The two-year wait for a 40th participation at the Russell E Blunt East Coast Invitational Track Meet was worth it for the Bermuda Pacers who returned recently from the event in Durham, North Carolina, with a total of 18 medals.

Competing in over 105F temperatures for the three days, the 21-member team were not deterred, winning 12 gold, four silver and two bronze medals.

The performances of the athletes under the scorching conditions totally surpassed the expectations of head coach, Cal Simons, and the coaching staff.

“The coaches were extremely pleased with the performances of the athletes,” Simons said. “After being away from the event for two years, we were very glad that the athletes did so well under the extreme heat.”

In addition to the Pacers medal haul, they also had two outstanding athletes in their age groups, with Kelise Wade selected as the outstanding athlete in the 11-12 girls’ division after winning a gold medal in the 800 metres and silver medals in the 400 and 1,500 metres.

Miles Outerbridge was also selected as the outstanding athlete in the 13-14 boys’ division with gold medals in the 100 and 200 metres. His time in the 200 metres of 22.74 was the eighth fastest recorded time in the event.

Jaeda Grant just missed out winning the 13-14 girls division outstanding athlete as she won three gold medals in the 800, 1,500 and 3,000 metres. The 13-14 girls team won both the 4x100 metres and 4x400 metre relays while the 13-14 boys claimed the 4x100 metre relay title.

In the combined team scores the club placed fifth overall in a meet that had over 1,200 athletes representing 81 teams from across the United States.

Other gold medal performances were produced by Daylen Scott in the 13-14 boys long jump with a leap of 5.60 metres, Jasmine Reid-Rubaine in the 9-10 girls long jump with a leap of 3.74 metres, and Ellise Dickinson in the 13-14 girls 400 metres with a PB of 58.57 seconds.

The team had two other athletes collect silver medals, Dickinson in the 13-14 girls 200 metres in a time of 25.27 seconds and Jasmine Reid-Rubaine in the 9-10 girls 100 metres in a time of 14.57.

There were also two athletes collecting bronze medals, Reid-Rubaine in the 200 metres in 29.82 seconds and Denver Tucker in the 15-16 boys 200 metres in a time 22.37 seconds.

The Pacers team also had several athletes finish in fourth, fifth and sixth position.