Four members of Bermuda's successful CARIFTA team will feature in the Penn Relays today and tomorrow at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field.

According to officials, 210 colleges will be represented and more than 17,000 athletes will compete.

Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell are among some of the top names set to take part in the event, which features athletes from high school through to master's levels.

Sharif Taylor, Atiba Tucker, Nakia Pearson and Tony Bean are Bermuda's four CARIFTA athletes who will be rubbing shoulders with the big names.

Taylor, Tucker and Pearson, will team up with Keivon Richardson to represent Berkeley Institute.

The four, along with coach Steve Burgess and assistant coach Marisa Hall, left the Island yesterday after the Secondary Schools Championships at the National Stadium.

Also with them was Jason Robinson, who will run in a squad featuring Bean; Bermuda's Laurie Joseph, who is studying at Brewster Academy in Maine; and Moravian College student Ben Dyer.

Bean -- who went straight to Pennsylvania from the CARIFTA Championships -- and Robinson are both being looked at by universities for possible track scholarships.

Burgess, whose Back To Basis Club organised the trip, revealed that there had already been offers from Southwest Mississippi State University, where Joe Falcon is assistant coach; Northeastern University in Boston; Rice University in Texas; and George Mason University in Virginia.

Seventeen-year-old Robinson, a former CARIFTA athlete, said he was looking forward to taking part in the Penn Relays. "It's considered one of the best competitions in the US. I hope to do well and lower my times.'' Middle distance runner Taylor will be also seeking to improve on past performance and is mindful of the possibility of scholarship offers.

"I'm hopeful of landing a scholarship at some point soon, '' he said.

"That's what I'm doing this all for.'' Prep schools have also shown interest in Bermudian high school students after an article about Burgess' club appeared in Runners World magazine last year.

"If I can help any individual with the contacts that I have in the US I'll do whatever is within my powers,'' Burgess said on the scholarship offers.

He sees the trip to Pennsylvania as an investment in the future of track and field in Bermuda, giving the young athletes a chance to test themselves against top quality international competition.

Said Burgess: "Our main objective is for them to learn and get some exposure.

They'll be competing in front of over 50,000 fans and many of them have never had that experience.

"We also want to keep the interest going and keep it fun.'' The high school students will return on Sunday, with Hall travelling on to Spellman University for an interview for admission in September while Burgess will be taking Robinson to his alma mater (University of Georgia in Athens) for a week of training.

The Penn Relays will have to tap into its endowment to pay for some of this year's programme, despite contributions from entertainer Bill Cosby and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Cosby gave $160,000, meet director Timothy Baker said. The meet's total budget was not disclosed. The cash shortfall won't be known until tomorrow, when officials can size up paid attendance.

CARL LEWIS -- One of the famous names expected at the Penn Relays.