Still soaring
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Melanie Buczko spends her time these days overcoming obstacles as an assistant engineer with Turner Construction in Arizona.
“It's always a challenge, always something different every day,” said Buczko, a 2003 Butler High graduate. “It's entertaining.”
Buczko is used to overcoming barriers. She did it as a hurdler and pole vaulter with the Golden Tornado and at Bucknell University.
Not even a sudden haboob on her work site Thursday can slow her down.
“We've had dust storms before, but nothing like this one,” Buczko said. “It was pretty crazy to see that cloud of dust and wind coming right at us. One minute it's clear, the next minute you can't see a foot in front of your face.”
It's something she never saw growing up in Butler. But nothing much fazes Buczko just like nothing fazed her on the track or in the pole vault pit.
Buczko, a standout gymnast in her youth, was a late-bloomer in the pole vault in high school.
Under the tutelage of C.J. Morgante, she broke the school record in the event several times during her senior season and entered the PIAA Track and Field Championships as the top seed in Class AAA in 2003.
Bad weather in Shippensburg that year forced the pole vault competition indoors and Buczko placed second.
It was a disappointment at the time.
“It's funny, I was looking through some old pictures recently and found one of me and my dad at the state meet that year,” she said. “I looked very unhappy. I was very unhappy at the time. But now I look back and second in the state wasn't all that bad, especially because I hadn't had that kind of success until that year. I had never qualified for states before then.”
Buczko also was a standout in the hurdles at Butler. She held the school record in the 100-meter hurdles until Lexis Frost broke it in 2009.
Buczko set more records at Bucknell — marks she still holds in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault.
As a junior she cleared 13 feet, 5½ inches, which was good enough for 75th in the world.The thing she misses the most, though, has nothing to do with competing.“I miss my teammates, my friends,” she said. “I miss my coaches and the bus rides to meets. Those are the things I remember the most.”When Buczko graduated from Bucknell in 2007 and suddenly had no more meets to prepare for and compete in, at first she was relieved.That feeling didn't last long.“I started to miss it — a lot,” she said.The adjustment was made even more difficult because her boyfriend and now fiance, Matt Lincoln, was still competing at a high level.Lincoln, who is from Canada, is currently trying to qualify for the London Olympics as a mid-distance runner.Buczko has found other outlets for her competitive nature.She is a regular in the gym and has stayed in top shape. Buczko has entered several road races and plays softball.The Arizona climate helps.Buczko moved west last fall and quickly adjusted to the warm winters and abundance of outdoor activities.“It's so completely different out here than Butler,” Buczko said. “Christmas was pretty fun because it was in the 70s. It's really kind of neat out here because we're in a desert, but we can drive a few hours north to Flagstaff and see snow in the winter. We can drive to the Grand Canyon. Los Angeles is just six hours away. Las Vegas is close. There's just so much to do and see here.”Buczko still gets homesick, though.“I miss my family and friends,” she said. “I had never lived anywhere outside of Pennsylvania before.”Buczko still gets back to Pennsylvania frequently thanks to a plethora of weddings this year.She'll be back for another in September: hers.“It's a little unusual to come back that often,” she said. “But I love coming back.”
