No slowing down West's Brinton

If life is a bowl of cherries, Lindsey Brinton is gobbling them up — pits and all — and swallowing them whole.

"Life is very fast-paced for Lindsey," said her mom, Sally Brinton. "She just came that way. She came with an enthusiasm for life, and she lives more in 24 hours than anyone I know."

The West High senior's frenetic pace, however, is marked by just how well she does the things she loves.

Student body president, homecoming queen, Miss Utah's Outstanding teen, starting member of West High varsity girls basketball team, concert pianist, accomplished dancer, a member of West's high honor roll (3.99 GPA).

And just which of the many accomplishments are Sally and Gregory Brinton most proud of?

"She's just a really nice girl," said her mom Sally Brinton. "She really values people."

Combine her jaw-dropping list of accomplishments with her obvious physical beauty and she seems the perfect teenage girl that everyone would love to hate. But West High head coach Ronnie Stubbs said not only is Brinton "a wonderful person," but so are her teammates. Not only do they accept her, they revel in all of those accomplishments as well.

"She is very down to earth, and we have a very unique group of girls on this team," he said. "Last year we went down to Provo to hear her play; we went out to dinner as a team first and then went to her concert ... They're proud of her. They're proud to have her be a part of the team."

Brinton's hustle and long arms make her a great defender, while she can also knock down a 3-point shot just when the Panthers need one. Her talents have helped the team to a 2-0 region start.

"She's a competitor," Stubbs said. "She's just a hard worker. She's a perfectionist and everything she does, she does to the best of her ability. She comes out and hustles."

Stubbs calls her personality "bubbly" and said she never "acts like she's better than anyone else ... She is just a pleasure to be around."

Sally Brinton said Lindsey, the sixth of seven children, grew up in a musical family and has loved piano and dance all her life. She started playing Junior Jazz basketball in second grade, which "allowed her to show her feistiness."

Lindsey admits piano is probably her passion but can't imagine life without any of the activities in her life.