York senior Emma Fisher comfortably beat the fastest time by any Illinois high school girls runner on the longtime Detweiller Park state course prior to Saturday.

The only problem was, Glenbard West junior Madeline Perez did, too.

Fisher ran a remarkable race, but her impressive 16:15 for 3.0 miles had to settle for second behind Perez’ 16:02. New Trier senior Courtney Ackerman was third in 16:27.

York (315 points) finished 14th in its fifth straight state team appearance.

The previous fastest time ever recorded at Detweiller was 16:21 Sept. 8 by Lake Park senior Kaylee Flanagan, who was fourth Saturday (16:39). Perez was second in that race in 16:29. On Sept. 15, Fisher was third at Detweiller in 16:58 at Peoria Notre Dame’s Richard Spring Invitational.

All seven York runners enjoyed personal records. Senior Katherine Schlemmel was 81st (17:56), followed by junior Caitlin Blum (100th, 18:06), senior Kristen O’Malley (106th, 18:13), sophomore Hannah Wahlgren (132nd, 18:27), freshman Elizabeth Hagstrom (161st, 18:47) and sophomore Dayle Mueller (163rd, 18:48). Other members of the postseason lineup were juniors Alyssa Adam, Kathryn Hagstrom and Allison Smith and sophomores Maddie Fabry and Erica Hackett.

Fisher and Mueller were the only returnees from the 2011 state lineup (8th, 244 points), which had four seniors. Elizabeth Hagstrom was making her postseason debut.

Fisher also becomes just the second York girls runner to earn all-state honors at least three times, eclipsed only by four-time all-stater Mary Driscoll, the state champion as a freshman in 1983, when the state meet was just one class. Fisher took 12th at state last year (17:12) behind seven underclassmen and was 24th in 2010 (17:15).

Driscoll and Maria Cicero (2000 in Class 2A) are the Dukes’ girls individual state champions. Perez is the first state champion for Glenbard West, which took third (138 points) behind Naperville North (113) and Lake Park (133) for its first team trophy since 1980.

The top four individual finishers at state also competed against each other at the Niles West Sectional Oct. 27. Fisher placed second to Perez at sectionals and the Lake Park Regional Oct. 20 after beating Perez to win the West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet for the second year in a row Oct. 13.

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