Magnolia’s Singbandith Leaps Into Record Books

ARCADIA —  Never mind that the announcer had trouble pronouncing his name, or that the evening was a bit too chilly for most of his peers. Phouphet Singbandith was simply having the night of his life Saturday at the Arcadia Invitational.

From his first hop, skip and jump of the evening, the Magnolia High School senior knew the triple jump competition was his. By the time he had finished his third jump, Singbandith owned not only a first-place medal, but also a meet and Orange County record as well.

He broke the county record on his first attempt: 50 feet 3 3/4 inches, good enough to surpass the former county best of 50-3 1/2 set in 1982 by Troy’s Ken Williams. Singbandith’s second try was better still: 50-10 3/4. And his third--51- 3/4--broke the meet record of 50-11 1/4 set by Terrance Strong of Bakersfield in 1984.

After his final leap, Singbandith rushed to the wind meter to check if his jump had come with a wind-reading of two meters per second or less--the legal limit for records. The reading was exactly 2.00--just legal, as were his first two jumps, and Singbandith pumped his fist in the air as the crowd cheered.

“I wanted to break the Orange County record today,” said Singbandith, who passed on his final three jumps because he didn’t want to take a chance of worsening his sore ankle, one that he twisted many times while playing basketball for Magnolia this year.

In the county’s see-sawing race for the fastest boy, San Clemente junior Tim Martin came away a slight winner over Los Alamitos senior Erik Mitchell Saturday.

Martin, who was defeated handily by Mitchell at the Orange County Championships two weeks ago, finished third in the invitational 100 meters (10.99 seconds into a slight wind), two places ahead of Mitchell (11.19). An hour later, Martin won the seeded 200 (21.69), and Mitchell was third in the invitational race (21.75).

“I could have had a better start, but my right foot was stuck on the block,” Martin said after the 100. “We’re trying to lengthen my stride so I don’t have to take as many steps. Anyway, I did better than last year (when he finished seventh in the Arcadia 100); as long as I keep improving, I’m happy.”

Edison sophomore Shelley Taylor knows the feeling. Although she placed third in the girls’ 1,600, she did so with the fastest time of her life, 4 minutes 54.4 seconds. Karen Hecox of South Hills was the winner in 4:52.04, the fastest time in the nation this year, and Beth Bartholomew of Sunnyvale Fremont was second in 4:54.15. Susannah Thrasher of Villa Park was fifth in a personal best 5:08.07.

In the boys’ 3,200, Saddleback’s Robby Price and La Habra’s Mark Gonzales were swept along to personal records as they ran in the fastest 3,200 race in the nation this year. While Andy Maris of Buckley White River (Wash.) and Agoura’s Bryan Dameworth battled it out to the finish--Maris outleaned Dameworth at the line to win in 8:53.78, the top prep mark in the country this season--Price (fourth, 9:06.66) and Gonzales (fifth, 9:07.51) hung on for the race--and time--of their lives.

Ocean View freshman Christie Engesser, running in the girls’ 800, ran the fastest time of her career as well. Engesser, who managed a triple victory just three days earlier in a dual meet against Huntington Beach, was in fourth place with about 300 meters remaining, but sprinted to the lead. Around the final turn, Engesser was still leading, but Kim Toney of Atascadero pulled ahead to win in 2:12.06, with Engesser a step behind at 2:12.79.

“I could hear the crowd, I just wanted to go my hardest,” said Engesser, whose previous best was a 2:14 she ran in age-group competition last summer. “Actually, I was surprised she (Toney) wasn’t in front of me sooner--she is so fast.”

Arcadia Notes

Adrian Brown of Huntington Beach, a four-time age-group champion in the high hurdles, had been looking forward to competing in the Arcadia meet for several years, but his experience Saturday didn’t seem to please him. Brown, a junior, tied for sixth in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.90--a respectable performance for his first major high school meet. Still, Brown brushed aside all reporters and would not offer a comment. . . . Woodbridge’s Kaci Keffer was fifth in the 400 in 56.7. . . . Katella’s Martha Pinto was seventh in the 3,200 (11:01.88). . . . In the discus, Dana Hills’ Andy Marrone and Los Alamitos’ Hartwell Brown did not place, but turned in good marks of 170-1 and 173-3, respectively. . . . Mike Terry of El Modena finished seventh in the boys’ 800 in 1:53.52, and Woodbridge’s Amy Robles was seventh in the girls’ 800 in 2:19. . . . In the pole vault, Scott Wigglesworth of San Clemente was the county’s top finisher (seventh at 14-6). The county leader, Tyson Jacobson of Capistrano Valley, failed to clear his opening height. . . . In the girls’ long jump, Santa Ana Valley’s Brenda Robinson was fifth at 18-2 1/2, one of the county’s top marks this year, and teammate Joanna Alo was sixth in the shotput (40-7 3/4).