butare rugenerwa - track and field athlete of the year 2017
Butare Rugenerwa - Amarillo High
Why Honored: At the 2016 state cross country meet, Rugenerwa ran the fastest sanctioned time by an Amarillo-area CC runner and won the 5A state title with a time of 15 minutes and 8 seconds.
Last Spring, Rugenerwa became the first boy from Amarillo High to win two individual gold medals at state. He claimed the 3200 meters in 9:20.83 and the 800 meters in 1:53.27.
Quotable: "I'm not sure to this day Butare knows what he accomplished in winning the 3200 and 800 because nobody knows, not even Butare, what he can do. The way Butare approaches things is unique because he won first for his family, then his teammates, then his coaches. He didn't run for himself. What he did was a big deal."
- Coach Skyler Walden
