Redmond High School senior Jessica Kinssies saved her best for last at the recent Class 4A state track and field meet at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Kinssies once again broke her own school record in the shot put, placing fourth in the event with a personal-best toss of 41 feet, 3.75 inches. Kinssies was a consistent force all through the season and especially in the postseason. She began the postseason with a throw of 40-3 at the Kingco 4A meet and followed that with a toss of 40-10 at the District 1/2 meet before unleashing her 41-foot-plus throw at the state meet.

“It was fantastic,” Redmond coach Denis Villeneuve said of Kinssies’ senior season. “She was very impressive this year.”

Redmond senior Katie Lord earned another top-three state finish with a bronze-medal performance in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 5 inches. Lord placed second at state last year. Lord was hoping to clear 5-6, but barely clipped the bar on her final jump and finished third at 5-5.

The Mustangs’ 400-meter relay team, featuring Olivia Fox, Kelly Walls, Mandy Rusch and Maria Eckmann, placed eighth with a time of 50.53 seconds. The relay team lost its top sprinter, Kate Smiley, to a stress fracture right before the Kingco 4A meet earlier this month, forcing Villeneuve to change the relay team’s lineup and add Fox, a senior and first-year track athlete, to the team.

Villeneuve said watching the team gel during the postseason and make it to the state finals was “one of (his) favorite coaching memories in 30 years.”

Redmond’s Gabe Williams and Johnathan Stevens also came away with podium performances as Williams placed sixth in the javelin with a personal-best toss of 179-08 and Stevens finished eighth in the 1,600 with a personal-best time of 4:14.90.

Like Kinssies, Williams showed great improvement as the season went on, Villeneuve said.

“That was a phenomenal finish for him,” Villeneuve said of Williams. “He went from an average javelin thrower to sixth at state.”

Villeneuve said he was also proud of Stevens’ performance. The 1,600 race was fast and furious as the top eight finishers crossed the finish line within five seconds of each other.

“That was a huge race for him,” Villeneuve said of Stevens.