On Tuesday night, in front on a huge crowd at the complex, she made her next vault in her career by choosing to attend Towson University in Maryland.

“I could definitely see myself there,” Lutz said after putting on the Towson cap. “It was a really nice campus and I felt pretty comfortable there.”

She will also be joining a school that has dominated the Division I East Coast Athletic Conference in the past few years, including winning the last six conference championships. The other two schools she visited were Bowling Green (Ohio) and Wisconsin-Whitewater.

“Everybody’s attitude toward the sport was very impressive,” Lutz said after visiting the campus a couple of weeks ago with her dad, Richard. “They were already excited about the upcoming season.” 

At the same time, she knows college competition will be very different than what she is used to, but is prepared for the challenge.

During her career at Elite Energy, she had advanced all the way from level four to the top step level 10. This year, while competing in level 10, she won her favorite event, the Uneven Bars and the Beam and finished runner-up in the All-Around at the State Optional Championships at Nashville in March. Beside her talent on the mat, Lutz has grown into a respected leader. Now she is the oldest member of the team. Her coaches believe she is the motivator of the group.

“She keeps everybody in line when possible, and she also helps out her teammates when needed, too,” Elite Energy head coach Greg Dietz said.

Lutz learned leadership by looking up to the older teammates, when she was moving up the ladder at the gym. Last year, she won three events, Uneven Bars, Floor and the All-Around at the Level Nine Eastern National Championship last May in West Virginia.

“They are my other family,” Lutz said. “I always looked up to the older ones growing up. They mean so much to me. Everything that has happen to me is because of them.”

You could see the younger up-and-comers paying attention when she made her college choice and they also celebrated when she picked the Tigers.

Besides spending more than four hours, four days a week practicing, Lutz has also excelled in the classroom. She was a valedictorian at Riverdale during the Class of 2011.She plans to study biology and hopes to become a physical therapist after college.

Her mom Trish thinks that is a good choice for Samantha since she is people person.

Lutz has been in the sport since she was 18 months old, and also took dance lessons while growing up. However, there was a point when her family made Lutz make a choice between the two. She chose gymnastics over dance.

“I had more fun in gymnastics, and I was able to push myself more,” Lutz said of her decision to stay in the sport.

Now she is vaulting into the next chapter in her career.