First Place
Head Position, Leading Position, First Position
noun, の adjective
If you're at neck rank you're in first place. Haven't you ever heard the phrase, "neck and neck" when two people in a race are both super close to first place? Just remember that and you'll never forget this word.
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on'yomi readings from the kanji. You learned this reading for 首 when you learned 部首, and the reading for 位 is the one you learned with the kanji, so you should be able to read this on your own.
学力テストで首位に立った。
I got the first place in an academic test.
あの女の人は世界ランキング首位のテニスプレーヤーです。
That woman is the world's top ranked tennis player.
その老人は、両チームの首位争いには全く興味が無いようだった。
That old person seemed to have zero interest in both teams' fight for first place.