Crosby mourns death of student, standout athlete

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CROSBY — Officials are awaiting autopsy results for a high school senior and standout athlete who collapsed and died in the northwestern North Dakota town of Crosby.

Superintendent Ryan Townsend said 17-year-old Justin Haugland was in the Divide County High School gymnasium Tuesday afternoon when he told a friend he felt dizzy and then collapsed. School officials tried to revive Haugland with CPR and a defibrillator.

“We have an AED here in the gym. That was used, but we didn’t get any response from Justin,” said Principal Lee Lampert.

Lampert said Haugland was not working out when he collapsed, and he had just been joking with a staff member.

The school brought in counselors and clergy to help students deal with their friend’s death.

“He was getting ready to break a lot of school records. Most points in a game, I’m sure he would have surpassed that held by his uncle Butch,” basketball coach Jake Dhuyvetter said.

“You couldn’t keep him out of the gym. He would find a way — maybe talk a janitor into leaving the door open or somehow talking a teacher into letting him in. I mean, this was every day of the week,” Dhuyvetter added.

Teacher Rodney Johnson often worked out with Haugland.

“We always came in here late at night. We’d put the hoops down, play a little one-on-one, and then go for a jog,” Johnson said.

Former coach Barry Haggin, the man for whom the high school gym is named, coached Haugland’s father and other family members, and watched Justin as a fan.

“I coached a lot of great kids, but I don’t know if I ever coached one as dedicated as he was,” Haggin said. “He died in a place he loved to be, and there’s no doubt this is where he loved to be.”

Haugland’s funeral is set for 2 p.m. today at Concordia Lutheran Church in Crosby.

Tags: justin haugland, sports, news, preps