For the third time in four years, Mahtomedi and Chisago Lakes met with a state tournament berth on the line.

Mahtomedi has yet to lose.

Winston Wright broke open a tight game with an insurance goal midway through the third period and the Zephyrs beat the Wildcats 3-1 in Thursday’s Class A, Section 4 final at Aldrich Arena. It is the fourth straight section title for Mahtomedi and ninth in 11 years. The Zephyrs won state titles in 2020 and 2023.

Brock Gutterman and Laken Decker also scored for the second-seeded Zephyrs. Wes Strub made 28 saves.

Class A state tournament play begins Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center. The brackets and schedule are to be announced Saturday.

Mahtomedi likely won’t be a trendy pick with its 11-15-2 record, but the Zephyrs should not be looked past.

Their losses include a plethora of teams that have either advanced to a section final or the state tournament, including two each to Class 2A schools Hill-Murray and St. Thomas Academy, and one-goal losses to Hibbing/Chisholm, Cloquet/Esko/Carleton and St. Cloud Cathedral and two goals to East Grand Forks in Class 1A.

Corbin Shandley made 30 saves and Austin Slettom scored for top-seed Chisago Lakes (16-10-2), which won 3-2 at Mahtomedi Jan. 28.

Wright poked home a rebound of a Cody Loida shot that barely got through Shandley and was almost on the goal line to finish the scoring.

Up 2-1 on an early second-period goal by Decker, the Zephyrs had a golden chance to break the game open midway through the frame with a 5-on-3 power play for two minutes. In the Chisago Lakes zone for most of that time, the Zephyrs had good puck movement but could not beat Shandley. Mahtomedi’s power-play success for the season is less than 9%.

A sign in front of the Chisago Lakes student section stated “Celly Button” with a big red dot. It kind of got “pushed” midway through the opening period thanks to a pair of perfect passes.

Down the left side, Alex Bever connected with Landon Kerkow, whose drop pass went to Slottem. Fighting off a defender, the junior went forehand-backhand to slip the puck into the Zephyrs’ net.

Gutterman scored late in the period for Mahtomedi, with a laser-like wrist shot from the left dot that got in just under the crossbar.

Related Articles

Boys hockey: Johnson folding storied program into co-op with Highland Park

Lakeville police officer, high school hockey coach critically injured in fall during practice

St. Michael-Albertville continued its reign over Class 3A wrestling Thursday, winning its second consecutive title in dominant fashion.

The Knights downed Shakopee 46-18 in the final to cap a day in which St. Michael-Albertville won its three matches by a combined score of 160-26.

The Knights finished a perfect 27-0 on the season, with 23 of the victories coming by 35-plus points. St. Michael-Albertville coach Josh Joriman noted there were multiple matches he figured would be competitive in Thursday’s final, but added his guys simply wrestled “really well,” as they have all season.

The Knights sport what is, by far, the state’s deepest lineup, a product of the quality of the team’s room.

“We’ve got a lot of tough guys who are competing nonstop and they compete with each other here,” Joriman said. “I think the balance (in the lineup) comes from (the idea that) iron sharpens iron. … It just raises the level for everybody.”

There was no doubt in the minds of many that the Knights would be the ones lifting the trophy at day’s end. And yet St. Michael-Albertville wouldn’t be overcome by overconfidence. Not after what happened two years ago, when the Knights were stunned by Hastings in the state final in a match it once led 32-9.

“Never (overlooking anyone) again,” Knights senior Jarrett Wadsen said. “After that, our whole team’s humbleness — we don’t talk as much crap anymore, that’s for sure.”

Wadsen said it was “really cool” to think about the historic season his team just completed.

“Knowing that this is my senior year, my last year, and we put a stamp on it,” he said. “It just feels awesome.”

Shakopee reached the state final by edging third-seeded Stillwater 27-26 in a duel in which the Ponies — who would’ve won a tiebreaker of matches won — lost a point for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Stillwater — who kept its regular-season match relatively close with the Knights, falling 39-23 — held a 21-5 lead in the semifinals, thanks to its dominance at the lower weights. But Shakopee rallied from there, winning five of the final six matches.

Stillwater won the third-place match over Albert Lea 32-28.

