By David Fierro
It has been another winter season to remember for the Greenwich High School girls indoor track and field team.
Following a successful regular season, the Cardinals have flourished at the recent postseason, championship meets. Behind senior Esme Daplyn, the Cardinal have made their mark in each championship meet.
At the recent CIAC Class LL Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven, Greenwich finished eighth in the team standings with a team score of 23 points at the 23-team championship meet. Greenwich’s showing at the Class LL Championships was highlighted by Daplyn’s first-place finish in the 600-meter run.
Daplyn, who will continue her track and field career at the collegiate Division I level at Dartmouth, won the Class LL gold medal in the 600-meter run with a personal-best time of 1:34.62 – a meet record time. Annika Paluska of Glastonbury was the runner-up in 1:34.54, while Julia Blake from Darien placed third in 1:38.11.
“Coach Watson’s training has allowed me to become stronger and speedier and I’m really happy with the decision to go back down to the 600 this year,” Daplyn said. “Going into the LL meet, I knew Annika would be a tough competitor to beat and she definitely showed that to be true. Winning the meet gives me great confidence for the rest of the season and helps cement all my hard work in earning the meet record.”
In the 4×400-meter relay at the Class LL Championships, Greenwich placed a strong third. The speedy foursome of Gemma Hardwick, Margaret McCooe, Eliana Daplyn and Esme Daplyn combined for a third-place time of 4:10.38. Glastonbury won the race in 4:08.23.
The sprint medley relay was also an outstanding race for the Cardinals at the Class LL Championships. McCooe, Hardwick, Eliana Daplyn and Esme Daplyn placed a stellar third in the event, posting a time of 4:20.70. Glastonbury was the winner of the race, clocking in at 4:15.76.
The 4×800-meter relay at the Class LL competition saw Eliana Daplyn, Orla Muir, Ava Passamano and Hardwick register an impressive fifth-place time of 10:05.49. Senior Lara Olmstead finished seventh in the shot put (31-04.00) and was 15th in the long jump (15-06.50) for the Cardinals, while teammate Francesca Lotufo, a junior, placed ninth in the high jump (15-06.50).
Muir took ninth in the 1600-meter race (5:37.40). In the 1000-meter event, Passamano was 13th (3:26.31). At the FCIAC Championships, which saw the Cards place third in the team standings with a score of 54 points – Ridgefield was the team champion (83 points), followed by Staples (59) – Esme Daplyn won the gold medal in the 1000-meter race, crossing the finish line in 2:58.37. Nora Foley of Ridgefield placed second, while senior Kate Friedman of Greenwich posted a third-place finish in 3:02.81. Sixteen teams competed at the FCIAC Championships.
Esme Daplyn also finished third in the 1-mile run, recording a time of 5:14.28. Ridgefield’s Ava Malagisi was the race’s winner in 5:09.58 and senior Laura Resnick of the Cardinals placed eighth (5:39.27). Hardwick took fourth for GHS in the 600, clocking in at 1:44.15, while McCooe was fifth (1:44.36). In the 300-meter race, Hardwick finished eighth (44.36).
In the 2-mile race at the FCIAC Championships, Friedman finished sixth and Passamano was 14th for the Cards. The 4×400-meter relay was a big highlight for GHS, as it won the event with a time of 10:01.41. Resnick, Eliana Daplyn, Muir and McCooe paced the victory for the Cardinals. In the 4×400-meter relay, Hardwick, Muir, Resnick and Esme Daplyn combined for a third-place finish in 4:17.72.
Nina Silver, Anabelle De Gennaro, McCooe and Friedman were third in the sprint medley relay (4:32.32), while Theresa Knuth, Olmstead and Katherine Janis were fifth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in the FCIAC shot put competition.
Esme Daplyn reflected on the team’s outstanding season and the years she’s spent on Greenwich’s track team.
“I’ve always been very proud to be a member of the Greenwich track teams and this year is no different,” Esme Daplyn said. “We’ve had great performances this year, particularly in our distance events after a very successful cross country season. Lara (Olmstead), our sprinter and thrower captain, has always been an incredible leader in growing a very young team and building up our throwers to be contenders at scoring in these championship meets.”
Lotufo posted a sixth-place finish in the high jump at the FCIAC finals. At the CIAC State Open Indoor Track and Field Championships this past Saturday at Floyd Little Athletic Center, Esme Daplyn captured the State Open title in the 600-meter run.
Daplyn ran to a championship time of 1:36.78. Gabriella Hernandez of E.O. Smith was the runner-up in the 600 (1:37.04). Greenwich placed eighth in the team standings at the State Open Championships out of 41 teams (23 points).
Glastonbury was the State Open team champion (52 points). The Cardinals earned the silver medal in the 1600-meter sprint medley (4:15.67) and were fourth in the 4×800 relay (9:21.21). They also had a sixth-place showing in the 4×400 relay (4:10.70). Greenwich took eighth at the State Open out of the 41 squads that competed. The winter season has also seen the Cardinals girls squad win the title at the FCIAC West Championships at Staples High School. GHS totaled a team score of 136 points, 21 points better than runner-up Staples.
