High school notes: Lions find their way back to a banner in boys' basketball

Having graduated the bulk of a team which went 20-7 last year and captured the imagination of the region with an Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II tournament title and a run to the Division IV state tournament semifinals, the Wheeler High School boys' basketball team has understandably had some ups and downs. But not Tuesday night, when the Lions defeated Tourtellotte 67-42 to claim the regular-season championship for ECC Division IV. "We've had our ups and downs," Wheeler coach Stephen Bailey said. "If we played that game Tuesday night in every single contest, we wouldn't be having downs. They played great. They played for each other, team offense, team defense, a true replication of beautiful basketball. "To play the only team we've lost to (in the division) in the last three years, coming out and dominating the game ... it truly made me proud of each and every player in that locker room." The Lions (9-11) are the No. 2 seed in the ECC Division II tournament and will host a quarterfinal game at 6 p.m. Friday against No. 10 Lyman Memorial (where Bailey was formerly the head coach). Among the players returning this year for Wheeler is 6-foot-3 senior forward Zane Brewer, who became the program's all-time leading scorer on Feb. 1, finishing with 22 points in a loss to Haddam-Killingworth. Brewer, who currently has 1,404 points in his career, eclipsed the mark of 1,297 set by Todd Wilkinson in 1983. Bailey called Brewer's record "a testament to Zane's dedication, resilience and love for the game." "It's not just about the points, it's about the leadership, the passion and the way he elevates everyone around him," Bailey said. Brewer had 31 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win over Tourtellotte to help Wheeler clinch another championship banner. This is the highest scoring season of Brewer's career and he also leads the team in rebounding, contributing three assists and one-and-a-half steals per game, according to Bailey. "If we run a play or do something, he'll say, 'Next time run it for Garrett (Lenihan) or run it for Mason (Perkins),'" Bailey said. "He's very humble. His important aspect has been 'win, win, win, win, let's win as a team.'" Pulling a fast one In indoor track, there are no hills to climb or weather-related variables as obstacles in the 3,200 meters. "Everything feels like it goes by so fast," Griswold sophomore Tycen LaBelle said. Of course, the reason it went by so fast last Saturday had a lot to do with LaBelle, who set the meet record in winning the Class S boys' 3,200 title in 9 minutes, 22.91 seconds. LaBelle, whose seed time in the event was 9:38.19, broke the meet record of 9:37.78, set by Sean Kennedy-Wonneberger of Hale-Ray in 2022. LaBelle trailed by a considerable margin early on, buried in fourth place. He picked off the third-place competitor before catching up with the front of the pack and taking the lead, now in full stride, with two laps to go. Joseph DeLuise of Oxford was second in 9:40.09, giving LaBelle a comfortable margin. "Yeah, it was a fast start," LaBelle said. "The thing about the 3,200, you've got a lot of time to figure out your mistakes and correct them. ... You've got to really use your head and think about the right time to go. I just knew in my heart that I could do this." Said LaBelle of the quick start: "I have to thank them a lot for doing that because that really pushed me. I'm pretty sure I PRed, too, by quite a bit." Slump-buster Montville junior Kamryn Plikus won the girls' pole vault at the Class S indoor track meet with a jump of 11 feet, tying her personal best. She missed three attempts at 11-3 to try to break the school record, but was pleased to take home a title. "It's definitely been a little hard," Plikus said. "I started off the season well, but then I was in a spot I couldn't get out of. I was jumping way below my PR for a lot of the season. I'm just happy I could get out of it today and match my PR." Measuring stick East Lyme/Norwich Tech senior Lincoln Carlson got more than a title out of Saturday's ECC wrestling championship match in the 215-pound weight class. Carlson learned a thing or two about what he needs to work on before competing in upcoming state competitions. He can thank his ECC opponent last Saturday, Windham's Malachi Fowler whom he beat 16-7 to remain undefeated this season. The pair train together in the offseason. "I've just got to sharpen some stuff," said Carlson who won a State Open title at 175 last year. "Wrestling Malachi, now I see where I need to improve. So I think that was awesome. I'm happy that I got the opportunity to wrestle him." Carlson, East Lyme's school record-holder for career wins, earned the ECC championship's Outstanding Wrestler honors. State of the state The state wrestling class meets will be held Friday and Saturday, with the Class LL meet scheduled for Trumbull High School, Class L at Wilton, Class M at North Haven and Class S at Killingly. Top seeds from the ECC include NFA's Edward Lavoie (Class LL, 138 pounds), East Lyme/Norwich Tech's Carlson (Class L, 215), East Lyme/Norwich Tech's Jonathan Harms (Class L, 285), Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech's Calvin Sammarco (Class M, 126), Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech's Lucas Judd (Class M, 157), Ledyard's Lukas Boxley (Class S, 120), Griswold/Wheeler's Seth Christie (Class S, 126), Waterford's Lucas Gannotti (Class S, 150) and Stonington's Cooper Light (Class S, 190). In addition, the State Open indoor track meet will begin at noon Saturday at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven. Top seeds among local athletes are Montville's Plikus (girls' pole vault, 11-0), Old Lyme's Chase Gilbert (girls' 1,000, 2:59.11), NFA's Chris Amy (boys' shot put, 65-7), East Lyme's Sean McCauley (boys' 1,600, 4:21.42) and Griswold's LaBelle (boys' 3,200, 9:22.91). All three gymnastics state class meets will be held at Jonathan Law in Milford. The Class L meet will begin at 9 a.m., followed by Class M at 1 p.m. and Class S at 5 p.m. The ECC champion Ledyard cooperative team is the top seed in Class M with a season average of 142.38. Quotable Stonington boys' indoor track coach Megan Chapman on the Bears' sprint medley relay team's victory at the Class S championship, with several of the runners skipping their individual events to run as a team: "They really wanted to go to the Aqua Turf (for the all-state dinner). They wanted to be all-state. They knew that path was the SMR and they wanted to do it together. I think they were really fired up about it. They were like, 'We're doing this.' They like each other a lot. You can see the teamwork. "We didn't get to go to the Aqua Turf last year. ... It's all about the rolls." v.fulkerson@theday.com Day sportswriter Gavin Keefe also contributed to this report