St. Michael-Albertville’s closest duel all season was a 30-21 victory over Watertown Mayer, who claimed the Class 2A crown on Thursday. The Royals (22-1) topped Kasson-Mantorville 33-20 in the final.

Watertown Mayer’s victory — its first state title in program history — marks the first time since 2007 that someone other than the KoMets or Simley won the Class 2A title.

Bryce Burkett secured the title for the Royals with a pin in the 189-pound match.

The KoMets reached the final by edging Simley 31-27 in the afternoon semifinals. That victory officially ended Simley’s run of six straight team state titles.

Kasson-Mantorville entered the heavyweight bout with a 28-27 lead and sealed the match on a 7-0 decision from Jacob Duitsman, who wrestled up two weight classes.

But as is the case with all duels, the contest was decided through bonus points and swing matches throughout the affair. It was exactly the type of duel, and day, Simley coach Will Short expected.

The Spartans were tested from the beginning of the day to the end. They got past Grand Rapids in the morning on a tiebreaker of seven matches won to six after the two teams both finished with 33 points. That came down to Jake Kos and Damir Safronov pulling out majors to nab extra points, among other things.

Simley fell 28-26 to Becker in the third-place match, a bout that was determined by a 215-pound match that Becker’s Aiden Golley won in an ultimate tiebreaker.

“We knew that’s exactly how our duels were going to go in the whole tournament,” Short said. “We just weren’t steady enough at every weight.”

But while Simley would’ve loved a seventh straight crown, and did believe it had a shot at one, pride was the main emotion that Short exuded at day’s end.

“We’ve got no regrets,” Short said. “I’m saying this — and I really mean it — my coaching staff and my kids have worked extremely hard this year to put us in a position from being a match away from being in the finals.”

He noted how much fun Thursday was. The Spartans rolled to titles in past years. Short noted he indeed loves to win. But this year’s team tournament provided pulse-pounding action throughout.

But, the Spartans did come up short. So now, after the weekend’s individual competitions, Short said they’ll enter an evaluation period and discuss with returning wrestlers — of which there are many — what needs to be done to come out on top in 2026.

The last shortfall led to six consecutive state titles. Perhaps more championships are to come. Between Kos, Adrian and Aiden Mincy, Amilio Salas and others, there’s plenty to work with.

“I think this team will be hungry next and will want to be back here. Because now we’re behind, and we have to go find a way to go get ourselves back to the top,” Short said. “I’m just excited for our kids, I really am.”

Staples-Motley topped defending champion Chatfield 33-16 for the Class A title — its first state championship since Staples won seven in an eight-year span ranging from 1978-85. Staples-Motley is coached by Jim Jackson, the former coach of Apple Valley, Shakopee and Eden Prairie.

Before a 24-year-old was shot in the head in St. Paul, he was walking with his cousins — they were being followed by two men, but were unaware they were being “hunted,” according to murder charges filed this week.

Dejaun Hemphill, 24, was left unconscious and not breathing after the Nov. 5 shooting and died at the hospital on Nov. 15.

On Thursday, the St. Paul police SWAT team arrested Kenneth E. Terry, 18, and Jehovah M. Nelson, 19, both of St. Paul. Murder charges against them were unsealed.

Kenneth E. Terry (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Hemphill was with two cousins when he was shot near University Avenue and Rice Street. A woman who was previously in a relationship with Terry reported that she had been hanging out with one of Hemphill’s cousins’ younger brothers, which was making Terry jealous. She said Terry had been bragging about Hemphill’s murder on social media, according to a criminal complaint.

Officers on patrol heard three to four shots fired about 4:55 p.m. on Nov. 5. They saw a man running and police found him. He said he and his cousins — Hemphill and another man — went to a convenience/tobacco store on University Avenue at Arundel Street. They were walking east on University Avenue for one of them to get cash from an ATM off Rice Street when someone shot at them from behind, which led him run.

Hemphill’s other cousin flagged down officers, and said his cousin had been shot and needed medical attention. He said he didn’t see who the shooter was.

Hemphill was lying on the University Avenue sidewalk between Marion and Rice streets, and was taken by ambulance to Regions Hospital. A surgeon told police that Hemphill’s “case was one of the worst she had worked on,” the complaint said.

Hemphill fought for his life, according to a GoFundMe for funeral expenses. He was the father of a 4-month-old son, “who will now experience life without him,” the fundraiser said.

