Talk about competing against yourself. Fourteen-year-old William Penn Charter freshmen Shawn and Dareem David are identical twins. So are 16-year-old Academy Park sophomores Jermaine and Jerome Lowery. And all four are area track standouts. They've generated local and national buzz; with the 112th running of the elite Penn Relay Carnival this weekend (April 27-29), one pair is poised to make a splash internationally while the other two find themselves unexpectedly on the outside, waiting until next year.

WONDER TWINS: (L-R) Jermaine and Jerome Lowery and Dareem and Shawn David.

While the Penn Relays have become something of a USA-against-the-world competition, high school athletes are what draw the "oohs and ahhs" from the crowd, primarily because they are the stars of tomorrow.

Shawn and Dareem David migrated to the Philadelphia area with their parents, Dexter and Joanne David, in June of 2000 from Trinidad and Tobago.

"They started coming home from [Elkins Parks Elementary] boasting about whipping all these kids at lunchtime," remembers Dexter. "So in order to humble them I took them to Mt. Airy Track Club. That had experienced kids, but they started whipping them too. That's when we took track seriously."

Dareem is nationally ranked No. 1 in the 100 meters and No. 4 in the 200 meters, while Shawn is ranked No. 5 in 200 meters among 13- and 14-year-olds.

"We are not really that competitive with each other, but we do push one another and usually run our fastest times when we are in the same race," says Shawn. Dareem adds, "When we're racing it feels like he's a part of me, like we go together."

Jermaine and Jerome Lowery started running just three years ago but drew the attention of Lincoln Townsend, head coach of the Delco Stallions Track Club and a former high school All-American who helped perfect their technique. Both Jermaine and Jerome competed last summer for Delco, but while Jermaine placed second in the 400-meter hurdles in the National Junior Olympics, Jerome, also a hurdler (110 and 400 meters), endured an injury-plagued season from which he appears to have made a full recovery.

"We are each other's fiercest competitors," says Jermaine. "We push each other very hard."

Townsend, who competed in the 1988 Olympic trials, says the Olympics are not out of the realm of possibility for the Lowerys. "They are both dedicated and hard workers. There is no doubt in my mind that they can take it as far as they want to."

Both sets of twins, coming out of a great indoor track season, know that outdoor season is shine time.

To even get an invitation to the Penn Relays, athletes must meet rigid qualifying standards. While the Davids and Lowerys both qualified, only the Davids will compete at the big show this weekend.

"We're anxious because we've never really experienced anything like this before," explains Dareem. "But we want to compete against the best athletes that are out there."

Jermaine and Jerome will unfortunately have to put their Penn Relays hopes on hold until next year. In recent weeks the head coach of Academy Park High School, Thomas Patterson, informed them that he didn't feel that the entire relay team was ready to compete on this level and has opted to compete in the much smaller Springfield relays held in Delaware County that same weekend.

"We are very disappointed," says Jermaine. "But we have to focus on the rest of this season and look forward to the 2007 Penn Relays."

While it's a blow, the sophomores have two more years to shine … and each other to push them.