BOONE, N.C.  - UNC Wilmington will be among 26 teams competing in Friday's Blue Ridge Open as the Seahawks go through their final tune-up before the Colonial Athletic Association Cross Country Championships at the end of the month.

            The UNCW men and women are making their fifth appearance of the season and race for the first time since the Mason Invitational back on Oct. 3 in Manassas, Va. The women will run a 5K, beginning at 3 p.m., followed by the men tackling an 8K at the State Farm Fields.

            Teams entered in the race include UNCW, host Appalachian State, Brevard, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Davidson, Duke, Elon, Gardner-Webb, High Point, Johnson Bible College, Lees-McRae, Longwood, Lynchburg, Mars Hill, Montreat, Morehead State, Radford, Spartanburg Methodist, UNC Asheville, UNC Greensboro, VMI, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Warren Wilson and Western Carolina.

            In their last race, the Seahawks finished fifth out of 10 teams in the men's competition of the Mason Invitational and fourth out of nine entries on the women's side.

            UNCW will have 20 women and 10 men race this weekend in less than ideal conditions. Temperatures are expected to reach only the high 40s, with wind and rain. On top of that, inclement weather this week has left the course soggy and sloppy.

                "This is our last race before the CAA Championships, so we're looking to run well," said Layne Schwier, UNCW's assistant track/cross country coach. "We continue to show progress each week and are fairly healthy at this point.

                "We've had some very good workouts lately. Our times probably won't be fast because of the conditions, but cross country is not necessarily about times. It's about who you beat and who you don't, just like any other sport.  The main purpose of racing is to compete against other runners, not the clock.

                "We'll have plenty of competition this weekend and we're looking forward to doing well against them.  We want to build some momentum as we get into the championship portion of our season.

                "The women continue to be led up front by Kathleen Casto and Bernadette O'Neill. We're just looking for that next three or four women to close that time gap down.  That's going to be the key on Friday and at the CAA meet. We have a lot of runners who could fill that role. Wil Zahorodny continues to be the leader on the men's team."