It turns out, when Spring Grove defeated South Western for the YAIAA Division I wrestling championship, the Mustangs lost more than a division crown.

Because of the setback, South Western will not join the District 3 Class AAA Team Tournament, whose brackets were announced Sunday by the District 3 committee.

The Mustangs, who own a 9-3 dual-meet record, posted a power ranking of .659, two-hundredths of a point behind the district's final qualifier, Dallastown. South Western had beaten Dallastown during the regular season.

Therefore, three Hanover area teams will bid for District 3 championships and PIAA Team Tournament slots, though only a maximum of two will advance.

The reason is the top two teams in YAIAA II, champion Bermudian Springs and runner-up Biglerville, are on the same side of the Class AA bracket and may clash for one of the two available spots in the state bracket.

In quarterfinal action at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Biglerville, the host Canners (23-2) will oppose Hamburg (13-6) in one match while the Eagles (21-4) will face Susquenita (9-3) in the other. Those two matches' winners will vie at 7 p.m. for a spot in Saturday's 11 a.m. championship match at Milton Hershey's Spartan Center.

South Western's absence leaves Spring Grove as the area's lone Class AAA qualifier.

The Rockets (20-0) will host Northern (12-2) in one first-round match at 5 p.m. Tuesday. That winner

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will then oppose either Manheim Township (10-1) or Warwick (12-4) in a quarterfinal at 7 p.m., also at Spring Grove.

The semifinalists will earn spots in the PIAA Team Tournament and will convene at 1:30 p.m. Saturday for the district championship and third-place matches.

ccurley@eveningsun.com; 717-5637-3736, extension 144; Twitter: @ChuckCurley.