On Saturday January 28th, seventeen year old, Kayla Linton, passed away suddenly, going into cardiac arrest after battling the flu for a little less than a week.  As the tragedy broke the hearts of many, it brought the Landsdowne, Maryland community together.  Kayla was a senior athlete who played field hockey, indoor track, and lacrosse.  She was also a part of the National Honor Society and teachers such as Shaun Murphy described her as one of Landsdowne’s “best and brightest”.  When the community found out, they immediately decided to honor her loss, which really brought everyone together and helped family and friends cope.  At Landsdowne High School’s Boys Varsity Basketball game, the team came out to warm up wearing tshirts with “Linton 19” on the back which was her number that she wore throughout the sports she played at the school.  The gymnasium, full of an enormous crowd, was covered in posters with the twitter hashtag, #KL19 as well as a tshirt with Kayla’s picture on it, all in her memory.  The twitter hashtag has gotten national and international responses from places such as the UK, Canada, and Australia as well as all across the United States. The school’s athletic director, Todd Hawkins, said that a scholarship from the school’s athletic department in her name is in the works.  An autopsy has not yet been released to determine the exact cause. Having gone to Catonsville High School, five minutes away from Landsdowne High School, I know that this loss’ effect also has spilled over into the Catonsville community.  This post is for Kayla as well as all of her friends and family that are struggling with this sudden tragedy.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/arbutus-lansdowne/ph-at-kayla-linton-0208-20170131-story.html