Hourly Update

Catalina Foothills graduation streaker lands on YouTube

A Catalina Foothills High School student's prank during graduation ceremonies last week has landed on the Internet and could lead to the standout athlete having to switch schools. As of Tuesday afternoon, the 84-second video of Cameron Blazevich running across the football field wearing just a jock strap and sneakers had received more than 2,600 hits. Blazevich, 17, took off from a bathroom on the southeast corner of the football field and ran past the graduating seniors toward the north end zone. After temporarily eluding Pima County Sheriff's deputies, he was nabbed trying to climb over a fence. The stunt was captured on video and has made its way onto YouTube, the popular online video-sharing Web site. "I was halfway over the fence when my athletic director (Terry Lantz) grabbed my foot," said Blazevich, who just completed his junior year at Foothills, 4300 E. Sunrise Drive. Blazevich was cited for misdemeanor disorderly conduct and taken to the Pima County Juvenile Detention Center, 2225 E. Ajo Way. He said he had some scratches on his stomach as a result of being pulled off the fence. The video is accompanied by the song 'Crazy' by pop group Gnarls Barkley. The footage was uploaded with the heading "Foothills streaker 'Blazes' through field at graduation" by an unknown YouTube subscriber. Blazevich said he had been planning the prank for more than a year, having originally intended to do it at the 2006 graduation. But he said he was caught by school security the night before that event while trying to "scope out the place" and had to wait until this year to go through with it. "It kind of just started off as a joke, and then more and more people started talking about it," Blazevich said. "I just went and sat in the bleachers, and me and my friends were discussing which route to take" across the field. His mom, Tina Blazevich, said the Sheriff's deputy who called to have her come pick up her son was laughing. She said she had a similar reaction to the event, which she knew her son was planning. "I was expecting it," Tina Blazevich said. "It was a prank, and I knew he needed to get it out of his system." Tina Blazevich said she punished her son by making him "do some things for me that he normally wouldn't have done" last weekend, though she would not elaborate. She also said she allowed her son to go with friends to see the premiere of the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie after returning home from the detention center after Cameron justified his actions. "He gave me this big speech about how he was taking people's minds off terrorism, and that he was doing a community service by making the crowd cheer," Tina Blazevich said. "He's a good kid. He doesn't do drugs; he gets good grades in school. Somebody once told me you have to pick your fights, and I didn't think this was one to fight." Foothills officials were not as quick to shrug off the prank. "I think it showed a lot of disrespect to the senior class," said Lantz, who said any disciplinary action related to athletics would be made by him. "But I don't know if I'm prepared to talk about that at this point." Cameron Blazevich was the starting center fielder for Foothills' baseball team, and on Sunday he was named to the Star's All-Southern Arizona team as an honorable mention. He also is projected to be the Falcons' starting running back for the football team this fall. As far as overall punishment from the school, the incident could force Cameron to have to transfer from Foothills for his senior year. Tina Blazevich said she has spoken with Foothills assistant principal Susan Rosenthal and was told that, at the very least, her son will be suspended for several days when classes resume in August. She said she was also told that the incident could also affect Cameron's open enrollment status, as he and his mother live outside the district's boundaries. Cameron began high school living in the Foothills district but moved into the Tucson Unified School District after his father, Bill, died last October of pancreatic cancer. Calls made by the Star to Rosenthal and Foothills principal Wagner Van Vlack were not returned Tuesday.