CORTLAND - Howland senior Nicole Pachol has dominated the 100- and 300-meter hurdles this year.
The Tigers needed a sprinter to compete in the open 100 and 200 races.
"I wasn't expecting to be in dashes," said Pachol, whose team won this year's girls title Thursday at Trumbull County Track and Field Meet. "Coach asked me this week. He said, 'We don't have anyone.' We're trying to get the team thing going on. We really want the win. I said 'I'll try it.' I didn't realize it would be this hard."
It took every ounce of effort Pachol had to make it down the stretch in the 200.
"I was coming around the curve and I said, 'Man, I'm dead,' " said Pachol, who won the 100, 200, 100 and 300 hurdles. "And, I saw the straightaway. There was no way. I gave it my all."
Her 40 points were part of the Tigers' 112 team points. Lakeview finished second with 78 points. It also earned her the girls MVP award.
This is the first girls county championship since the meet started to be run at Lakeview High School in 1995.
"I hope they're happy," Pachol said after the 200. "I'm going to get them pumped up for the 4x400. I wish I was in it."
Howland girls coach Dan Libert his team was the team to beat coming in.
"I thought we were pretty solid all the way around and add Nicole to that," he said.
Considering they didn't have some of their top runners, Libert said the Tigers had a good showing. Megan Long, last year's 3,200 girls champion, had prior commitments Thursday.
"We had one of our better sprinters drop out with a bad back and we had one of our girls drop out of the 800. And, we don't have Megan either," Libert said. "We're still not at our full strength. It's easy to be a good coach when you've got good talent."
It was an effort which made Pachol quite proud.
"Everyone is pulling together," she said. "We have girls jumping in the 4x400, 4x200 brand new. They're trying their best. We're really coming together as a team. We really want this real bad."
MVPs: Badger's Sarah Bonar, who scored 18 points, won the running events MVP. Maplewood's Jordan Moxley, who won high jump and placed second in the long jump, and McDonald's Joh'Vonnie Mosley, who won the shot put and placed second in the discus split the field events MVP title.