Fittingly, Esme Daplyn, Lauren Resnick and Kate Friedman finished 1-2-2 for the Greenwich High School girls cross country team on Senior Night in their final race at Greenwich Point.

The Cardinals trio of captains have meant a great deal to the program, so seeing them finish as the top three runners in Wednesday’s meet against FCIAC foes Trumbull, Danbury and Norwalk was especially exciting and rewarding for the team.

Behind its senior captains, Greenwich impressively ran to victories against Danbury, Norwalk and Trumbull at Greenwich Point in the final regular season meet of the season.

Daplyn won the 3-mile race at picturesque Greenwich Point with a time of 18:1.80. Resnick placed second in 18:41.40, while Friedman registered a time of 18:42.30.

“It was Senior Night, so I wanted to have a fun last race,” said Daplyn, who has been Greenwich’s top runner for several seasons. “I’ve been racing here since I was a freshman, so it was bittersweet to be racing here for the last time. I was happy to get the win.”

Also a track and field star for the Cardinals, Daplyn will continue her athletic career for the track and field team at Dartmouth College next year. Making her college decision has afforded Daplyn the benefit of running with a free mind this fall.

“I’m kind of relaxed,” she said. “Recruiting was really stressful last year, so I felt pressure each race to meet a certain standard. But this year I’m having fun and I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve been in. So, it’s fun to see it pay off and have fun races.”

Competing at the Division I collegiate level has been one of Daplyn’s goals since she began running at GHS.

“I’m very excited,” Daplyn said. “Running has given me a lot, so to be able to continue that for another four years at a higher level for a Division I team is really exciting.”

Said Greenwich coach Evan Dubin: “She certainly has the talent, I’m happy for her that it’s being recognized by college coaches and that she’s able to go to a school of her choosing. I am looking forward to seeing her succeed and thrive at the next level.”

Resnick has made a quite an impact in her two varsity cross country seasons with the Cardinals. She played basketball at Greenwich as a freshman and sophomore, before deciding to join the cross country squad last fall.

“I joined and I just fell in love with the sport,” Resnick said. “These girls are so welcoming. I love racing, practicing and being in such a great environment – I’m so glad I did it.”

Since she began running for the Cards, she’s produced fast times and has been one of the squad’s top competitors. Resnick is one of the athletes Greenwich will rely upon in championship postseason meets.

“This season has been amazing, we have such a well-rounded team,” Resnick noted. “We are set up for great success as long as we stay healthy. We should be going late in the postseason and hopefully, make our way to some of the higher championship meets.”

For Resnick, Tuesday’s time of 18:41.40 in the race was a personal-record.

“This race today was super fun, it was my favorite race I’ve ever raced,” Resnick said. “It was a great way to end Senior Night. Without Kate (Friedman), I wouldn’t have ran my 15-second PR – she brought me along and I’m really happy with how it turned out. It was great to tag along with Kate and finish strong.”

Friedman has also turned in a consistent, successful season as a tri-captain.

“We had really good training the past few weeks and we have such a strong group this year,” Friedman said. “This was a really good way to finish out my high school career. The team ran really well.”

Greenwich placed seven runners among the top nine finishers in Tuesday’s Senior Night meet at Greenwich Point and also had a 1-2-3-4-6 finish.

“For us to go 1-2-3-4-6 goes to show the strength of our team,” Dubin noted. “Even the girls that aren’t in our top seven still ran great times – they got PRs. It goes to show the training that we are doing this year and the philosophy for the season is really paying off system wide.”

Part of Greenwich’s philosophy this fall has been to have some of their top competitors pace themselves during the course of the season. Some of the Cardinals’ athletes have not competed in every FCIAC race this season in order to be at their optimum level for the postseason meets – the FCIAC, Class LL and State Open championships.

“We’re a really strong team, we’re gearing up to make a strong run in championship meets,” Dubin said. “Today was a good tune-up for that.”

Eliana Daplyn, a sophomore, placed fourth in Tuesday’s race, clocking in at 19:25.70 for the Cardinals. Teammate Orla Muir, a sophomore, was sixth (19:52.90), while Belle Nichols, also a GHS sophomore placed ninth (20:35.80).

Sophomore Jennifer Pinto finished 12th (20:44.20), followed by junior Ellie Englund (21:01.80, 14th), sophomore Sydney Friedman (21:40.50), Avery Geary (junior, 21:51.90, 20th) and junior Megan Geiger (22:09.30, 23rd) for the Cards.

Sophomore Dominka Jakob (22:29.40), senior Joy Greco (22:32.20), sophomore Ava Passamano (22:32.70), senior Sofia Khan (22:33.50), freshman Mailys Keenan (22:34), junior Aubrey Roth (22:44.10) and senior Cate Adorney (24:20.30) were also among some of Greenwich’s competitors on Senior Night.

“Being a member of this team has been really special, I can’t say enough about the community of girls,” Esme Daplyn said. “They are so amazing, they are supportive and we push each other. We want each other to do the best they can.”

The FCIAC Girls Cross Country Championships is scheduled to be held on Oct. 18 at 2:15 p.m. at Waveny Park in New Canaan. Greenwich last won the FCIAC girls cross country title in 2017. They placed second in the 2021 FCIAC championship meet.

“I want our team to win FCIACs,” Kate Friedman said. “I think we have what it takes, we just have to deliver. In states, hopefully, we can come away at LL top three.”

“We’re making a run for it and we’re strong – I’m hoping we come out with it with some championships,” Dubin said.

“We’re looking for the FCIAC title,” Esme Daplyn added. “I think this team is super special, we have the talent. The most important thing is for us to show that we’re a strong team – we also have our eyes set on going to New Englands. We have the talent for it and we have been working hard, so we want to see that pay off.”