Sometimes you just have to laugh at life and all its strange turns.

Roger Crebs has spent the last 19 years of his life coaching wrestlers through Lycoming's program.

And he's done so with plenty of success. Enough, in fact, to merit an induction into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Hall of Fame. But therein lies the strange turn taken by life on what appeared to be a straight road with no turn-offs.

Lycoming, with a 7-8 dual meet record, finished with a losing mark for the first time in 25 years. And with that mark came Crebs' predicament until Warrior wrestler Stephen Hinton qualified for the NCAA?Division III?tournament this weekend in La Crosse, Wis., site of this weekend's NWCA coaches' social and induction ceremony.

"I wasn't planning on making the trip. This is a time to recruit and my personnal endeavors don't come ahead of the team," Crebs said. "Stephen was great at the ECWC Championships. It was a huge tournament for him and it paid our way to come here."

The tournament might have paid for the trip, but it was Crebs and Hinton's long hours of work that ultimately punched the pair's tickets.

Hinton entered the ECWC tournament as the fourth seed and trampled the competition to secure the eighth seed at NCAA Division III Championships. He finished the tournament 1-2 on Friday, falling in the consolation second round.

"His career has been full of ups and downs," Crebs said. "He came into the school as a 103-pounder and overtime he's grown into the 125 weight class."

Hinton, from Montclair, Va., has shown steady improvement each season with the team.

In his first season, one of major adjustment, Hinton, stumbled to a 5-11 mark while trying to fit into his new weight class.

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