SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- A pair of BYU athletes lead the heptathlon and decathlon events after the first day of the 2001 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at the Sports Deck on the San Diego State campus. The Cougars' Kirsten Bolm and Dan Parkinson lead the heptathlon and decathlon, respectively.

Bolm finished the day with a score of 3,605 after top finishes in two of the events held Wednesday in the heptathlon. Her time of 24.65 in the 200 meters was a season best. She also led the field in the 100-meter low hurdles clocking in at 13.60.

San Diego State's Aja Frary is in second in the heptathlon with a day one score of 3,335. Frary's 14.00 time in the 100-meter low hurdles was a career best. She also set a season best in the shot put (36-10.25).

BYU's Maret Komarova is in third place (3,085) after posting season bests in the high jump (5-5.25) and shot put (36-10.25). Komarova is being chased by Utah's Shanae Nixon who registered season-best marks in the high jump (5-6.50) and the 200 meters (25.77).

Utah's Erianne Allen trails Nixon with 3,051 points with Colorado State's Lindsey Malmgren in sixth (3,006), Utah's Kristy Slade in seventh (2,985), San Diego State's Leslie Miller in eighth (2,953) and Air Force's Brittany Edmonds in ninth (2,684). Other season bests on the day were scored by San Diego State's Miller who ran the 100-meter low hurdles in 14.74 and Air Force's Edmonds who threw a season best 35-6.75 in the shot put.

BYU's Parkinson is in the lead in the decathlon owning a first day score of 3,540. He set a season best in the high jump with a leap of 6-1.50 matching Colorado State's Doug Crumb. The mark was also a season best for Crumb.

Air Force's Kurt Duffy trails Parkinson with 3,536 points after the day's best finish of 50.30 in the 400-meter. Duffy is followed by Crumb (3,505), Colorado State's Matt Webber (3,307), Air Force's Tom Clark (3,197) and Nick Herald (3,049) and Colorado State's Kurt Davies.

Other season bests in the decathlon were a 6.42-meter jump in the long jump by Herald and Webber's 38-7.75 toss in the shot.

The MWC Outdoor Track Championships will resume Thursday with the final events for the decathlon and heptathlon. The complete event schedule is Friday and Saturday May 18-19. The MWC awards ceremony will take place at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at the conclusion of all championship events. BYU captured the inaugural men's and women's MWC Outdoor Championships in Provo, Utah, last year.

Mountain West Conference NCAA Qualifiers

Fifty Mountain West Conference track student-athletes representing all eight MWC institutions have provisionally or automatically qualified for the 2001 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. BYU's Elizabeth Jackson holds the nation's best time in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and Colorado State's Bryan Berryhill is the nation's leader in the 1,500 meters. BYU leads the league with 24 individual qualifiers, 12 of which are automatic. Colorado State is next with seven qualifiers, followed by Wyoming with six, SDSU with five and Utah with three.