A high school wrestling team in North Dakota was banned from participating in a tournament Saturday after its members came into contact with a raccoon, the Grand Forks Herald reported.
Wrestlers from Carrington High School were exposed to the raccoon after members of the team put the wild animal on the team's bus while en route to the tournament in Grafton.
"They thought it was dead, so they picked it up," Grafton police Sgt. Anthony Dumas said.
The wrestlers reportedly placed the raccoon in a storage area and had arrived in Grafton before realizing it was still alive.
Although no one was scratched or bitten by the animal, according to Dumas, Carrington school officials decided to pull their team from the tournament after learning of the incident.
"Once we found that out, we didn't know if there was the potential of spreading anything, if the raccoon had rabies or not, so we decided to bring our kids home," Carrington school superintendent Brian Duchscherer said.
Duchscherer said the team's coaches were aware of the raccoon.
Police were unsuccessful in their attempt to find the raccoon so it could be tested for rabies, according to the newspaper.
The decision to pull the team from the tournament denied them the opportunity to compete for a fourth consecutive Region 2 dual high school championship.
