Oak Creek High School graduate runs bases at AmFam Field during graduation ceremony
Izaac Neal celebrated his graduation from Oak Creek High School in a memorable way June 24: a run around the bases at American Family Field, where his school's graduation took place.
A video shows Neal going up to receive his diploma case. After coming down from the stage, Neal hops over the rope and runs the bases. The video then shows a police officer greeting Neal.
Neal said the idea came up as he and his fellow graduates walked down to the field.
"A couple of my buddies who were behind me were like 'who's going to run the field' because people were talking about it last year, and nobody did it. ... I volunteered myself a little bit, and I was like 'I'll think about doing it,'" Neal said.
Izaac's parents, Greg and Niki, didn't know their son was going to run the bases. At first, his mom thought he was jumping over the rope to grab his cap.
"That's why in the video I was like 'No, he didn't. He's running the bases.' I didn't expect it, but I'm not surprised. It does 100% fit his personality to do something like that," she said.
Greg said "it was kind of crazy," adding that it was a "one-time deal, one-time opportunity" his son took and ran with.
"In hindsight, it was kind of comical, and on the other side, it's kind of like well, that was pretty crazy and a serious moment for people being there sitting in the heat, but I think it was a good opportunity for people to laugh, and it broke away from the fact that it was so hot," Greg said.
Once Izaac got his picture taken with his diploma case, he said, the officer told him that he could get fined or arrested for his actions, and had Izaac sit with the officer for a few minutes before allowing him to return to his seat.
"I started walking back, and I was just high fiving everybody on the way back. It was kind of cool," Izaac said.
There hasn't been much in the way of consequences for his actions. The school held his diploma after the ceremony, but allowed him to pick it up Monday.
He hasn't heard whether there will be any punishment for his actions. But he said he doesn't regret running the bases.
"I'm still pretty happy about it because it's not like I did anything wrong. I didn't break any rules or nothing. The reaction from everybody has been mostly light-hearted and just good vibes," said Izaac.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Oak Creek graduate runs bases at AmFam Field
