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Nicole Pachol
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Div. I state 300-meter champion
Howland senior Nicole Pachol saw her junior track season wiped out with hip surgery, so she thought she was doing pretty well this year when she set a goal of becoming a state qualifier in the hurdles.
Then she met a hurdling coach named Bobby Pridgen.
“He looked at me and said, ‘You’re doing a lot of stuff wrong but we can fix it and make you a state champion,’” Pachol said. “I looked at my mom and said, ‘Uh, we’re [Division] I.’
“He’s like, ‘Oh, that doesn’t matter.’”
Pachol started the season strong and kept getting faster, eventually realizing she did indeed have a chance at gold.
“I was improving my times like I never thought I would,” she said. “That’s when I started reaching further and hoping for more.”
Pridgen proved prophetic in early June, as Pachol captured the state title in the 300-meter hurdles in Columbus to complete her comeback from two labral tears, which she suffered in February of 2008.
“I was crying in my starting blocks,” said Pachol, who realized this would be her final 300 hurdles race since college athletes run the 400 hurdles. “Crossing the line, all the stuff that I’d done was flashing through my head.
“It was definitely worth it.”
Pachol, who missed her graduation to compete, also finished fifth in the 100 hurdle in Columbus. It capped a tremendous spring that saw her shatter records at several big meets while leading Howland to team titles at the Trumbull County and All-American Conference Red Tier meets.
The reigning Miss Dance Ohio will take her talent to Youngstown State next year.
“I clicked with the girls and I know some of them from dance, so it should be fun,” said Pachol, who plans to major in nursing and eventually become a physician’s assistant. “I’m really excited.”