CIAC Class LL champions: That’s a title the 2023 Greenwich High School girls cross country team will certainly be known for.

On Tuesday at Wickham Park, the Cardinals accomplished a feat the team hadn’t attained since 1982, winning the team title at the CIAC Class LL Girls Cross Country Championships.

Esme Daplyn won the Class LL individual title and Greenwich claimed the team crown at the competitive 14-team meet, held at Wickham Park in Manchester.

Daplyn, a senior, who has produced a highly successful cross country and track and field career for Greenwich, won Tuesday’s Class LL 3.1-mile race with a time of 18:53.

“I am so excited and grateful for both the individual and team win,” Daplyn said. “Going into the race as the No. 2-ranked team in the state, we were looking forward to going head-to-head with Glastonbury, whose been ranked No.-1 in the state all season.”

Greenwich captured the Class LL state team title in convincing fashion. Placing five runners among the top-20 finishers, the Cardinals posted a team score of 48 points. Glastonbury, which entered the meet as the two-time defending Class LL champion, placed second in the team standings with 71 points, followed by Trumbull (117), Staples (132) and Southington (134).

“We have so much respect for their (Glastonbury’s) girls and coaches as competitors, but we were ready to show the depth and talent we have at Greenwich this year,” Daplyn said. “Our amazing head coach (Evan) Dubin has instilled into each of our top-7 girls and I think his work as an incredible coach has shown off.”

Finishing behind Greenwich’s Daplyn in second place at the Class LL race was Glastonbury junior Brooke Strauss, who crossed the finish line in 19:05. Manchester freshmah Harper Shirley placed third in 19:12, while Anna Omelchenko of Wilbur Cross (senior, 19:19) and Jessica Lombardo of Southington (senior, 19:37) were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Greenwich senior Kate Friedman finished sixth, clocking in at 19:51.

“I’m so happy for Esme, she ran a really smart race and absolutely deserved the win,” Friedman said. “I think that our 4 and 5 runners were the biggest difference-makers of the day. The fact that hey both placed in the top-20 was so important for our low score and we wouldn’t have been able to win without them.”

Senior Lauren Resnick gave Greenwich a ninth-place finish at the Class LL Championships, posting a time of 20:05. Esme Daplyn, Friedman and Resnick are the Cardinals’ senior cross country captains.

Sophomore Eliana Daplyn, Esme’s sister, finished 13th in 20:20, while Orla Muir, also a sophomore, placed 19th (20:55) for GHS. Sophomore Belle Nichols finished the race in 22:05, while teammate Ava Passamano, also a sophomore, clocked in at 23:11 for the Cardinals, who won the team title at the FCIAC Championships at Waveny Park in New Canaan, recently.

“The LL race was postponed from Saturday due to heat and medical emergencies, which was a bit of a surprise and increased the anticipation, but made us even more ready to go,” Esme Daplyn noted. “It was a whole team effort to win after a 41-year drought.”

“Like I said about FCIACs, I’m so happy that we had an amazing day, but we still have the State Open and hopefully, New England meet to focus on,” Friedman said. “I hope we can come away with some more great performances in the next few weeks.”

The CIAC State Open Girls Cross Country Championship is scheduled to take place on Nov. 6 at Wickham Park with a starting time of 2 p.m.

“As a senior captain, I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to head into the State Open Championships next week.”