PHILADELPHIA - Dave McGriff broke a 21-year old school record in the discus, while Mike Moralle and Collin Owen claimed the top two spots in the javelin as Lafayette got its outdoor track & field season off to a strong start at the Philadelphia College Classic on Saturday afternoon.

McGriff posted a top throw of 179' 6" in the discus, besting Harrison Bailey's 1995 toss of 176' 3" by over three feet. He finished third out of 12 in the event on Saturday, though it would be a severe understatement to say he was going against stiff competition, as the top throw on the afternoon was the furthest in the entire world so far this year.

That toss was made by Penn's Sam Mattis, who exceeded the Olympic standard with his effort of 221' 3". McGriff's previous personal best in the event was 168' 11", a distance he put up during the 2015 season.

The sophomore Flemington, N.J., native also registered a third-place showing in the hammer, setting a new personal best with a distance of 176' 2" which ranked him No. 6 all-time in program history. That toss was over 40 feet further than his previous top standard in the event. McGriff qualified for the IC4A Championships in both disciplines, and his mark in the discus gives him a strong chance of qualifying for the NCAA Preliminary Championships in Jacksonville, Fla., later this spring.

Of the seven Lafayette throwers competing this weekend, four made it into the top five in their events. Two of those came in the men's javelin, as Moralle topped a field of 14 competitors with a personal-best distance of 190' 7". Owen was not far behind, placing second with a top effort of 179' 4".

Laura Oh was the other Leopard to crack the top five, doing so in each of her two events. She set a new personal-best of 135' 3" to take fifth place in the hammer, and she finished fourth out of 12 in the discus (133' 2"), coming up only seven inches shy of her PR which ranks fourth in program history.

Lafayette only sent its throwers to the Penn-hosted event on Saturday, but the full track & field contingent is expected to compete next weekend, when the Maroon and White host the 7-Way Meet out at Metzgar on March 25-26.