WILMINGTON, North Carolina - The UNCW men's and women's cross country teams will be joined by 10 other schools at dusk Friday (Sept. 7) for the 23rd Annual Seahawk Invitational on the sprawling campus recreation fields.

        The Seahawks, making their second appearance of the new season, have won the men's race seven times and the women's title on six occasions since its debut in 1986. The men open the competition at 6 p.m., followed by the women at 6:30 p.m., with both teams covering a flat 5k course.

        "We're excited to be racing in front of a home crowd, plus all of the high school teams that will arrive early for their meet early Saturday," said Layne Schwier, UNCW's assistant cross country/track and field coach. "Our training has been going well and we expect to race well this weekend. We always seem to run well at home, and hopefully it's well enough to win this week."

        In addition to UNCW, the field includes Barton, Campbell, East Carolina, Guilford, Meredith, Methodist, Peace, Pfeiffer, Shaw and St. Andrews.

        In last year's men's competition, Seahawk senior Wil Zahorodny finished second overall to lead the Seahawks to first place by seven points over Campbell. The Camels returned the favor in the women's side, however, with an 18-point for their second straight crown.

Women's Team Champions

Year     Team                            Score

1986     St. Augustine's              47 pts.

1987     North Carolina State      17 pts.

1988     North Carolina State      18 pts.

1989     North Carolina State      15 pts.

1990     UNCW                          40 pts.

1991     North Carolina State      17 pts.

1992     Duke                            37 pts.

1993     South Carolina              28 pts.

1994     South Carolina              36 pts.

1995     UNCW                          32 pts.

1996     Cancelled                      -----

1997     Coastal Carolina            15 pts.

1998     UNCW                          17 pts.

1999     UNCW                          34 pts.

2000     East Carolina                26 pts.

2001     UNCW                          19 pts.

2002     No Competition             -----

2003     No Competition             -----

2004     High Point                     49 pts.

2005     Delaware                       65 pts.

2006     Campbell                      25 pts.

2007     Clemson                       35 pts.

2008     Cancelled                      -----

2009     UNCW                         25 pts.
2010     Campbell                      26 pts.

2011     Campbell                      21 pts.

Men's Team Champions

Year     Team                            Score

1986     William and Mary           35 pts.

1987     North Carolina State      15 pts.

1988     The Citadel                    16 pts.

1989     North Carolina State      30 pts.

1990     UNCW                          22 pts.

1991     North Carolina State      18 pts.

1992     UNCW                          31 pts.

1993     Virginia Tech                 19 pts.

1994     South Carolina              33 pts.

1995     UNCW                          21 pts.

1996     Cancelled                      -----

1997     UNCW                          32 pts.

1998     East Carolina                21 pts.

1999     East Carolina                20 pts.

2000     East Carolina                23 pts.

2001     The Citadel                    26 pts.

2002     No Competition             -----

2003     No Competition             -----

2004     High Point                     29 pts.

2005     Georgia State                26 pts.

2006     UNCW                          24 pts.

2007     Campbell                      20 pts.

2008     Cancelled                      -----

2009     UNCW                          40 pts.

2010     Campbell                      27 pts.

2011     UNCW                          26 pts.