With the regular season winding down and the postseason/championship meets rapidly approaching, Greenwich High School’s varsity girls outdoor track and field team certainly resembles a squad primed for the postseason.

Improving their performances in numerous events each meet, the Cardinals are undefeated so far this season, while displaying their impressive skills in both the running and field events, making them one of the premier teams in the FCIAC and state.

Greenwich’s latest victories came on May 12 when it hosted FCIAC foes Norwalk and Westhill. Showcasing its eye-opening depth and talent, the Cardinals soared over Westhill, 119-31 and Norwalk, 117-25, improving their record to a perfect 7-0.

In their meet against Westhill and Norwalk at Cardinal Stadium, the Cardinals received three individual victories from junior Theresa Knuth in the field event and two wins from senior Sophie Riche. Juniors Eliana Daplyn and Gemma Hardwick were among some of the athletes that posted first-place finishes for the Cardinals in the running events.

“The season has been going really well, we have a super, super strong team and we have the potential to do well in championship season,” Hardwick said during Greenwich’s victories against Norwalk and Westhill on May 12. “I think our team has a lot of diversity, so we’re not only good at certain events, we are strong in a lot of different areas. That’s something that not a lot of teams in the state have and I think that’s really important going into championship season.”

Hardwick won the 1600-meter run against Norwalk and Westhill, registering a time of 5:28.65. Ava Passamano, a Greenwich junior, placed second in the 1600 race, posting a time of 5:37.93, while teammate Sydney Friedman, also a junior, was third (5:39.56). Katharine Storm (5:49.84, a junior, fourth place, personal-record time), Olivia Klingbeil (sixth place, a junior), Valentina Gentile (seventh place, a junior), Zahra Dada (6:19.06, a freshman), Rebecca Lehman (6:21.89, a freshman) and Siena Zawrotny (6:22.28, freshman) also paced GHS in the 1600, each recording personal-record times in the race.

“I was hoping to go under 5:20 and set a new PR, but I’m pretty happy with how I did,” Hardwick said of competing in the 1600-meter event. “I just raced over the weekend at an Invitational, so I’m pretty tired, but I’m happy that I still managed to run the time that I did.”

The prestigious, ultra-competitive Loucks Games in White Plains, N.Y., is the Invitational that Hardwick referred to.

“It’s one of the most competitive meets on the east coast, so it was a great experience,” Hardwick said. “Everyone did really well. It was great competition, so it was really good to run, you really get pushed there. Every time I go there’s always personal-bests left and right and I always do super well and get my personal-best times.”

Nina Silver, a junior, was the 200-meter race’s winner, crossing the finish line in 26.46 seconds, a personal-record showing for the Cardinals. Gabriella Rivera of Norwalk was second (26.57) and freshman Riley Barber (27.52, PR), Hardwick (28.05, PR) and sophomore Kayah Armstrong (28.32, PR) were fourth, ninth and 10th, respectively in the race. Riley Barber won the 400 race, clocking in at 1:04.58, a personal-record time. Ella Barber, also a freshman, took second for the Cardinals with a time of 1:06.62. Alyssa Gioffre-Lopez (1:10.14, sophomore), sophomore Maya Yule (1:21.74), sophomore Ella Mandelbaum (1:22.33), Caroline Kobata (freshman, 1:28.35) and Rylee Solis (1:29.48, freshman) were third to seventh, respectively, in the 400 run for Greenwich.

Daplyn ran to a winning performance in the 800-meter race, earning a PR of 2:15.03. Hardwick placed second in 2:22.25, followed by teammate Orla Muir, a junior, 2:22.43 (personal-record time). Sophia Passalacqua, a freshman, had a fourth place finish in the 800 for Greenwich (2:22.83, PR).

“It’s been a really good season, I’ve been focusing more on the shorter events, so I’ve been running some PRs in the 400 and trying out the 200,” said Daplyn, who is coming off an exceptional winter/indoor track season for the Cards. “It’s been really cool seeing how are team has been able to do, we’ve been undefeated so far, so being part of that team environment has been really special.”

Daplyn quickly built a lead in the 800, which is a race she could be competing in during the postseason.

“Going into this race, I knew I had to go out really fast and be comfortable running by myself,” Daplyn noted. “I tried to stay mentally strong throughout the race and stay strong the last 200.”

Besides winning two field events, Riche was victorious in the 300 hurdles (46.87) and the 100 hurdles (15.29, PR) competitions for the Cardinals. Alejandra Martinez (52.88, a sophomore) and Sydney Asmis (56.19, a junior), were second and fourth in the 300 hurdles for GHS. Freshman Samaya Dawkins (18.32) and sophomore Laila Galal (18.74, sophomore, personal-record) were second and fifth, respectively for the Cardinals in the 100 hurdles.

Riche earned top honors in the meet in the long jump (17’6) and the triple jump (36’6). Armstrong was the runner-up in the long jump (16-3.5 and junior Juliette Pelham took fourth for GHS in the long jump (16-0.75).

Knuth easily won the discus event for Greenwich with a distance of 117’5, a personal-record. She also turned in a winning throw in the shot put (33’7) and won the javelin competition (85’5). Pelham gave Greenwich a victory in the high jump (4’10). Charlotte Flood from Westhill was the high jump winner (8’6).

Back to the running events, freshman Avery Sciulla won the 3200 race for Greenwich, notching a time of 12:45.60 (personal-record. Storm was second in a personal-record showing of 12:54.85), while GHS teammate Devin Beiley, a sophomore, took third (12:58.57, personal-record). Rebecca Lehman, a freshman, finished fourth in 14:14.12).

In the 4×100 relay, Silver, Emma McQuillan, Riley Barber and Ella Barber teamed up for a first-place finish in 50.11 seconds. Westhill was the runner-up in 50.35.

Passamano, Muir, Passalacqua and Daplyn combined for a winning time of 4:34.20 in the 4×400 relay.

“The relays are looking really good,” Daplyn noted. “Our 4×4 ran a No. 2 time in the state this past weekend, so we’re looking good. Our 4×8 team won FCIACs and states in the indoor season.”

Klingbeil, Beiley, Dominika Jakab and Gentile teamed up for a winning effort in the 4×800 relay race for the Cards (11:23.11).

Greenwich has one final regular season meet against Staples on May 20, then will compete in the FCIAC Championships on May 24. The Cardinals, indeed, intend to make their mark in both the FCIAC and CIAC Class LL Championships.

“I think we’re going to do really well and we’re going to make it really tough for other teams to compete against us,” Hardwick said. “We definitely have the potential to win FCIACs. We are definitely one of the stronger teams in the LL division, so I think we have a really good chance at placing super, super high at states as well. We have a lot of great new freshmen on the team this year and a lot of great talent.”

“We have the potential to win or place in the top couple teams at FCIACs and states,” Daplyn said. “We have girls competing in pretty much every event, so I think we can get a lot of points throughout the meet. This is definitely a team capable of having a lot of success in the postseason.”