Battling some flu-like symptoms, Redmond High senior Mack Young unleashed a “gutsy” performance at last week’s Class 4A state track and field meet at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Young, who will run cross country and track at Washington State University, placed fifth in a fast 1,600-meter field with a time of 4 minutes, 15.73 seconds last Saturday. Young entered the three-day meet last Thursday “sicker than a dog” according to Redmond coach Denis Villeneuve. His lack of strength showed as he placed 13th in the 3,200 Thursday night, but after nearly two days of rest, Young looked much stronger and ran as well as he could in Saturday’s 1,600.

“On Saturday, he felt better, but he was still sick,” Villeneuve said. “It was a very gutsy race on his part. He got on the podium and made the best of situation. I was still real proud of him. He ran hard for the way he was feeling.”

Young’s trademark kick — his race-ending burst — was missing at the state meet, Villenueve said. Young’s kick is what makes him such a strong competitor, Villeneuve said.

“I think he can kick with anybody,” Villeneuve said. “If he was feeling good, he would have been closer with the leaders.”

The top three competitors ran sub-4:11 races. Central Kisap’s Shane Moskowitz won the race in 4:09.67.

On Thursday, Redmond senior Devin McMahon, who will run at Cornell University, placed seventh in the 3,200 in 11:06.04. McMahon ran with the leaders throughout the race and was in third place with two laps to go, but lost the momentum in the end and settled for a seventh-place finish.

“It just didn’t work out the way we were hoping,” Villeneuve said.

Redmond sophomore Katie Lord, making her first state appearance, tied for 10th in the high jump, clearing 5-feet, Saturday morning.