AUSTINTOWN - Records aren't forever. Howland girls assistant track and field coach Nicole Marino knows that all too well.
Marino, a 1990 Howland High School graduate, held may records in her tenure with the Tigers.
She had the 100- and 300-meter hurdles record and the open 200 record heading into this season.
"I had three left at the beginning of the season and I knew their days were numbered," Marino said.
Senior Nicole Pachol has been picking off most of Marino's marks, capturing the 100 hurdle and 200 records earlier this season.
May 2 at the Optimist Meet in Austintown, Pachol broke the 300 hurdle mark by running 44.17 seconds to win the event.
After Pachol beat the 200 record, Marino was one of the first to congratulate Pachol.
"She really busted it," Marino said. "Someone said, 'Aren't you going to be sad when the record is gone? I said, 'absolutely not.' I went to her and said, 'If you're going to break it, shatter it. Destroy it.' "
Pachol said prior to breaking the mark of 44.4 seconds, she appreciates the gesture by Marino.
"She has always said that and I don't understand why," Pachol said. "You don't typically think someone is going to want you to break their records. I don't think it necessarily she wants that, but being a coach it's nice to see she wants what's best for us.
"Every day she comes up to me and says, '44.4, let's do it.' It's so nice, but you wonder. She must have big heart to say something like that to me. She's really nice."
Marino said she can't help by happy for Pachol.
"The 300-meter record in the hurdles is hanging on by a thread," Marino said prior to Pachol's race. "But I can totally envision her breaking that (May 2), which would be super. She's got beautiful form, works real hard - nice girl. You can't be happier with kids like that.
"I certainlly can't take responsiblity for Nicole's ability. She was very talented before I was even around."
This is Marino's first year as a Howland coach.
"It's a thrill to be able to coach," she said. "I actually ran into the coaches. They inducted me into the (Howland) Hall of Fame in the fall. I asked coach Tominey to come introduce me. We had a converstation and I said, 'If you ever have an opening, I'd love to come coach.' Then, they had an opening and I was ready to be there with bells on. I couldn't of been more excited. I've been wanting to coach track for eons."
She also helped coach the junior high volleyball program at Lordstown and couldn't wait to get aboard with the Howland program.
"I had all my papers. I'm ready to go. Bring me on and I'll be there," Marino said.
She hopes to be around for a while to see her niece Michaela Marino compete.
"I hope they bring me back next year so I can continue to work with her until she gets out of school," Nicole Marino said.
She is the daughter of Sal Marino, area sports enthusiast.
"Everybody knows my dad, he's so involved in sports," Nicole said. "He and my mom were so supportive of us with all of our sports. He loves it so much and that's a big thing for me. Plus, it's like traveling back in time for me because I see the same faces."
However, the times the athletes run have changed.
"I was looking at (Pachol) at beginning of the season and she was running close to those record times," Marino said. "I was like, 'Holy smokes. Did I use to run that fast?' I certainlly didn't look as smooth as she does."
Pachol is one of many hurdlers in the Howland program.
"I'm excited because we have a lot of underclassmen who have great potential, come back and become great athletes," Marino said. "I think I see our team staying solid for the next couple of years. I can't believe how many kids wanted to do hurdles. I think I'm the only coach around that had 15 kids on the hurdle roster. Unbelievable. The more the merrier. I'm happy to work with everybody."
Pachol is glad Marino is part of the Howland program.
"She gets to the track around 1 p.m., sets up our hurdles and plans our workout. We get there and she's way different than the other coaches we have," she said. "We practice with the sprinters first. Then when were done with that we do the hurdles. She's all about working hard and doing what we need to do, not just technique. She knows we need to work on our speed, so we do speed training. Then, we go to her.
"She's really unselfish because we're tired when we're done with the sprints. And, she works with us on our technique and stuff when she knows we're not at our best. Instead of being selfish and saying, 'I want you to come over here right now.' She's an all-around good person."