Sooners win national championship on final performance

Published: April 19, 2008

The Oklahoma men’s gymnastics team could not have asked for a better scenario. The Sooners were down to their final competitor and knew exactly what they needed to win the national championship.

And Jonathan Horton came through with a career-best outing, giving OU its fifth national championship under coach Mark Williams and eighth title overall on Friday night at the NCAA Championships at the University of Stanford.

Horton needed a 15.700 on rings to win the title. The senior posted a 16.100, helping OU edge Stanford, 363.200-362.750.

“That was the first rings routine I think I've ever done where at the end I wasn't tired at all because I had so much adrenaline going,” Horton said. "It was just so much fun to be up there in that handstand before my dismount just thinking, `I'm going to stick this. I'm going to give our team a shot.’” Horton’s dream of an all-around title was dashed when he fell on high bar. Despite the fall, the senior was the runner-up for the second straight year. Penn State’s Casey Sandy won the all-around, 91.350-90.950 over Horton.

The win against Stanford was the tie-breaker between the top two teams. The Cardinal won the first meeting while the Sooners won the conference title and national title. OU has six competitors in Saturday’s individual event finals. Horton, Chris Brooks and Steven Legendre will each compete on three events while Russell Czeschin, Reed Pitts and Jason Laughton will participate on one apparatus.

The OU victory marks the first time in three years the host school has not won the national title. The Sooners did it in 2006 with Penn State winning the crown last year.

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