner and 2012 Olympian Jacob Dalton to perform Saturday on Cleveland Elementary School Night.
Feb. 20, 2013
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Jacob Dalton
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NORMAN, Okla. - Four-time national champion and 2012 Olympian
Jacob Dalton will perform on two events Saturday during the No. 3 University
of Oklahoma men's gymnastics team's meet against No. 12 Air Force at the Field
House. The meet also is Cleveland Elementary School Night and Military Appreciation
Night and will air live on Sooner Sports TV at 7 p.m. CT.
Dalton, a four-time NCAA national champion, earned 13 All-American honors, helped
the Sooners win two conference titles and won eight individual conference titles
in three seasons competing for OU. Dalton made his Olympic debut in 2012 in
London, has been a U.S. senior national team member since 2009 and has won four
U.S. championships. The OU senior will do exhibition routines on pommel horse
and high bar on Saturday.
"It's an opportunity to appreciate Jacob Dalton, a 2012 Olympian that was
a floor finalist at the London Olympics," OU head coach Mark Williams said.
"This will be a final tune up for him in preparation for the American Cup
which is a World Cup event that will have some of the best athletes in all of
gymnastics competing in Worcester, Mass. in a week. Saturday's also a chance
for the Oklahoma fans to see him do a couple of exhibition routines and sign
autographs afterwards."
The top-12 matchup between the Sooners and Falcons is Cleveland Elementary School
Night, Military Appreciation Night, Sooner Kids Club Night and Norman Public
Schools Night.
As part of Cleveland Elementary School Night, OU will honor its longtime community
service partnership with the school, which has brought the gymnasts into the
classroom to interact with the students before, during and after class. Each
Sooner spends an hour with a class once a week for the entire year as well as
attending special functions. At Saturday's meet, Cleveland students will serve
as junior judges, score flashers, march-in leaders, junior PA announcers and
award presenters.
All fans in attendance will receive a "Protect the Field House" fan, and there
will be free face painting and pre-meet activities for all children in attendance.
Additionally, a giant American flag will be presented during the national anthem
and t-shirts will be thrown into the crowd throughout the meet. At the conclusion
of the competition the Sooners and Dalton will be available to sign autographs.
"There's a lot going on, and we want to make it entertaining and fan friendly,"
Williams said. "We want the student-athletes to have energy and help continue
the streak of being undefeated at the Field House in the past five seasons.
We're excited about having two weeks in a row at home and really looking forward
to having Air Force in this weekend."
The meet will be broadcast by Sooner Sports TV and air on Fox Sports Southwest
+ and Fox College Sports Atlantic. Former Oklahoma gymnasts Bart Conner and
Jason Laughton will call the action. Conner, one of OU's most decorated athletes,
is a three-time Olympian, was awarded the Nissen-Emery Award in 1981 as the
nation's top gymnast, won national titles in 1977 and '78, is a three-time individual
national champion and 14-time All-American. Laughton was a member of OU's 2006
and '08 national championship teams, helped the Sooners win three conference
titles and earned All-American honors on pommel horse in '08.
Saturday's contest will re-air on Feb. 26 at noon CT, on Fox Sports Southwest.
Single-meet tickets for all regular-season home meets are available for $8 for
adults and $5 for youth. Season and group ticket plans are also available. Tickets
can be purchased online here
or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (405) 325-2424 or toll-free
(800) 456-GoOU.
Ranked third in the latest GymInfo rankings, the Sooners are 11-1 after a 443.350-435.450
home-opening victory over Minnesota on Saturday. All but two of OU's 10 victories
have come against teams ranked in the top 11. Oklahoma has the No. 2 floor,
pommel horse, rings and high bar team and is ranked in the top six nationally
on every event.
For complete news and behind-the-scenes updates on the Sooners, follow them
on Twitter at Twitter
at @SoonerGymnasts, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SoonerGymnasts
and on Instagram at Instagram.com/OU_MGymnastics.
