It's a good thing prize medals are not heavy otherwise members of Bermuda Pacers track club may well have been overweight for their flight home on Monday.

The ten Cal Simons-coached athletes gave an outstanding showing last weekend at the New England AAU Age Group Championships in Cambridge, Massachusetts, returning with 17 individual gold medals, two relay golds, three silvers and a bronze.

The promising Trey Simons and Donte Brangman led the onslaught among the male athletes, taking three gold medals each.

Brangman made a big impression in his first overseas competition, winning the under-eight boys' 100 and 400 metres and long jump. Simons' victories came in the age nine boys' 800 and 1500 metres and high jump. Team-mate Adonai Laws also performed well in that division with a 400m gold and an 800m silver.

In the age 10 boys' Dante Leverock easily won the long jump and the 200 metres. He was scheduled to compete in the 100m also but had to withdraw from the event after a mishap in the long jump. Justin Collis and Kijuan Hodson kept the Pacers' flag flying in the age 12 boys events. The former was a convincing winner in the 3,000 metres while Hodson boasted two golds in the 1500 and 800 metres.

Not to be outdone, the girls determinedly played their part in the team's success. Kiara Baxter set the standard, earning a golden sprint double among age 11 girls and won the long jump. In that same age category, Venicia Raynor swept to victory in the 1500 metres and placed second in the 800 metres. Donnisha Gardner was second and fourth in the 400 and 200 metres respectively.

In the age 12 girls, Shelby Hollis prevailed in the 400 metres and earned a 200m bronze. Pacers' performance was crowned when their age 11-12 girls brought home the baton ahead of the field in both the sprint and mile relays. They clocked 58.5 seconds and 5:01.52 respectively in these events.

Arantxa King - a Bermudian living in the United States - also registered a hat-trick of wins at the meet in the age 13-14 girls 100 and 200 metres as well as in the high jump. Watching her performance was her mother, Branwen Smith-King, Assistant Athletic Director at Tufts University.