Singbandith Signs With Nebraska

Phouphet Singbandith of Magnolia High School, the Orange County record-holder in the triple jump, signed a national letter of intent Sunday to attend Nebraska, Nebraska Coach Gary Pepin said Monday.

Singbandith is the national prep leader in the triple jump this season with his leap of 50-feet 3/4 inches at the Arcadia Invitational earlier this month.

“We’ve really been recruiting him, mail-wise, since last year,” Pepin said. “I think he’s got a lot of potential and, on top of that, he’s a real good student and a very humble young man. He’s a good little technician for a high school jumper.”

Singbandith, a native of Laos, is a two-time defending county champion in the triple jump and long jump. Saturday, he won the triple jump at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays for the second consecutive year. Last year after finishing second in both jumps at the Southern Section 2-A finals, Singbandith, plagued by knee and ankle injuries, placed seventh in the state meet.

Singbandith, who will study engineering at Nebraska, has not visited the Cornhusker campus, but plans to in the next few weeks.

Nebraska has won six of the last 10 Big Eight championships in men’s track and field, including the 1989 indoor and outdoor titles.

Singbandith’s signing marks the second county track and field athlete to commit to a Big Eight Conference school in the last two weeks. Last week, Mission Viejo’s Lisa Fager, the county record-holder in the girls’ triple jump, signed with Kansas State.