When Lanny Buck was in junior high school, he tagged along with his dad to pick up his older sisters from track practice.

As the practices finished, Lanny's interest was launched in the pole vault, as his siblings completed their training in the event."The 'little brother' in me instantly wanted to do what my big sister was doing, and to do it better than her," Buck said. "Something about flying through the air just looked like a blast. But honestly, being better than my sister was my initial motivation."After nine years of training, practice and competing, Buck became a two-time PSAC champion, a three-time All-Region performer and a two-time All-American Second Team member."Looking back on it all, it seems very real," the recent Kutztown graduate said. "The hard work and dedication that I put in throughout the years makes it all really come to life."After earning a PIAA State Championship in the pole vault during his senior year of high school at Palmerton, the goal-oriented athlete entered the collegiate portion of his career facing immediate adversity.Having accumulated 12 core credits, Buck was ready to compete in his freshman season. However, the NCAA had changed their standards, forcing Buck into a red-shirt freshman year."I needed to train, essentially on my own," Buck said. "Usually four to five hours a day I'd be putting in the time and working on things by myself."Then, near the beginning of his second year at Kutztown, a torn labrum halted what would be his first year of eligibility. In December of 2011, the surgery proved successful, and the physical therapy began."For six weeks, the arm was in a sling and was immobilized," he said. "That's when the physician told me, 'You'll be able to pole vault again, but not at 100 percent."Hearing this inspired Buck to put in the extra hours, train harder and focus more intensely on his goals."I used that as motivation and thought to myself, 'someone's telling me I couldn't do something, so I'm going to prove them wrong,' and I used it as ammunition."I think it's the A-type personality that I have, and people have told me that I have a 'tiger instinct,' where if I have a challenge in front of me, I'm going to do everything I can to overcome it. I was out of my sling at the end of January, and I trained on my own, while everyone else was benefiting from the team's training program."Eventually, Buck entered his second year as a Golden Bear track member and gained instant results.That season, he picked up individual wins at the West Chester Invitational, the Muhlenberg Invite, and the Dr. Jack M. Toms Invitational. He also ended the year with second-place finishes at the PSAC indoor and outdoor championships, which qualified him for the NCAA Championship, where he nabbed a 13th place. That earned him All-PSAC honors and he was named to the USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region team.Buck had seen what was expected, his competition, and adjusted his goals."In my first year, I finished second in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, and that just made me focus and train harder for the upcoming year."The following season yielded more impressive marks, and at the end of the indoor and outdoor seasons of his third year, he managed to grab the PSAC outdoor championship. He earned another All-PSAC team membership and qualified for the second consecutive season for the NCAA National meet."For me, the mindset was never to settle for second place, and to always strive for the gold," he said. "Of course, being a PSAC champ was one of my goals heading into college. Being a champion means being the best. And let's be honest, who doesn't want to be the best?"In his final season of competition, after almost cutting off the tip of his finger and battling tendinitis in his hamstring, he managed even more feats. He also faced other obstacles adding, "I lost a tooth ... when the bar hit me in the face on the way over it."In the indoor part of the season, he took fourth in the PSAC championships and 12th at the National meet, which earned him All-American (Second Team) status.Then, in his final outdoor season, Lanny won the PSAC Championships and earned All-American Second Team status again with a career-best ninth-place finish at the NCAA National Championships in Michigan. Earlier that season at the Paul Kaiser Classic, he hit a career-best height of 16 feet, 8.75 inches, which places him second on the all-time pole vault record list at KU.He also won the Rider Invitational, took third at the Penn Relays, and reached the national standard mark at the Bloomsburg/ESU tri meet when he cleared 16-0.75.Buck recalled the transition from high school to college as a relatively easy one, saying, "Competing at KU was nothing like it was in high school, but it really wasn't as hard as you'd think. The hardest part, for me, was balancing everything classes, the social aspect of college, along with the training for the upcoming season."Looking in the other direction, the future remains unknown."As I am currently trying to get my fourth year of competitive eligibility, I don't think it will ever end," Buck said. "My love for the sport will never fade away and I can see myself coaching and pole vaulting for as long as my body is willing to do so. I'd love to coach at the collegiate level, and hopefully the professional level too."If anyone can break down the parts of an actual vault and analyze them, it's Buck."You have to be a little crazy to run as fast as you can with a pole in your hands, and try and throw yourself as high as you can in the air," Buck said. "That initial jolt and the pole lifting me into the air is exhilarating, but the feeling after a big win is like no other. It's truly awesome and that feeling of accomplishment and my hard work and dedication paying off is amazing."When you love something, and truly love something, you never get bored with it. Plus the adrenaline rush never gets old."Buck hasn't been alone in his success."I couldn't have done it without my parents," he said. "They have supported me through everything, they have always been there to take me back and forth to practice, and they've made a point to get to every meet. They continue to support me in all aspects of life to this day.""Also, a big thank you goes to my coaches, in high school (Mike Lawryk of Vertical Assault), and my college coach, Tony Dodds. They have taught me everything I know about pole vaulting, and without them, all of my achievements wouldn't exist."