The 22nd Annual ACE (Academic Challenge Eighth) Competition continued Wednesday, narrowing down the teams of eighth grade students to three final competitors, Lehighton, Palmerton, and Tamaqua.

The day began with matches between the four winless teams. Two losses mean elimination from the competition. The two teams that survived these matches would take on Panther Valley and Tamaqua, teams that had earned one win on Monday.Starting off with Round 7, Northwestern Lehigh earned a victory against Catasauqua 40-18. Later during Round 9, they went on to defeat Panther Valley 41-16, giving them a spot in a third match later in the day.Jim Thorpe defeated Northern Lehigh in Round 8, 25-17, but went on to lose against host team Tamaqua 40-22 in Round 10.Northwestern Lehigh played their third match of the day against Tamaqua in Round 12, which ended in favor of Tamaqua with a score of 51-31.The two teams that had earned two wins on Monday, Palmerton and Lehighton, battled each other in Round 11 for a spot in the championship match. Lehighton was victorious, edging out Palmerton 33-24.Being Palmerton's first loss, they will play against Tamaqua in the finals for the chance to face the undefeated Lehighton team.The finals and championship are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 7 in the Tamaqua Area School District auditorium.