SNOHOMISH — South Kitsap sophomore Nolan Van Amen acknowledged his leg injury held him back a bit.

Just not enough for his opponents.

Van Amen took first place in both the discus (165 feet, 8 inches) and shot put (55-08 3/4) during Saturday’s Eason Invitational at Veterans Memorial Stadium. His mark in the latter event was a personal record.

“It was surprising,” said Van Amen, who outlasted Sehome’s Drew Norvell (54-11 1/2) with his final throw. “I am really glad I was able to get a throw out there because in warmups I was getting out.”

Van Amen, who won a Class 4A state title last year in the discus (160-10), said he recently injured his right hamstring. He said he does not know how it occurred and he noticed it “when he woke up.”

“It affects me a lot when I’m turning around off the kick into the middle on my first sweep,” he said. “I have to restrict it a little so I don’t get as much power.”

The throw was about 7 feet short of his top high-school distance of 172-07, which came during a league meet on April 9, 2014.

“I had to hold back just a little bit,” Van Amen said. “I just controlled it and made sure I was there mentally.”

His best mark came when he spun the discus 204-11 in 2013 to set a national age group (13-14) record in the Track City International Classic at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. But Van Amen does not want to rest on that record.

“I’m pretty excited for the future because I know I have a lot left in me,” Van Amen said.

With that in mind, he participated in the University of Washington’s track clinics, which occurred during Wednesday nights from November to February, along with several other South throwers. Van Amen received instruction from UW assistant coach T.J. Crater there.

“That gave me a head start to the season,” Van Amen said.

He was not the Wolves’ only first-place finisher in a field event. Senior Cole Sunkel won the javelin (179-04). It marked the first time Sunkel placed first at an invitational.

“It’s so relieving,” Sunkel said. “It’s so much pressure off my shoulders.”

And elbow.

Last year, Sunkel missed most of the season with a strained ulnar collateral ligament in his right (throwing) elbow.

“I went through all of the physical therapy and everything and I got back into it a few months ago,” Sunkel said.

Senior Mason Villarma was South’s other top placer. He won 800-meter dash in 1 minute, 54.02 seconds. Similar to many of his teammates, Villarma said the weather made a positive impact.

“It makes you a little more confident stepping out on the track knowing that you’ve got a little wind on your back and it’s sunny out,” he said. “It definitely felt good.”

Maybe too good.

At least coach Paul Zimmer felt that was the case for the boys 400-relay team, which dropped a baton during their race.

“I think it was a little disappointing,” he said. “They’ve been practicing all week with their exchanges and I think it was warm and they were faster than they thought they were going to be.”

The Wolves narrowly missed their third consecutive Eason Invitational championship in the boys 1,600 relay as Skyline passed them just before the finish line to win the event in 3:24.39. Villarma moved South from fifth to third place before he handed the baton to sophomore Izaijha Byrd during the final leg. Byrd moved into first with less than half a lap remaining.

“That’s all we’re looking for,” said Villarma, whose team ran a season-best 3:24.64. “We still have a month to go before state. I couldn’t ask for a better team.“

Despite that second-place finish, South’s boys won a team title for the second consecutive year with 75 points. In addition to the school’s first-place finishers, junior Albert MacArthur was second in the long jump at 21-07 3/4 behind Lakewood’s Brent Bustad (22-03). The Wolves’ girls team, which was without one of its top throwers — senior Alexus Richardson was sidelined with a shoulder injury — and others, finished 26th with eight points.

South’s run of invitationals continues Saturday at Bellevue and May 2 at Shelton.

At Veterans Memorial Stadium

Boys

Team scores: 1. South Kitsap 75, 2. Arlington 55, 3. Lakewood 50, 4. Glacier Peak 44, 5. Shorewood 43, 6. O’Dea 33, 7. Skyline 28, 8. Meridian 26, 8. Sehome 26, 10. Mariner 25, 11. Kamiak 24, 12 Marysville Getchell 22, 13. Edmonds-Woodway 21, 14. Snohomish 18, 14. Juanita 18, 16. Issaquah 17, 16. Sedro-Woolley 17, 18. Everett 16, 18. Mt. Rainier 16, 20. Archbishop Murphy 13, 20. Anacortes 13, 22. Monroe 12, 23. Ferndale 11, 23. Meadowdale 11, 25. Liberty (Issaquah) 9, 25. Squalicum 9, 25. Cascade 9, 28. Decatur 8, 29. Mt. Si 7, 30. Ballard 6, 30. Mary Knight 6, 30. Lake Washington 6, 33. Cedarcrest 4, 34. Stanwood 2, 34. Timberline 2.

