SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS’ TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS : Triple Jumpers Must Wait Until Tuesday to Compete

It was just past 8 p.m. when Dean Crowley, Southern Section track and field championships meet director, decided to postpone the triple jumps in all divisions for boys and girls.

The long jumps, contested on the same runways as the triple jumps, had gone late and Crowley feared the triple jumps would not be completed until the wee hours of Saturday morning.

As a result, the triple jumps will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Cerritos College, just three days before the Masters Meet next Friday. Further, the team championships cannot be officially decided until then.

Phouphet Singbandith of Magnolia, the national leader in the triple jump, shook his head and smiled, although he was not happy.

“I’ve got a few friends who wasted about three bucks each to get in here to see me jump,” he said, minutes after Crowley’s decision was announced to the crowd of 7,880 at Cerritos College.

Singbandith, who has jumped 51 feet 3/4 inches, was, and still is, the favorite in the 2-A division.

“I was all warmed up and ready to jump when they told us we couldn’t jump,” said Singbandith, who finished second in the long jump with a leap of 23-2 1/2.

His coach, Bob Mangan, gnashed his teeth.

“I think Dean Crowley wants to make sure he gets home in time to watch David Letterman,” he said.

Later, Crowley defended the postponement.

“I’m not going to have kids jumping past 11,” said Crowley, who figured the event would not be finished until about 1:30 a.m.

The long jumps took longer than expected, “for whatever reason,” Crowley said. “It took about five hours and they still weren’t finished by (8:10).”

Holding the meet on a Friday night, instead of the usual Saturday afternoon and early evening, also contributed to the postponement. The stadium is being used for Cerritos’ graduation today.

The top nine finishers Friday, regardless of division, advanced to the Masters Meet next Friday at Cerritos.

The most impressive Orange County qualifiers were Dana Hills discus thrower Andy Marrone and Los Alamitos sprinter Erik Mitchell.

Marrone unleashed a 192-1 throw that broke the Southern Section 4-A record by 6 feet 3 inches. It’s the fifth-best throw in the nation this season. Gregg Hart of Ft. Wayne, Ind., is the national leader with a throw of 205-6.

Mitchell, beaten by Kerry Lawyer of Santa Barbara in the 3-A 100 meters, buried the field by about 15 meters in the 200. Mitchell ran 21.65 seconds to beat Lawyer, second in 22.18, and Quincy Fleming of Canyon Springs, third in 22.26.

“I felt someone right on my heels as I was pulling away,” Mitchell said.

There was no one, however. Roshawn Sims of Esperanza, who figured to be his competition, pulled up after 50 meters with a slight tear in his right hamstring.

In the 100, Lawyer beat Mitchell, 10.98 to 11.16. Both advanced to the Masters Meet.

In the 3-A 3,200, Robbie Price of Saddleback was out-kicked in the homestretch by Angel Martinez of San Gabriel. Martinez ran 9:07.90 to Price’s 9:10.75. Both advanced to Friday’s meet.