Traffic School Can’t Keep Singbandith From a Record

On the morning of the CIF state track and field championships, Phouphet Singbandith of Magnolia High School was cooling his heels in traffic school of all places.

He spent six hours, beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, as part of a captive audience in La Mirada, atoning for a speeding ticket. It seemed a strange place for the state’s best triple jumper to be before the biggest meet of the season.

But it had been a long journey for Singbandith to get this far. So what were a few hours spent in traffic school?

“He told me he kind of enjoyed it,” Magnolia Coach Bob Mangan said. “He learned how to beat a ticket.”

Saturday evening at Cerritos College, Singbandith soared 51-feet 7 3/4-inches on his second jump to win the state triple jump title by almost three feet.

He bettered his county record of 51-0 3/4, set at the Arcadia Invitational April 7, the very day he got his speeding ticket.

Saturday’s effort moved him to No. 2 in the nation this season behind a 52-0 performance by Erick Walder of Mobile, Ala.

“He wanted to win, that was his goal,” Mangan said. “It wasn’t (jumping) 52 feet, it was to win.”

A 48-8 1/2 jump by Offord Rollins of Wasco, the Central Section champion, was the closest any of the other eight jumpers could come to Singbandith.

“I think having no one else near him hurt his concentration,” Mangan said. “Without that adrenaline, there’s no way he can jump 52 feet. He had that controlled nervousness on his first two jumps. You could see it. (But) he didn’t have that the rest of the night.”

Singbandith’s final four jumps were forgettable. He fouled, passed, fouled and fouled again.

“I guess I was trying too hard,” said Singbandith, who did not appear to be disappointed in his final four jumps.

Asked if he was happy to win, he let out a big sigh, smiled broadly, and said yes. A long day was almost over. Now it was time to celebrate.

It’s been 12 years since Singbandith fled Laos with his family in search of a better life.

He only began triple-jumping as a sophomore at Magnolia and only at Mangan’s insistence.

This season, he set an county record at Arcadia, won the Southern Section 2-A and Masters meet titles. Saturday’s victory wrapped up an undefeated season.

Singbandith had to wait out a three-day postponement of the triple jump at the 2-A meet when Southern Section officials feared the event would not be completed until long after midnight.

It seems Singbandith has relished distraction, even sought it out occasionally.

“Last year, he played two-on-two basketball the afternoon--late afternoon--of the league meet,” Mangan said. “Yesterday, he ate a big cheeseburger right before he jumped.”

So, six hours spent in traffic school was relatively tame stuff.

“There wasn’t much to do,” Singbandith said. “It was boring, just listening to the guy talk all day.”

Said Mangan: “When he told me about this two weeks ago, I thought, ‘Great, it’ll sit him down. He won’t be out playing basketball.’ ”