110 hurdles—1. Christapherson Grant (Mead) 14.17*, 2. Chris Diaz (SW) 14.27, 3. Brayden Maynard (SK) 14.71; 100—1. Myles Gaskin (O’Dea) 10.87, 2. Josh Dickey (LWood) 10.98, 3. Logan Armstrong (O’Dea) 11.12; 1,600—1. Brad Hodkinson (Sno) 4:16.12, 2. Nathan Beamer (Arl) 4:18.36, 3. Kennan Schrag (Issa) 4:18.83; 400 relay—1. Lakewood 43.16, 2. Shorewood 43.46, 3. Mariner 43.63; 400—1. Isaac Westlund (AM) 49.34, 2. Will DeMaris (GP) 50.35, 3. Nick Miller (Mer) 50.74; 300 hurdles—1. Aiden Basco (MtRnr) 38.58, 2. Brent Hafenscher (MG) 40.39, 3. Chris Diaz (SW) 41.49; 800—1. Mason Villarma (SK) 1:54.02, 2. Devan Kirk (SW) 1:54.72, 3. Owen Buck (Ball) 1:55.54, 4. Garret Westover (MG) 1:57.19; 200—1. Daniel Jones (Fern) 22.31, 2. Myles Gaskin (O’Dea) 22.39, 3. Harold Williams II (Lynn) 22.70; 3,200—1. Roberto Aguilera (Fern) 9:32.81, 2. Collin Magnuson (Mer) 9:34.55, 3. Dylan Holland (Ana) 9:40.01, 4. Andrew Christianson (SW) 9:48.01; 1,600 relay—1. Skyline 3:24.39, 2. South Kitsap 3:24.64. 3. Mariner 3:25.27. 4. Glacier Peak 3:27.26; Distance medley relay—1. Glacier Peak 10:52.84, 2. Arlington 10:57.87, 3. Juanita 11:03.12; High jump—1. Grant Whitcutt (E-W) 6-7, 2. Justin Welch (Cas) 6-2, 2. Joe Nelson (Issa) 6-2, 2. Ronnie Gary (SW) 6-2; Long jump—1. Brent Bustad (LWood) 22-3, 2. Albert MacArthur (SK) 21-7.75, 3. Josh Dickey (LWood) 21-5; Triple jump—1. Michael Forster (Arl) 43-11, 2. Jordan Scarborough (Mar) 43-8, 3. Brett Bustad (LWood) 42-11.75; Shot put—1. Nolan VanAmen (SK) 55-8.75, 2. Drew Norvell (Seh) 54-11.5, 3. Dylan Ledbetter (O’Dea) 50-6.25, 5. Nick Venema (E-W) 50-0.75; Discus—1. Nolan VanAmen (SK) 165-08, 2. Mason Braun (GP) 158-5, 3. Dylan Ledbetter (O’Dea) 154-10; Javelin—1. Cole Sunkel (SK) 179-4, 2. Griffey Lytle (Eve) 173-3, 3. Ethan Jones (GP) 164-6; Pole vault—1. Sam Tanner (Mer) 13-6, 2. Austin Cartwright (S-W) 13-3, 3. Zack Thomas (Sno) 13-0, 4. Mckinley Braa (Mon) 13-0; Hammer throw—1. Tim Beard (Kam) 183-8, 2. Alec Burbee (LWood) 146-9, 3. Ian Frost (MK) 131-3.

