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Nick
Campbell photo courtesy of Scott Langston, Versailles Policy;
Linkous
CNO photo by George Starks.
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Campbell-Linkous
tapped as November’s best
By George Starks
Versailles sophomore Nick Campbell and Tri-Village senior Kayla Linkous
have been named at the CNO’s Athletes of the month.
Campbell:
It’s rare to see a sophomore lead a varsity football team but in the
case of Nick Campbell, not only was he the team leader on the football
field in Versailles, he led the Tigers into the playoffs for the first
time since 2006.
Finishing the season with a mark of 8-2, the Tigers, behind Campbell,
went into the post season seeded eighth and rolled over top seeded West
Liberty-Salem in the opening round before bowing out to Coldwater in
round two.
In that game, Campbell left the game early due to an injury and never
returned.
At the quarterback position, Campbell not only directed the offense but
one of the rushing leaders on the team. His legs and his arm were the
weapons.
“I’m amazed to be named as the Athlete of the Month,” said Campbell.
“There are a lot of good upper-classmen out there who are better
athletes than me. This really is an honor.”
In true Versailles fashion, Campbell is taking it one season at a time.
“As a team, we had a good year but by our standards, it wasn’t a great
year,” Campbell said. “We got into the play-offs but we didn’t prove
anything. Next year, we need to improve and play every game like it’s a
play-off game because in the MAC, it is. I’m just a small piece of the
puzzle. There are ten other guys on the field with me and without them,
my numbers aren’t that good and we don’t go anywhere after the tenth
game of the season.”
Linkous:
Netting 56 points and pulling down 23 rebounds in her two games in the
Burkett Tournament, Tri-Village senior Kayla Linkous recently helped
lead the Lady Patriots to their second straight tournament title.
“Winning the Burkett was just the beginning of what we hope will be the
best season ever at Tri-Village in girls basketball,” said Linkous. “I
really appreciate receiving this honor because it tells me all my hard
work is paying off and that makes me want to work harder. Without my
team though, I’m nothing so this belongs to them too, not just me.”
A year ago, the Patriots fell one game short of going to Columbus,
losing to Ft. Loramie in the regional finals.
This year, the goal for Linkous and the Patriots is to make the big
trip.
“After last year, we set goals for this team,” Linkous said. “Winning
the Burkett was the first one but going to Columbus is the biggest one.
We want the big prize at the end of the year. That is our main goal and
I think we can get there. We have the talent on this team and the
potential to get there. The girls on this team are unbelievable. When
we are on the floor playing, it’s almost as if we can read each others
minds sometimes. We know what the others are going to do before they do
it. We really click as a team.”
When the Burkett was over, Patriots coach Brad Gray said the team
wanted to send Linkous off as a Burkett champion.
Linkous saw it a little different.
“I wanted to win the title for the team because it would be a great
confidence booster,” Linkous pointed out.
After graduation, Linkous will be heading to Cedarville. She will be
playing basketball there and will be getting her degree in early
childhood education.
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