Sam and Butch: A Selfie Tradition

4/22/2019

State tournaments are full of traditions, and one student-athlete has created a special, personal tradition. When Sam Rengo, currently a senior at Esko High School, qualified for the state track meet in his eighth-grade year (2015), he took a andquot;selfieandquot; with who he called 'program guy.' That guy is Butch Tysk, who sells programs and souvenirs at state tourneys, and is well-known to attendees.

When Sam took that first selfie with Butch, a tradition was born. Sam and Butch posed for another photo at state track when Sam was a ninth-grader, at the state basketball tournament in 2017, the state cross-country meet, and on and on. In all, Sam has nine photos with Butch.

Samandapos;s mother, Sandy, wrote to the MSHSL: 'All together he has nine Program Guy selfies, the most recent from this year's state basketball tournament where Sam was on the Esko team in addition to attending for the Triple A award. With senior track season remaining, hopefully he can add to his collection with one last state track meet and finish his career with 10 state tournaments and 10 Program Guy selfies.

'I don't know what made Sam take that first selfie, but it's been fun to follow the progress. At each state tournament we wait for the family text with the latest picture. I've never met the Program Guy, and I'm pretty sure Sam hasn't officially introduced himself. He's a good sport, though, for taking all these pictures with Sam.'

--See all nine photos of Sam and Butch on the MSHSL Facebook page.

John Millea | jmillea@mshsl.org | John's Journal