Following an outstanding regular season in which it registered a record of 13-2 and won the FCIAC West Division title, the Greenwich High School girls cross country team continued its success at a meet it has been eagerly anticipating all season – the FCIAC Championships.

The numerous hours of training the Cardinals put in to prepare for the conference championship meet indeed, paid off, as they put forth a standout performance.

Greenwich finished second in the team standings at today’s 2021 Girls Cross Country Championships at Waveny Park in New Canaan. Ridgefield captured the team title, while New Canaan placed third in the championship meet, which included all of the teams in the FCIAC.

“I feel great about our team’s performance,” Greenwich coach Evan Dubin said. “We knew our girls were ready going into the meet and it’s not any surprise to me that they showed up and did great. They put a lot of work in over the summer and season and it was nice to see it pay off in the championship meet.”

Sophomore Esme Daplyn was Greenwich’s top finisher in the 2.5-mile championship race. Daplyn placed fifth overall with a time of 14:50. Ridgefield senior Katherine Rector won the race, posting a time of 14:21.

Stephanie Queiroz, a Danbury senior, finished second in today’s championship race, crossing the finish line in 14:26. Trumbull’s Kali Holden, a senior, took third in 14:44, followed by Wilton senior Emily Mrakovcic.

The top 30 finishers at today’s FCIAC Girls Cross Country Championships earned First Team All-FCIAC honors. Those finishing 16-20 received Second Team All-FCIAC accolades.

“Esme had a breakout season last cross country season,” Dubin said. “She had some high expectations for herself to do well and she lived up to the height she put for herself. She deserves the attention from being the No. 1 runner on our team, which she has been all season.”

Senior Ana Weiksner had Greenwich’s next best finish, placing 15th overall in 15:41.

“Ana is a senior and this is the first season she has been able to finish healthy, so it is really rewarding to see her get the public recognition,” Dubin said. “This year we really tried to keep her healthy and today she went out there and finished 15th, becoming a First Team All-FCIAC honoree. She really deserves that praise.”

Chloe Eberwein had a 23rd-place finish for the Cardinals, clocking in at 15:57 to earn Second Team All-FCIAC honors.

“Chloe has been running well all year and each week, she keeps getting better and better, she is running well,” Dubin said. She is a hard work and it’s good to see her hard work pay off.”

Packed tightly together, Greenwich’s Elizabeth Anderson (a junior), Kaitlyn Lisjak (senior) and Lillian Shropshire (sophomore) finished 29 to 31st, respectively, for Greenwich, as they each posted a time of 16:15.

“Being able to have so many runners finish in top 30 and 31 in the league shows the quality of our league and the depth of our team,” Dubin said. “This was a team effort, from top to bottom everyone contributed to our success. All the girls on our team have contributed to the entire success that we’ve had.”

Up next for Greenwich is the CIAC Class LL Championships, which is scheduled to take place on Oct. 30 at Wickham Park in Manchester. The race is slated to start at 1:30 p.m.