The best of the best tested their skills at the 2024 Nike Indoor Nationals at the Nike Track and Field Center at the Armory in Manhattan, recently and the Greenwich High School foursome of Esme Daplyn, Ellie Daplyn, Kate Friedman and Lauren Resnick were among the nation’s talented competitors.

The Cardinals quartet finished third in the nation in the Women’s Championship 4xMile Relay Race at the Nike Indoor Nationals at the Armory in New York City, combining for an All-American time of 20:53.65. Besides earning All-America accolades, the fast-running foursome set a Connecticut state record and established a school record with their outstanding performance at the prestigious, indoor track season-ending meet.

“I am so happy in ending the season with such a celebratory and memorable moment alongside such brilliant teammates,” said senior Esme Daplyn, who has starred on the Cardinals’ indoor and outdoor track and field teams since her freshman year. “Our All-American performance truly highlights the continual strengths of the Greenwich girls distance program. Our time was not only a school record, but an all-time state record by about 11 seconds.”

Running in the 4xMile relay was a new event for the Greenwich athletes, who have produced an exceptional winter indoor track season in numerous events. The 4xMile relay is an event in which teams comprise four runners who each run one-mile. Friedman ran the first leg of the race for GHS, followed by Resnick and Ellie Daplyn. The race was anchored by Esme Daplyn.

“The four of us have spent a lot of time together, so we know each other really well,” Friedman said. “I was nervous for the race, because I knew we had a good chance at finishing in the top-6, but the girls knew exactly what to say to make me feel better.”

“We trust each other a lot and I think that is really important to have when you’re competing at a high level,” Friedman continued. “We were really happy to run well, it was definitely the perfect way to cap the season.”

Indeed, Friedman got Greenwich off to a speedy start in the 4xMile relay at the Nike Indoor Nationals.

“Kate really set the tone for our race, as she handed off in first with a personal-best mile split,” Esme Daplyn noted.

It took all four athletes posting spectacular times to register a brilliant third-place finish and All-America honors at the Nike Indoor Nationals.

“Kate was our lead leg and started off the race with a jaw-dropping split of 5:04, putting us into first place,” said Resnick, a senior. “Then Ellie and I had our legs, keeping us in good position. Esme was our last leg and really shocked the field with a 4:57 split, carrying us and ending us off with our third-place finish.”

Ellie Daplyn, a sophomore, is the youngest runner among the four that represented GHS in the 4xMile at Nationals.

“It’s hard to think that this is my last couple of months running with this senior group, but I’m so grateful for the time I’ve had to learn from and compete with them,” Ellie Daplyn said. “It was a great way to end the indoor season and get excited for outdoor. Going into the race, we weren’t exactly sure what we were capable of, but we all trusted our training and each other. It was also such a special experience to share with my older sister.”

In the 4xMile relay race at the Nike Nationals, Adrenaline Track Club from Delaware recorded a first-place finish, clocking in at 20:14.42.

“I was happy to anchor, getting handed off to by my sister and getting us to third place in the final 50 meters,” Esme Daplyn noted. “Us four are a really close group and we train together all year. Kate and Lauren are my two favorite people and Ellie is my little sister. There is no one I’d rather have shared that moment with than them.”

Entering their relay race at the Nike Nationals, the Greenwich group was focused and confident.

“We have raced at the Armory many times, so being able to run there was so special, because we all know the track so well,” Resnick noted. “Nationals is always at the end of the season, so we went into it with the mindset that whatever we get out of this race will be what it is.”

“We just wanted to run for each other and have fun with an uncommon relay race (4xmile),” Resnick continued. “But little did we know what we were going to get out of it. After seeing our place and time, we all just couldn’t stop jumping and hugging each other. We couldn’t believe that we were All-American and beat a school record and earned an invite to the prestigious Oregon Relays.”

The Oregon Relays is scheduled to be held April 19-20 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

“We’re really excited to fly out and compete there,” Friedman said. “We’re still not sure which relay we’ll run, but we’re definitely planning to go for a school record in the 4×8 or DMR.”

Also at the Nike Indoor Nationals at the Armory, Esme Daplyn placed 16th in the Women’s Championship 800-meter run (2:12.67).

“My 800-meter race was a frustrating one,” Esme said. “It didn’t go entirely to plan and I fell short of what I thought my fitness indicated I was capable of running. That is part of racing though. I am still grateful for new lessons I learned and am excited to keep chasing my goals in my final outdoor season. Our indoor season is over, but we have a lot to look forward to in outdoor.”

Said Ellie Daplyn: “We have a really good, tight-knit group of girls and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish in the outdoor season.”

Guiding the Cardinals’ winter indoor track and field team was coach Peter Watson.

“Thanks to coach Watson and his incredible training plans,” Resnick noted. “He has pushed us and supported us through every single step during the season and our success goes to him. Coach Watson’s dedication to us has really brought us to where we are today.”

“Competing with Esme, Kate, and Ellie and being able to call them my teammates is genuinely the greatest gift in the world,” Resnick continued. “They are all the hardest workers I know and being able to train with each other I think has really led to each of our successes. We all push each other so hard in every workout and support each other like sisters. Running the 4×800 with them at New Englands and getting second, earning All-American together at nationals, freezing-rain workouts on a Saturday morning, late night diner trips, or even having a horrible race and instantly being comforted by them, are memories I will never ever forget. Needless to say, being surrounded by Esme, Kate, and Ellie is something that I will forever be grateful for and is a main reason why I am the runner I have become to be.”