Surveillance video showed shooting

Police found surveillance video from the day before the shooting that showed a man, who investigators identified as Nelson, at University Avenue and Lexington Parkway. In video from Nov. 5 less than an hour before the shooting, in the area where Hemphill was shot, police saw a man wearing the same clothes as Nelson but this time with a white mask that completely covered his face, the complaint said.

Jehovah M. Nelson (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Police identified Terry from surveillance video that showed him outside the convenience store about 4 p.m. on Nov. 5. Hemphill and his cousins went in the store about 4:40 p.m. Terry was inside the store and looked out the window several times when they left, video showed.

In additional video, the shooter and Terry were seen running through a parking lot behind the cousins at 4:54 p.m. The shooter took up a firing stance and Hemphill fell to the sidewalk.

On Nov. 8, a man saw someone breaking into his sister’s vehicle in Minneapolis on Minnehaha Avenue between 35th and 36th streets. The man ran out to confront the thief. A GMC Terrain pulled up and a backseat passenger shot at the man. The man returned fire and the Terrain left. The thief ran away.

Less than 20 minutes later, the Terrain arrived at a hospital and dropped off a man with a gunshot wound that grazed his head. The wounded man was identified as Terry.

Police searched the Terrain and, in a backpack, found Nelson’s school identification. Also in the vehicle was a white Michael Myers mask — the killer character in the “Halloween” movies who wears a mask — that matched the mask worn by the shooter in St. Paul, the complaint said.

Related Articles

Mexico sends drug lord Caro Quintero and 28 others to the US as officials meet with Trump team

Charges: St. Paul father caused 60 fractures, other injuries to 3-month-old twin sons

Texas lottery drawings that paid out big jackpots are the focus of widening investigations

Influencer Tate brothers, who face human trafficking charges in Romania, arrive in the US

In first St. Paul homicide of 2025, man arrested in fatal stabbing of his wife

Investigators obtained search warrants for two cellphones found in the backpack, along for Terry’s Snapchat account. A Snapchat video from Nov. 1 showed Terry reach off camera and get a white Michael Myers mask.

Photos and surveillance video showed Nelson “wearing the exact same Nike sweatshirt, Nike sweatpants and black shoes with red laces worn by the man who killed” Hemphill, the complaint said.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged both men with aiding and abetting murder, along with attempted murder of Hemphill’s cousin who ran after they were shot at. They are due to make their first court appearance Friday.

By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ and JOSHUA GOODMAN

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has sent 29 drug cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, to the United States as the Trump administration turns up the pressure on drug trafficking organizations.

Related Articles

Egypt says negotiations between Israel and Hamas on next phase of Gaza ceasefire have begun

2 men were publicly caned for having sex with each other in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh

North Korea appears to have sent more troops to Russia to back its war against Ukraine, Seoul says

Israel’s refusal to withdraw from this narrow strip of desert could threaten the Gaza ceasefire

Vatican says Pope Francis continues to improve but his prognosis remains guarded

The unprecedented show of security cooperation comes as top Mexican officials are in Washington trying to head off the Trump administration’s threat of imposing 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports starting Tuesday.

Those sent to the U.S. Thursday were brought from prisons across Mexico to board planes at an airport north of Mexico City that took them to eight U.S. cities, according to the Mexican government.

Among them were members of five of the six Mexican organized crime groups designated earlier this month by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration as “foreign terrorist organizations.”

Besides Caro Quintero were cartel leaders, security chiefs from both factions of the Sinaloa cartel, cartel finance operatives and a man wanted in connection with the killing of a North Carolina sheriff’s deputy in 2022.

FILE – Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, the purported leader of the Juarez cartel, is led to a helicopter after his arrest at the hangar of the Mexican Attorney Generals Office in Mexico City, Oct. 9, 2014. (AP Photo, File)

Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, a former leader of the Juarez drug cartel, based in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas, and brother of drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes, known as “The Lord of The Skies,” who died in a botched plastic surgery in 1997, was among those turned over to the U.S.

According to prosecutors in both countries, the prisoners sent to the U.S. Thursday faced charges related to drug trafficking and in some cases homicide among other crimes.

