SHIPPENSBURG - "The perfect jump."

Palmerton senior Spencer Hay saved his best for last at Friday's PIAA Track and Field Championships.Hay hit his marks just right in the Class AA high jump, soaring to a gold medal - and a school record - after clearing 6-8."That was the perfect jump," said Hay, who came in as the fourth seed. "Everything was perfect - my form, my steps were on, I got a good takeoff before I jumped; everything just kind of fell into place. All four years of training and practice, it all came together in that one jump."It's a great feeling. I had no idea I was capable of 6-8, and finally when I did that (I realized) this has been worth it. Every second in the gym, training; everything was worth it."Hay, who finished at 6-8 along with Union's James Thomas, cleared the bar on his first attempt at the height after easily topping 6-7.Getting to 6-8 essentially clinched the title, but it also secured the school record, which was held by Spencer's father, Jim, at 6-7."As soon as I looked over at him when I got it, he was jumping up and down and he doesn't really do that much," Hay said of his dad, who is also the jumping coach at Palmerton. "As soon as I saw that I knew he was proud of me and he knew that the hard work paid off."After taking third in the event a year ago, a state title was always something Hay had dreamed of. But so was breaking his dad's record, which for Spencer was a source of even greater pride and satisfaction than the gold medal."The record," Spencer said without hesitation when asked which meant more. "Some people might think that's crazy, but it was my father that had the record."I would take little jabs at him all the time, just saying. 'I'm gonna get it. I'm gonna get it.' I said this whole week that I was going to get it and I finally did, and now I have some bragging rights in the family."And now "the perfect jump" has given Hay the perfect ending.(Another) medalistHay wasn't the only Palmerton athlete to stand on the podium Friday at Shippensburg University's Seth Grave Stadium, as Brinn Doherty took sixth in the Class AA long jump with a mark of 18-0.25."I'm so excited, and it was on my first jump, too," Doherty said. "My nerves just went away after that. To hit 18-0 again… I'm really happy."Doherty capped an incredible comeback from an injury-plagued junior campaign with her best performance of the season. After losing most of last season to a broken arm, Doherty, who entered the event as the No. 13 seed, made the most of her opportunity in the long jump after not advancing to the 100 meter semifinals earlier in the day."I like doing the 100 before I jump because it's like a little warm-up for me," Doherty said. "So for me, right after I ran my head was in the game for the long jump because I knew I had a better chance of getting a medal in the long jump anyway."Moving onTamaqua's Monika Shimko advanced to the Class AA 800 finals with a third-place finish in her heat with a time of 2:20.38, while Pleasant Valley's Jenn Mickens moved on to the Class AAA 800 finals with a sixth-place finish in her prelim with a personal best time of 2:14.85.For Shimko, who also helped the 3200 relay team of Chelsea Frantz, Victoria Labar and Olivia Stanek to today's 3200 relay finals earlier in the day, advancing to the final in the 800 after not doing so a year ago was icing on the cake."I'm really happy, because last year I didn't do well in prelims and didn't qualify for the finals, so it's really a great feeling to qualify," the junior said. "I felt confident. This year I feel so much more confident in my finishes and that second lap."Even on a scorching day, Shimko was able to hold on to the third spot to clinch an automatic transfer to the finals.For Mickens, it wasn't quite as easy. The senior didn't get an automatic top-four finish in her heat, but she easily moved on with one of the next four best times."I was nervous going into it," Mickens said. "I got on the line and I was shaking. It was so hot."The first heat was kind of slow, so I just wanted to get out in a good position and I did. I was with the front pack but I knew I needed to be up a little more. I was in fourth, and thought as long as I stayed there or got passed by only one or two girls, I would be fine."Coming down the homestretch I saw the time, and I thought, 'Oh my god. all you have to do is kick and hold on strong like coach (Drew Davis) told you to and you'll get that tenth of a second you need.' For it to be 2:14 is crazy, especially in this."Marian's Dominic Mussoline also advanced to the Class AA boys 800 finals, taking sixth in his preliminary heat with a time of 1:59.32, fast enough for him to advance.CUT SHORT. … Due to threatening weather in the area, only the Class AA girls 1600 relay prelims were completed Friday. The girls AAA, boys AA and boys AAA will be timed final events today.EARLY TO RISE. … The Class AA girls 3200 is the first scheduled track event Saturday and is set to begin at 9 a.m. followed by the AAA girls, AA boys and AAA boys. Northern Lehigh's Gavin Kemery is the 16th seed in the AA race, while Pleasant Valley's Seth Slavin is the No. 29 seed in the AAA event. A bevy of field events are also set to begin at 9 a.m.JOIN THE CLUB. … Hay's state championship will undoubtedly put him among the greats in Palmerton history. But one in particular means the most. "I'm going to be next to my cousin, Austin Shupp," Hay said, referencing Shupp's state title in the 110 hurdles in 2014. "So that's cool having a family member that I'm right next to in track, and then in basketball, I joined my sister (Kelsey) on the 1,000 point scorer list. So it's been a great year."WHAT TO WATCH FOR. … Palmerton's Logan Blasiak has a chance to give the Blue Bombers two state titles as the No. 1 seed in the Class AA pole vault (14-0). Jim Thorpe sisters Autumn and Brooke Cope are the fifth and seventh seeds, respectively, in the Class AAA javelin, and both stand a good chance at finishing on the podium at the very least.