This Year, Singbandith Got Down to Business : Boys’ track: Magnolia triple jumper earns a shoe box full of medals, and a college scholarship.

As a junior last year, Phouphet Singbandith of Magnolia High School approached the triple jump from a purely athletic point of view: Work hard, improve and help the team get some points.

This year, Singbandith, The Times’ Orange County athlete of the year in boys’ track and field, mixed in a little business savvy. Singbandith wanted more than a shoe box full of medals and plaques by season’s end. He wanted a college scholarship.

As it turned out, he got both.

On April 22, two weeks after he jumped a then national-leading 51 feet 3/4 inches at the Arcadia Invitational, Singbandith signed a letter of intent with Nebraska.

“I think once he hit 50 feet (early in the season) he stopped jumping for rah-rah-sis-boom-bah and he started jumping for dollars in college,” Magnolia Coach Bob Mangan said. “Once he saw he could parlay his jumping into a college ride, he became more serious, and those around him became more serious, too.”

Mangan and assistant coach Al Wallin were cautious in their plans for Singbandith this year, sometimes keeping him out of league meets if the points weren’t needed and having him make all-out efforts only at the most important competitions.

Last year, their standout athlete spent most of the season dealing with various injuries, some of them the result of playing on the school’s basketball team.

“Phouphet would go in (the game), and I would literally cringe,” Mangan said last year. “I would just sit there, hoping he wouldn’t twist another ankle.”

Add that to a knee injury from the high jump, and Singbandith wasn’t looking too well going into last year’s state meet.

“From the Orange County Championships on, Phouphet was one jump away from ending his season, we felt,” Mangan said. “I mean, his knee was wrapped, his ankle was taped, he limped. . . . I’d sit in the stands and my stomach would just churn. Even though he made it to the state meet, I did not enjoy last season at all.”

This year, of course, has been most enjoyable for the Singbandith camp. Not only did he secure a full scholarship and avoid injuries, he also was undefeated, winning the state title June 2 with the second-best leap in the nation this year, 51-7 3/4. The nation’s best is 52-0, set by Erick Walder of Mobile, Ala.

That mark would have placed Singbandith 10th in the NCAA Division I triple jump final, also held June 2.

Although Singbandith, a native of Laos, signed with Nebraska without visiting the campus, he and his mother, Pany, talked it over and decided it was the right place.

“My mother didn’t want me to go (to college) in L.A. She said there were too many gangs and too many bad things going on there,” Singbandith said. “I think Nebraska sounds good. But I’ve never been there.”

Singbandith, who hasn’t flown since he and his family immigrated to the United States 10 years ago, will take a trip to Lincoln next month with Mangan. Mangan already has helped him choose a dormitory, “one that’s upwind from the animals,” Mangan said.

“Suddenly what’s in front of him is very unclear--it’s exciting for him,” Mangan said. “Nebraska is not Southern California, but neither is Laos. He’s made one transition, so he can make another.”

ALL-COUNTY BOYS’ TRACK TEAM Event: 100 Meters Player, School: Tim Martin, San Clemente Year: Junior Mark: 10.68 Fifth in the state 100-meter final, three spots ahead of county rival Erik Mitchell Event: 200 Meters Player, School: Erik Mitchell, Los Alamitos Year: Senior Mark: 21.34 Won the 200 at Mt. SAC Invitational; second in Masters meet Event: 400 Meters Player, School: Roshawn Sims, Esperanza Year: Junior Mark: 48.32 Won athlete of the meet honors at the Orange County Championships Event: 800 Meters Player, School: Mike Terry, El Modena Year: Junior Mark: 1:53.52 Successfully defended his 3-A title; finished third at Masters Event: 1,600 Meters Player, School: Brian McCaffery, Marina Year: Senior Mark: 4:16.86 McCaffery, sixth at Masters, missed qualifying for state meet by .15 seconds Event: 3,200 Meters Player, School: Robby Price, Saddleback Year: Senior Mark: 9:06.66 CIF State Scholar-Athlete of the Year; led team to Sea View League title Event: 110 High Hurdles Player, School: Adrian Brown, Huntington Beach Year: Junior Mark: 14.70 Lower back injuries ended his season at the Sunset League preliminaries Event: 300 Int. Hurdles Player, School: David Fair, El Toro Year: Senior Mark: 38.46 Will compete this week in decathlon at Golden West Invitational in Sacramento Event: 400 Relay Player, School: Esperanza Year: Mark: 42.89 Jerry Kamecki, Garrick Emry, Jarod Smith and Roshawn Sims Event: 1,600 Relay Player, School: Huntington Beach Year: Mark: 3:23.47 Andre Ashcraft, Scott Johnson, