NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -- Even after a tough year, BYU's Ashley McAllister is happy to extend her season after a solid performance in the pole vault at the 2008 NCAA West Regional Track and Field Championships, which got underway on Friday morning.

"Honestly, I've had the worst year," McAllister said. "I felt like I've had some bad luck. It just feels great to be going back to Nationals."

McAllister, who finished second at the MWC Outdoor Championships earlier this month, finished fifth at the 2007 NCAA National Championship meet.

"The trick has always been to be ready at the right time," women's head coach Craig Poole said. "Ashley has been up and down this season, but as an All-American and a veteran, she knows when its time to go to work and knows what championship meets are all about."

Another Cougar that earned a trip to the NCAA Championships was junior Kyle Perry. In the men's 5,000 meters, Perry kept pace with the leaders through the first 4,000 meters. Then with 800 meters to go, he moved in to second place. With 400 meters remaining, Perry pulled into the lead and battled with David McNiel of Northern Arizona through the back stretch and into the final turn. But after a sprint down the final 100 meters, McNiel pulled ahead to win in a time of 13:52.20. Perry, a native of Sandy, finished second in a lifetime best of 13:54.06 to advance to the NCAA Championships.

BYU's Chase Dalton had a good showing in the first event of the day for the Cougars, as he recorded a career-best 218 feet, 2 inches in the javelin to finish seventh. Dalton's mark is the fourth longest javelin mark in school history. It marks the longest throw since Blaine Baker recorded a mark of 220-10.25 in 2006. Dalton will be added to the pool of athletes who will be selected for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships next month.

"Chase had the three best throws of his life," head men's coach Mark Robison said. "Holy cow, he really put it all together today. In three weeks he will be going to junior nationals in the decathlon, and now probably the javelin. He's doing extremely well right now."

Freshman Sean Richardson entered the javelin competition ranked 14th and finished 14th with a mark of 203-4, while fellow freshman teammate Kyle Baker entered the competition ranked 17th and also finished 17th with a mark of 195-6.

In the men's high jump, senior Bryce Bergen cleared the opening height of 6-9 on his first attempt, but failed to clear 6-11 earning a seventh-place finish.

Sophomore Danny Lawson recorded a lifetime best of 57-2 in the men's shot put to finish 11th our of 22 competitors. Lawson, who fouled on his first two attempts, came up with his career mark on his third and final throw of the competition.

In the women's 5,000, sophomore Cecily Lemmon finished 16th in a time of 17:14.54 with teammate Jenna Jensen finishing 17th in a time of 17:16.07.

The competition will continue today at 9 a.m. with the men's hammer competition.

• Abbotsford beats BYU soccer: The Abbotsford Mariners knocked the BYU men's soccer team down to .500 on the season with a 2-0 victory over the Cougars on Friday.

With only minutes left in the first half of the game, Mariner Adrian Kekes crossed the ball in from about 30 yards out and it ricocheted off the top post. Justin Cordick then finished the ball with one touch, ending the first half at 1-0 for the Mariners.

The game was aggressive on both sides, with Abbotsford receiving three yellow cards. In the final minutes of the second half, the Cougars pushed their defense forward and Adrian Kekes beat BYU's attack and scored the winning goal for the Mariners.

"We came onto the field with a lot of energy tonight," said BYU midfielder Brent Jensen. "Defensively, I think this has been our best game yet. We just couldn't finish any balls. We learned a lot about what we need to change, and we'll be ready to win tomorrow."

The Cougars (2-2-1) will face the Vancouver Whitecaps U-23 today at 3 p.m. then will head home. The Cougars' next home games are on June 13 and 14.

• BYU women's volleyball releases 2008 schedule: BYU head women's volleyball coach Shay Goulding announced the Cougars' 2008 schedule on Friday. Continuing its tradition of competitive scheduling, BYU will play seven teams that qualified for the 2007 NCAA Tournament, including two that were ranked in final CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Poll.

"We are excited about our schedule in 2008," Goulding said. "We look forward to the challenge of playing some of the best teams in the country. This is a balanced, competitive schedule that will hopefully put us in a strong position for postseason play. I think our fans will be treated to some outstanding volleyball in the Smith Fieldhouse."

In addition to a full slate of Mountain West Conference action, the Cougars will play in three preseason tournaments. BYU will open the year hosting the annual Molten Classic on Aug. 29 and 30 featuring in-state rival Utah State, Tulane and 2007 NCAA Tournament-qualifier Missouri.

The Cougars will then travel to College Station, Texas, to compete in a tournament hosted by Texas A&M, where BYU will face the Aggies, along with NCAA Tournament-participants American and Siena. Preseason action wraps up the following week at the University of Wisconsin. In addition to facing the Badgers, who finished 2007 ranked No. 14 nationally, the Cougars will also take on Boise State and Central Michigan.

After starting the 16-match MWC schedule on Sept. 18, BYU will step out of league play on Oct. 24 for a match at Texas. The Longhorns advanced to the Elite Eight of last year's NCAA Tournament along with BYU while finishing the year ranked No. 6 in the country. This season will mark the first year that the MWC will not host a volleyball championship. The league's regular-season champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

BYU has a winning record against all of its 2008 opponents with first meetings against Tulane and Missouri set for this season. The Cougars' all-time record versus this year's competition is a dominating 399-97-1 (.804).

For the 2008 BYU women's volleyball schedule, see C6.

• Larson stepping down as UVSC head women's golf coach: Denise Larson, the only head coach that the UVSC women's golf program has known, has announced that she is stepping down from the position to focus on raising her family.

"Although it was a hard decision to come to, I feel confident that the time is right for me to step away as head coach and focus my time and energy on raising my young family," Larson said. "I've been fortunate to have a talented, hard-working group of girls that have forged the way and put UVU women's golf on the map. I've greatly enjoyed coaching the girls and being a part of the athletic department and I'm excited to follow the team's progress from home."

Larson was hired in the summer of 2005 and started the women's golf program from scratch. She took the team from having just three eligible athletes in the program's first fall season to a competitor less than two seasons later, including senior Echo Thatcher recording two top-seven finishes during the 2007-08 season.

Prior to coming to Utah Valley, Larson spent three years as the head coach at St. Francis High School in northern California and one year as an assistant at her alma mater, Sacramento State.