Grand Forks Red River High School principal Kris Arason says he's still conducting an investigation into reports made public Wednesday that the school's boys basketball team damaged a locker room in Wahpeton, N.D., on Tuesday night.
"We're still trying to find out what happened," said Arason, who learned of the incident Tuesday night from Grand Forks school district athletic director Todd Olson. "It's an unfortunate incident."
Arason said he's been in contact with Wahpeton athletic director Mike McCall since 8 a.m. Wednesday.
"We contacted (Wahpeton administration) right away," Arason said. "We tried to handle it as swiftly as possible."
Arason said he was still investigating the incident when the reports were made public with Wahpeton Superintendent Rick Jacobson calling the incident a "black mark" on Red River High School.
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"We were disappointed that comments were made to the public while we were still investigating the situation," Olson said.
Jacobson said the locker room damage includes a light fixture, a hand railing in the shower that was ripped from the wall along with other damage.
Jacobson also said coaches from Red River never notified Wahpeton personnel of the damage.
Red River entered the game undefeated and the No. 1-ranked team in North Dakota Class A basketball. Wahpeton beat the Riders 62-61 on a last-second shot.
McCall was reached by Forum Communications and had no comment on the incident.
Forum reporter Tom Mix contributed to this report.