“We will prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent of the law in honor of the brave law enforcement agents who have dedicated their careers — and in some cases, given their lives — to protect innocent people from the scourge of violent cartels,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.

The removal of the drug cartel figures coincided with a visit to Washington by Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente and other top economic and military officials, who met with their counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

In exchange for delaying tariffs, Trump had insisted that Mexico crack down on cartels, illegal immigration and fentanyl production, despite significant dips in migration and overdoses over the past year.

“This is historical, this has really never happened in the history of Mexico,” said Mike Vigil, former DEA chief of international operations. “This is a huge celebratory thing for the Drug Enforcement Administration.”

Mexico’s surprise handover of one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives was weeks in the making.

Caro Quintero had walked free in 2013 after 28 years in prison when a court overturned his 40-year sentence for the 1985 kidnapping and killing of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. The brutal murder marked a low point in U.S.-Mexico relations.

Caro Quintero, the former leader of the Guadalajara cartel, had since returned to drug trafficking and unleashed bloody turf battles in the northern Mexico border state of Sonora until he was arrested by Mexican forces in 2022.

In January, a nonprofit group representing the Camarena family sent a letter to the White House urging the Trump administration to renew longstanding U.S. requests for Mexico to extradite Caro Quintero, according to a copy of the letter provided to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the family’s outreach.

“His return to the U.S. would give the family much needed closure and serve the best interests of justice,” the letter states.

Pressure increased after Trump threatened imposing stiff trade tariffs on Mexico and designated several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, according to a person on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomacy that went into Caro Quintero’s removal.

The acting head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Derek Maltz, provided the White House with a list of nearly 30 Mexican targets wanted in the U.S. on criminal charges, according to the person. Caro Quintero, for whose arrest the U.S. had offered a $20 million reward, was number one on that list, according to the person.

“This moment is extremely personal for the men and women of DEA who believe Caro Quintero is responsible for the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena,” Maltz said Thursday.

The person said President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government, in a rush to seek favor with the Trump administration and show itself a strong ally in the fight against the cartels, bypassed the formalities of the U.S.-Mexico extradition treaty to remove Caro Quintero and the other defendants.

That means it could potentially allow prosecutors in the U.S. to try him for Camarena’s murder — something not contemplated in the existing extradition request to face separate drug trafficking charges in a Brooklyn federal court.

“If he’s being sent to the U.S. outside of a formal extradition, and if Mexico didn’t place any restrictions, then he can be prosecuted for whatever the U.S. wants,” according to Bonnie Klapper, a former federal narcotics prosecutor in Brooklyn who is familiar with the case.

The U.S. had sought the extradition of Caro Quintero shortly after his arrest in 2022. But the request remained stuck at Mexico’s foreign ministry for unknown reasons as Sheinbaum’s predecessor and political mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, severely curtailed Mexican cooperation with DEA to protest undercover U.S. law enforcement operations in Mexico targeting senior political and military officials.

Also among those removed were two leaders of the now defunct Los Zetas cartel, Mexicans Miguel Treviño Morales and his brother Omar Treviño Morales, known as Z-40 and Z-42. The brothers have been accused by American authorities of running the successor Northeast Cartel from prison.

FILE – Soldiers escort a man who authorities identified as Omar Trevino Morales, alias “Z-42,” leader of the Zetas drug cartel, as he is moved from a military plane to a military vehicle at the Attorney General’s Office hangar in Mexico City, March 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)

The removal of the Treviño Morales brothers marks the end of a long process that began after the capture in 2013 of Miguel and two years later of his brother, Omar. Mexico’s Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero had described the delay as “truly shameful.”

Mexican security analyst David Saucedo said that since negotiations with the Trump administration began, he had expected the U.S. government to demand three things: an increase in drug seizures, arrests of high-profile drug trafficking suspects and the handing over of drug traffickers long targeted by the U.S. for extradition.

He called Thursday’s removals “an important concession” by Mexico’s government to the United States.

The decision also threatens to upend an unwritten understanding — with notable exceptions — that Mexican drug lords would serve sentences in Mexican prisons where they were often able continue to run their illicit businesses, Saucedo said.

“There will surely be a furious reaction by drug trafficking groups against the Mexican state,” he said.

Goodman reported from Miami. Megan Janetsky contributed to this report from Mexico City.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america