The extra effort came with an added bonus. Speir had finished 16th overall to earn the final individual all-conference spot.

"Right when I crossed the finish line, they said (I was No.) 16 and I'm like, 'Oh yes,' " Speir said. "I didn't (know), but I'm really happy. I was so excited."

Thanks to several strong efforts all the way to the finish, the Lions earned a tie for second in the final overall standings, a 50-50 combination of regular-season and Silver Meet results.

Senior Kelsey Kilrea (17 minutes, 32.4 seconds for 2.92 miles), who took second to York senior and defending champion Meghan Frigo (17:18.9), sophomore Lisa Gordon (6th, 17:53.8), senior Eliza Dudley (14th, 18:09.6) and Speir (18:14.9) gave LT four all-conference finishers, followed by sophomore Juliet Lusson (21st, 18:38.1) and seniors Kylie Ziolkowski (24th, 18:51.1) and Emily Meingast (31st, 19:25.9). Counting all levels, LT had 27 all-conference runners, believed to be a program best.

York (40 points) won the varsity race and overall title, followed by LT (59), Downers Grove North (72) and illness-plagued Hinsdale Central (74), which had won the dual portion. LT had been third in duals with a 4-2 record.

The Lions begin their quest for an 11th consecutive state team berth at the Class 3A LT Regional at 2 p.m. Saturday in Western Springs. A top-five finish advances the Lions to the Lockport Sectional Oct. 31.

"This team continues to just amaze me. They are a great group to work with and are so focused and they certainly rose to the occasion (Saturday)," LT coach Julie Metz said. "Kelsey and Lisa continue to work together to compete and challenge at the top of each race. Their hard work, dedication and commitment is certainly going to pay off for them and the team in the state series."

Kilrea and Gordon also earned all-conference honors last season, improving upon ninth and 11th place, respectively. On Saturday, Kilrea but made a late surge, passing Hinsdale Central senior Graylin Harrison (3rd, 17:34.4) down the final stretch.

"Lisa helped me so much on the last stretch. We brought each other in," Kilrea said. "It's always like I cannot push it the last part. I'm so competitive in the end. It's just like this feeling, a rush of adrenaline I get.

"In the middle (of the race), I fell back quite a bit. I had a little trouble breathing, and then my shoelace became untied, of course. It's all mental so I was just telling myself, 'I'm fine. I'm not hurting. It's OK. Keep going.' "

Dudley had no trouble finishing this year after asthma problems resulted in her being unable to finish the 2008 Silver meet. Medication helps her compete this season.

"It's amazing to get all-conference this year, and our team did so well," Dudley said. "I keep on thinking about (last year's race), but I've learned from it and learned to use my inhaler before races so it doesn't happen again. I felt fine today."