Stack, White co-champions

Who won?

The answer to that riddle is: what comes first, the lean or the chip?

Wheeling senior Amber Stack and Prospect sophomore Annette White dueled it out over the final 1,200 meters of the Mid-Suburban League meet at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve in Palatine on Saturday -- both hitting the finish line at the same time.

White was initially awarded the victory by the head judge, who ruled she dented the finish line first by her leaning torso.

But the chip on Stack's shoe recorded the Wheeling senior as the victor.

So who won?

Both Stack and White.

They were declared co-champions with an official time of 17:04, the first time in MSL history the crown was shared.

"I guess I'm okay with it," said White, who became the first Prospect girl to win an MSL title. "I think we both deserved it."

"It's better than getting second, I guess," said Stack, who won the 2005 MSL title. "It's going to be a weird story to tell."

Hoffman Estates rode its solid pack running to secure the MSL team title with 92 points, upending both runner-up Barrington (96 points) and Palatine (100 points) -- both of which had won two titles each in the last four years.

Hoffman won its fourth MSL title and first since the Hawks won the 1987 IHSA state championship.

"They never stopped believing in themselves," said coach Kirk Macnider, whose Hawks were last in his first season in 2004. "It's just through commitment, hard work, and positive attitudes. If these girls don't stick together, it doesn't happen … and they understood."

White and Stack separated from the pack just after the 2-mile mark. White took a brief lead before Stack surged ahead with 400 meters remaining. But White used the final incline to catch Stack.

"I tried to stay stride-for-stride with her," White said. "I've been involved in a couple of big races, but none this big."

Stack did her best to hold off the Prospect sophomore.

"I knew she was there, but I didn't know she was 'right' there," Stack said. "We were back and forth … we both kind of went for it."

Conant junior Kalli Dalton (17:18) dictated the early pace and finished third.

"I was feeling comfortable with the pace, but when they went, I just couldn't go," Dalton said. "They kind of broke me down today."

Palatine senior Colleen Standridge (17:23) and Barrington junior Rebecca Tracy (17:30) rounded out the top five.

Hoffman, which finished 12th, 10th and ninth in the MSL meet the past three years, placed four runners in the top 22.

Sophomore Hannah Worman (17:32) took sixth, followed by senior Sonia Khan (17:43) and junior Gaby Duenas (17:47).

"Even when I couldn't see my teammates, I could feel them," Worman said.. "Our pack has done the job all season, and we did it again today."

"Unbelievable," said Khan, "It's amazing. We're proving ourselves at each meet."

Senior Sarah Ahn (18:03) also made all-conference for the Hawks finishing 22nd.

"It's exciting," Duenes said. "We just came out of nowhere. All our hard work is paying off."

Defending champion Barrington placed five runners in the top 26.

Senior Samantha Learch (17:57) took 16th, with senior Kala Bingham (18:07), freshman Colleen Shandley (18:08), and senior Molly Glantz (18:09) placing 24th through 26th.

"We all are saying we wanted it," said Learch who battled iron deficiency this season. "But out on the course we're just missing that extra fire, that extra spark to get us there. It's there in our workouts, hopefully we'll find it before state."

Palatine featured two all-conference runners beside Standridge. Sophomore Ruth Allen (17:47) was 13th and freshman Becca Sund (18:00) 19th.

"It's kind of disappointing because we've been working so hard," Standridge said. "We may have been over- thinking the race. You just have to go out there and run."

Prospect was fourth with 109 points. Sophomore Kasey Krum (18:01) and sophomore Emily Salzman (18:04) finished 20th and 23rd.

Junior Megan Gojney (17:41) and freshman Salena Clohisy (17:48) finished eighth and 14th for fifth-place Hersey (124 points).

"I wanted to stay with the front pack for as long as possible," Gojney said. "As a team we haven't had that day yet where everybody is on their best. We still have a lot of room for improvement."

Sixth-place Wheeling (184 points) was helped by senior Jenny Giron (17:51) in 15th and and junior Rachel Stinebring (17:59) in 18th.

Freshman Britten Petrey (17:45) took 11th as Schaumburg (187 points) was seventh.

"Being my first conference meet, I was pretty happy," Petrey said. "We all just stick together as one and work together."

Junior Amanda Whowell (17:42) was ninth and freshman Christina Gastfield (18:02) 21st as Rolling Meadows (199 points) took eighth.

"I didn't go out with the lead pack," said Whowell who ran her first conference race after two years of injuries. "I wanted to work my way up and it seemed to work."

Conant (209 points) took ninth, followed by Buffalo Grove (242 points).

BG Sophomore Erin Cleary (17:58) was 17th.

Elk Grove (248 points) and Fremd (254 points) rounded out the 12-team field.

Grens junior Gina Erbacci (17:39) took seventh, quite a leap after finishing 30th last year.