*meet record

Girls

Team scores: 1. Issaquah 74, 2. Skyline 71, 3. Sehome 68, 4. Glacier Peak 46.25, 5. Mt. Si 42, 6. Snohomish 40, 7. Lake Washington 38, 8. Arlington 37, 8. Lynnwood 37, 10. Squalicum 22.50, 11. Meridian 23, 12. Decatur 21, 13. Stanwood 19, 14. Shorewood 16, 15. Kamiak 15, 16. Mount Vernon 14, 17. Ballard 13, 17. Liberty (Issaquah) 13, 19. Blaine 12, 19. Mt. Rainier 12, 19. Edmonds-Woodway 12, 22. Shorewood Christian 10, 22. Marysville Getchell 1, 22. Mariner 10, 25. Lakewood 9, 26. Mountlake Terrace 8, 26. South Kitsap 8, 28. Monroe 7, 29. Mt. Baker 5, 29. Ferndale 5, 31. Woodinville 4, 31. Tahoma 4, 31. Archbishop Murphy 4, 34. Everett 3.25, 35. Cascade 3, 36. Meadowdale 2.

100 hurdles—1. Brandi Hughes (Sky) 14.55*, 2. Siarfo Abekah (Issa) 14.90, 3. Maya McFadden (GP) 15.59; 100—1. Chrislove Brandt (SW) 12.86, 2. Kailin Wiley (Kam) 12.90, 3. Kim Hazlett (Squal) 12.91; 1,600—1. Emily Pittis (Seh) 5:04.52, 2. Sami Corman (Issa) 5:10.32, 3. Heidi Smith (GP) 5:11.68; 400 relay—1. Issaquah 50.55, 2. Squalicum 50.63, 3. Skyline 50.71, 6. Arlington 51.66; 400—1. Nikki Stephens (Issa) 57.25, 2. Madelyn Prigmore (Sno) 58.95, 3. Janessa Murphy (Mer) 59.33; 300 hurdles—1. Brandi Hughes (Sky) 46.48, 2. Rita Sakharov (Lynn) 46.88, 3. Siarfo Abekah (Issa) 47.29; 800—1. Mikayla Pivec (Lynn) 2:16.94, 2. Mckenzie Deutsch (Sky) 2:18.04, 3. Katia Matora (LWash) 2:20.80; 200—1. Jordyn Edwards (Lynn) 25.40, 2. Nicole Godbout (Ball) 25.98, 3. Bella Foos (Issa) 26.59; 3,200—1. Hannah Waskom (Mt. Si) 11:06.37, 2. Maizy Brewer (Sky) 11:06.52, 3. Lindsey Sydnor (Mt. Si) 11:07.51, 4. Katherine Dittmann (GP) 11:08.22; 800 relay—1. Issaquah 1:43.53, 2. Sehome 1:46.27, 3. Snohomish 1:46.91; 1,600 relay—1. Issaquah 3:59.34, 2. Skyline 4:06.96, 3. Sehome 4:08.74, 4. Glacier Peak 4:09.59; Distance medley relay—1. Lynnwood 12:03.99*, 2. Glacier Peak 12:43.04, 3. Shorewood 12:55.65; High jump—1. Madison Yerigan (Stan) 5-8, 2. Bridget Henry (Seh) 5-0, 3. Kaitlyn McCormick (MG) 5-0; Long jump—1. Janessa Murphy (Mer) 17-11.75, 2. Jessica Ludwig (Arl) 17-5.5, 3. Lauren Curlanis (LWash) 17-2.5; Triple jump—1. Lauren Curlanis (LWash), 36-6.5, 2. Bailey Servoss (MV) 34-8.5, 3. Jessa Clark (Seh) 34-2.75, 5. Kyrin Jarvis (MG) 33-8.25; Shot put—1. Parris Watson (Dec) 39-9.25, 2. Chanelle Eddy (Seh) 39-8.25, 3. Abigail Brown (MV) 36-10, 5. Justean Landis (Arl) 36-1.5; Discus—1. Parris Watson (Dec) 132-2, 2. Justean Landis (Arl) 128-4, 3. Chanele Eddy (Seh) 113-4; Javelin—1. Natalie Vetto (LWash) 124-1, 2. Mikayla Pivec (Lynn) 123-3, 3. Shannon Laupola (SK) 119-3; Pole vault—, Hammer throw—1. Riley Scocco (SWCT) 142-08, 2. Brittany Dodge (GP) 107-3, 3. Allison Hoeth (Sno) 103-6.

*meet record