Wrexham is one step from the English Premier League.

The Welsh soccer team’s remarkable rise under celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney continued when it sealed promotion to English soccer’s second tier on Saturday.

A 3-0 win against Charlton ensured Wrexham will go up as the third division runner-up behind champion Birmingham.

It means that from next season it will be playing one level below the Premier League — something that was unthinkable just four years ago when it was a struggling non-league team.

Reynolds and McElhenney were part of a full house of nearly 13,000 fans packed into the club’s historic Racecourse Ground to celebrate a third consecutive promotion.

Who knows what’s next for a team that has defied the odds since the actors bought it for $2.5 million in 2021 and turned it into a household name around the world.

Raucous celebrations greeted the final whistle, but the party began much earlier after promotion rival Wycombe lost to Leyton Orient 1-0.

Wrexham just needed victory then to clinch the second promotion place in League One.

Reynolds posed for selfies with fans outside and served drinks behind the bar in a marquee set up outside the nearby Turf Pub, which has earned world renown from the docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham.”

Fans erupted in cheers after the final whistle of Wycombe’s loss, which was shown on a big screen.

Gophers athletics

Football team acquires Purdue OL Ball in portal

The Gophers football program added Purdue transfer offensive lineman Jaden Ball.

Ball, who is listed at 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, did not play as a freshman with the Boilermakers and has four years of eligibility remaining for the U.

Ball was a three-star prospect coming out of Bloom-Carroll (Ohio) High School. He had roughly 20 scholarship offers, including Kentucky, but Minnesota was not in the mix.

The Gophers have now added five players via the portal this spring, including Purdue defensive tackle Mo Omonode. The U added Boilermakers tight end Drew Bieber before spring semester.

News of Ball was first reported by On3.

— Andy Greder

Men’s golf plays in Big Ten Championships

University of Minnesota freshman Jack Crousore leads the Gophers through the second round of the Big Ten Conference Championships Saturday in Baltimore, Md.

The Gophers concluded the day with a score of even-par, placing them at one-over par and tied for fifth-place after the first 36 holes (281-280). No. 13 Illinois maintains the lead with a score of 9-under par.

Track and Field wins four events at Drake Relays

Led by defending Big Ten long jump champion Charles Godfred’s win in the long jump, the University of Minnesota track and field program brought back four wins from the 115th Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.

Godfred leaped beyond eight meters twice during the competition, winning with his third attempt of 8.13m (26-8 1/4 | +3.5 m/s). Godfred’s best non-wind aided leap was his 8.03m (26-4 1/4 | +1.8 m/s) which came on attempt two.

Minor League Baseball

Saints defeated by visiting Indianapolis

The Saint Paul Saints fell to 10-13 on the season after a 6-5 loss to Indianapolis at CHS Field.

Indianapolis took a 3-0 first-inning lead before the Saints battled back seize the advantage at 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth.

It was a short-lived edge, however, as Indy struck for a game-deciding three runs in the top of the fifth.

St. Paul logged one final run in the bottom of the fifth, but could not find the trying run in its next four turns at the plate en route to the narrow loss.

Travis Adams took the loss in relief, allowing three earned runs in his three innings of work.

Patrick Winkel and Anthony Prato homered for the Saints.

St. Paul hosts Indy once more with first pitch scheduled for 2:07 p.m. today.

NHL

Caps’ Wilson, Habs’ Anderson fined for fight

The NHL has punished the main combatants in a bench-clearing altercation in Friday night’s playoff game between the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals.

Capitals forward Tom Wilson and Canadiens forward Josh Anderson were each fined $5,000 by the league.

It’s the maximum allowable under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement.

golf

Duo of Novak, Griffin lead at Zurich Classic

Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin shot an 11-under 61 in better-ball play to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Zurich Classic, the PGA’s only team event.

Each chasing their first PGA Tour title, Novak and Griffin took a 27-under 189 total into the alternate-shot finale Sunday at TPC of Louisiana.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, the defending champions, were five strokes back after a 61. McIlroy returned from a weather delay of about 90 minutes to make a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th.

Ryu, Saigo share lead at Chevron Championship

Haeran Ryu capped a front-nine run in the Chevron Championship with a chip-in birdie on the ninth hole, then held on in tricky wind conditions for a share of the third-round lead with Mao Saigo.

On a gusty, sunny day at The Club at Carlton Woods in the first women’s major tournament of the year, Ryu parred the final nine holes for a 4-under 68. Saigo followed with 69 to match Ryu at 9-under 207.

Ryu opened with a 65 on Thursday for share of the lead with Yan Liu, then shot a 74 to fall two strokes back. On Saturday, after a bogey on the third hole, she birdied No. 4 and ran off four straight on Nos. 6-9. The 24-year-old South Korean player has two LPGA Tour victories.

Saigo is winless on the LPGA Tour. The 23-year-old Japanese player was the tour’s rookie of the year last season.

— From news services