LebCo Male Athletes of the Week: Mason Bucks & Klint Miller (Week Ending February 18, 2024)

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Mason Bucks

Palmyra’s Mason Bucks was unsure if he would sit out his senior year of Wrestling. On February 17th, Bucks won the PIAA District 3 – Section 2 AAA Championship. Competing at 172 pounds in the tournament, Bucks went 3-0 as he climbed to the top of the podium. This victory qualified him for Regionals and also caught the attention of the LebCoSports.com voter, who selected him as a LebCo Male Athlete of the Week.

While the gold medal was a sweet outcome, this season has not been an all-out fairy tale for Bucks. Earlier this season, he dislocated both of his ankles in separate incidents. This caused him to have to adapt his style to focus more on his safety.
Whatever changes Bucks made did not hurt his ability to win, as he persevered to compile a 23-5 record following Sectionals. At Regionals this past weekend, Bucks finished with a 6th place medal, narrowly missing States. He actually withdrew from his final match as he did not want to risk further injury.

When asked about Bucks, Coach Jon Regets speaks very highly of Bucks, stating, “Mason has developed into the best wrestler at Palmyra since Levko Higgins in 2017. His development over the last two years has been undeniable. His junior year win total doubled his wins from his Freshman and Sophomore years. This senior season, his only losses came against top state ranked/place winning wrestlers.”

Regets also went on to point out: “Mason has never particularly enjoyed wrestling throughout his youth and did it strictly because of family tradition.”

Whatever the reason he continued to compete, Bucks showed that he can excel within the sport. However, it is not his first love or his best sport. Bucks is primarily known as a Pole Vaulter. Part of the reason he withdrew prior to his final match this past Saturday is that yesterday, he was set to take part in the PTFCA State Indoor Championship, where he placed 5th with a top vault of 14’6”.

Bucks is committed to continuing his Pole Vault career at Penn State University. Before he leaves for State College, Bucks will compete this Spring as one of Pennsylvania’s top vaulters. In 2023, he finished the season as the 2nd best vaulter at the PIAA State Track & Field Championship.

Beyond the athletic competitions, Bucks is also competitive in the classroom. He plans to use his academic abilities to major in Architecture while attending PSU.

For a young man, he is also very reflective about his journey so far, telling LebCoSports.com, “I want to learn more from my losses and shortcomings both as an athlete and a person. I want these negative moments to positively change me rather than just brush them out of my memory.”

It is this commitment to excellence that has driven him so far. We are excited to see what heights he can achieve. We wish him the best of luck as he continues pushing forward.

Photo provided by Palmyra Wrestling

Klint Miller

Klint Miller may only be a freshman, but his rookie campaign at the varsity level has been fantastic. Wrestling at 152 pounds, Miller climbed to the top of the podium at the District 3 – Section 1 AAA Tournament on February 17th to accept his gold medal. He went 3-0 in the tournament, pinning his first two opponents before earning a 4-2 decision over Wilson’s Matteo Garcia in the Finals. It was this performance that led to Miller’s selection as a LebCo Male Athlete of the Week.

With his victory at Sectionals, Miller entered Regionals this past weekend. He earned a 5th place medal, finishing just one spot shy of qualifying for States. While States was the goal, Miller has proven that he can compete at a high level.

Known affectionately as “Mudflap” because of his hairstyle, Miller had to come back from having his knee surgically repaired following a tear to his meniscus. The hard work and dedication paid off, finishing his freshman campaign with a 36-11 record.

Klint is not the only Miller who is a key member of the Raider Wrestling community, as his older brother Kyle (Jr.) also finished 5th at Regionals, wrestling at 215 pounds. Having two sons who have made wrestling a lifestyle has both boys very thankful to their parents, Ken and Karin Miller, for their support and sacrifices.

The younger Miller has the goal of eventually wrestling at the US Naval Academy. In addition to athletics, he is a member of ELCO’s FFA, raising pigs, sheep, and goats. In his spare time, he enjoys working on car engines.

While we would like to wish Klint a restful off-season, we are pretty certain he’ll be back in the weight room and on the mats again very soon. We wish him all the best as he begins preparing for his sophomore season.

Photo taken from ELCO Wrestling Facebook

Female Athlete of the Week: Makenna Haas

For a full list of this week’s nominees, check out: Athlete of the Week Voting:  February 12 – February 18

Previous Winners

Micah Gray (Week of 12/4) 

Elisha Slabach (Week of 12/4) 

Aaron Seidel (Week of 12/11) 

Ashton Kriss (Week of 12/18) 

Daryan Rodriguez (Week of 12/18) 

Riley Clinger (Week of 1/2) 

Ben Stohler (Week of 1/8)

Leo Tirado (Week of 1/8)

Tanner Feagley (Week of 1/15)

Dallas George (Week of 1/15)  

Sam Wolford (Week of 1/22)

RJ Young (Week of 1/29)

Will Parker (Week of 2/5)

Jon Shay (Week of 2/5)