Schwartz earns top spot with Falcons

Senior gymnast Brianna Schwartz, who didn’t compete all-around last season and was battling injuries during the early portion of training last fall, won the all-around competition Jan. 10, leading Seattle Pacific past Alaska Anchorage in a season-opening meet, 188.075-185.55.

Schwartz, a Bonney Lake resident who graduated from Sumner High, totaled 38.40 points. Her top score of the night was 9.75 on the uneven parallel bars, which tied her with teammate Laura Willis for first place. Schwartz took third on the balance beam and was third in the vault.

Samantha Taylor joined with Schwartz and Willis to make it a 1-2-3 sweep on the bars, placing third with a 9.65.

“That’s awesome for Brianna since she didn’t go all-around last year and had been injured most of the fall,” Falcons’ coach Laurel Tindall said.

Schwartz placed fifth Friday in a meet with Stanford and the University of Washington. She scored 38.10, her second straight meet above the 38-point plateau. She notched a career-high score of 9.775 on the beam. SPU’s top performers in each event included Schwartz in the vault (9.65) and beam (9.775).

The Falcons visit San Jose State for a tri-meet with Boise State at 7 p.m. Friday.

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