Sooners Claim 12th Rocky Mountain Open Title
NORMAN, Okla. – Sophomore Jacob Dalton claimed the fourth all-around title of his career with a score of 88.500, as the No. 3 Oklahoma men’s gymnastics team won its 12th straight Rock Mountain Open title, Saturday, Jan. 15.
OU (346.500) opened the 2011 season with wins over No. 9 Nebraska (334.500), No. 13 Air Force (327.300) and Arizona State (311.600). A team comprised of athletes from the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs scored a 350.750 but was ineligible for awards in the collegiate division.
“We did not have our full team for this meet, so we did what I expected us to do,” said OU head coach Mark Williams. “We got through without any major setbacks or any injuries to the team and that is good but we have a lot of work to do from here on out.”
The Sooners claimed five of the six team event titles on the night winning floor (57.300), rings (57.600), vault (63.800), parallel bars (57.400) and high bar (55.600). It marks the fifth time Oklahoma claimed at least six events at the Rocky Mountain Open.
The meet was highlighted by two Sooners that posted record highs with Legendre’s 16.400 on vault and Dalton’s 15.100 on parallel bars.
“I was happy with my vault. It was pretty good but definitely want to start doing the double-front half out for the rest of the meets of the season,” said senior Steven Legendre. “As for the meet, it was pretty rough and we have some work to do.”
Two different Sooners took home three of the six individual event titles, with Legendre claiming vault (16.400) and sophomore Jacob Dalton claiming floor (15.700) parallel bars (15.100). This continues OU’s streak of claiming at least half of the event titles since 2002.
“It will be good to go home to our crowd and have the Cleveland Elementary children for a special night,” added Williams. “Ohio State has a good team and they are a traditional power in the . We will have our work cut out for us.”
Oklahoma returns home for its next meet against Ohio State at the McCasland Field House. The meet marks “Cleveland Elementary Night.”
The event is part of a “Partners in Education” program developed by Oklahoma Head Coach Mark Williams and Cleveland Elementary music teacher Regina Bell.
The OU Athletics Marketing Department has some special events planned for “Cleveland Elementary Night”. Several lucky students will win the opportunity to serve as junior judges, score flashers, march-in leaders, junior PA announcer and award presenters at the meet. One Cleveland student will also perform the national anthem.
Updated 01-16-2011
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