Helping lead the NIU gymnastics team to its best season under coach Mark Sontag has been no problem for sophomore standout Kristina Campos.

However, it almost was not meant to be. In eighth grade, Campos suffered a broken leg and considered quitting gymnastics.

Her love and dedication to the sport convinced her to continue, much to the delight of Sontag. Campos has been a large factor in the Huskies’ improving by five wins to a 9-12 mark this year.

“To have someone on your team that can set the bar at a high level is great,” Sontag said. “She helps push the team to work at that level. She is what every coach dreams to have when recruiting.”

Campos, who just received her third MAC Gymnast of the Week honor, already has managed to break Sandy Menard’s 8-year-old all-around record of 39.400, posting a 39.550 score on Sunday. While the recognition is nice, Campos has more important things on her mind.

“I’m not here for the awards,” Campos said. “I’m here to improve my gymnastics and qualify for regionals and hopefully nationals.”

Despite setting the all-around record and tying Laura Clark’s 6-year-old balance-beam score, Campos still expects a lot more out of herself.

“I have had high expectations for myself because I came from a real good gym,” Campos said. “Each year I plan on bringing my routines to a higher level.”

Following in Campos’ footsteps this year has been freshman Ashlee Williams who has two scores of 9.900 to her credit and has been a strong performer on the beam.

This hasn’t been much of a surprise since Campos played a large role in Williams coming to NIU as both are from the same gymnastics school in Kansas City, Mo.

“I look up to her,” Williams said. “She works real hard and gets down to business, and I try to model myself after her.”

While Sontag always has appreciated Campos’ effort, since Williams’ arrival at NIU, he said that Campos is a more dedicated gymnast.

“They kind of feed off each other,” Sontag said. “Ashlee really pushes Kristina and tries to be right there with her.”

Campos agreed, feeling her accomplishments have had a lot to do with the relationship she and Williams share.

“It’s kind of like we have a different connection than the other girls,” Campos said. “It’s fun to have someone like that on the team with you. It not only makes us a lot better because we’re always pushing each other to do each skill better than we did before, but it makes the whole team.”

While just an underclassman, Campos already has managed to gain the respect of her older teammates.

“She strives to be the best and we could all learn a lot from that,” said senior Kristie Woodin, who is tied for the last vault spot in her quest to go to regionals.

Campos and company will try to improve on their ranking when they travel to Bowling Green for a 2 p.m. performance at the MAC Championships on Saturday. They are No. 8 in the region and will need at least a No. 6 spot to qualify for the NCAA South Central Regional. This year, the regional is held in Missouri, a perfect homecoming for Campos and Williams.