TACOMA-For Gwen Smithberg of John F. Kennedy Catholic High School, the weekend of February 15-16 became the best of times at the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall.

This junior, who won the all-around crown Friday, seized another gold medal at the 2008 WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab Tires presented by Wells Fargo Class 3A/2A gymnastics championship in Saturday individual competiton with a soaring, sparkling routine that earned a 9.65 on the uneven parallel bars.

On the vault, sophomore Tanisha Duran from Hudson's Bay of Vancouver nosed out Smithberg 9.525 to 9.5 to win that title. Megan Ballou of Mount Spokane claimed the beam title by posting a 9.5 while Issaquah senior Kara Chin danced to a meet-high score of 9.675 to earn first place on the floor exercise. Smithberg added an 8.8 seventh place on the balance beam to round out her Saturday achievements.

Notching her third consecutive career best in a period of three weeks to earn the Friday all-around gold medal, Smithberg earned her second score of 37 or more with a 37.55 on Friday after a 37.45 at district. Her state all-around achievement was showcased by a gold medal on vault (9.5). Smithberg placed second on the uneven parallel bars (9.35) and third on the balance beam (9.325) while just missing qualification for Saturday individual finals competition by 0.25 of a point on the floor.

With the bars title succesfully secured alongside her all-around crown, the Lancer junior reflected upon her recent sucesses with an eager look to the future.

"I'm ecstatic and really excited from yesterday," she said on Saturday. "The Yurichenko tuck I used on vault Frday was good, again. Today was icing on the cake. It's been a very exciting couple of days, and I have next year to improve. I hope to be back."