Once again, North Penn was top squad

There were a lot of discussions surrounding Southeastern Pennsylvania boys' track and field this spring.

Some were enjoyable. Competitors and coaches would like to forget others.

Plenty of conversations were about the emergence of Neshaminy's Kevin Steinberg as one of the state's elite sprinters. And even more discussions focused on why Engineering and Science's Elliot Rhodes couldn't duplicate his indoor track dominance.

For all the times people praised the running of Ridley's Kevin Wilbank, they wondered why he had such tough luck at the PIAA track and field championships.

Here are the highs and lows of the season:

Team of the year.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that

North Penn

is Southeastern Pennsylvania's top team for the second consecutive season. Father Judge, Methacton and Wissahickon deserved consideration. At big meets, however, no area team came close to beating the Knights.

Not only was North Penn the Class AAA boys' runner-up at the state meet, it also won the District 1 and Suburban One League's National Conference titles. The Knights even posted school-record times while sweeping the 4x400- and 4x800-meter relays at the state championships.

Coach of the year.

As successful as Father Judge was, one would think all coach

Matt Dwyer

had to do was show up with a stopwatch to be successful. In reality, Dwyer was the driving force behind his team's success. He persuaded his runners to sacrifice individual honors for the good of the team.

As a result, the Crusaders won their first Philadelphia Catholic League title since 1975 and fifth overall.

Performance of the year.

Neshaminy's Steinberg showed why he's the area's premier sprinter during the Class AAA portion of the state meet. The Connecticut signee won the 200 meters and finished a close second in the 100. He scored 18 of the Redskins' 20 points to help them finish tied for sixth in the team competition.

Tough luck of the year.

Like Steinberg, Ridley's Wilbank was expected to contend for the Class AAA 100- and 200-meter titles.

Desperately wanting to win the 100, he leaned for the finish line well before he got there.

As a result, the senior pulled his left hamstring while tumbling to a fourth-place finish. Unable to compete, Wilbank withdrew from the 200 final.

Disappointment of the year.

After covering the 800 meters in 1 minute, 53.79 seconds during the indoor season, Engineering and Science's Elliot Rhodes was expected to run much faster once the outdoor season began.

Not even close.

The senior, who signed with Pittsburgh, had a best of 1:57.04 to place fifth in the Class AA final at the state meet. His downfall was a result of an early-season knee injury he got while triple-jumping at a Public League dual meet.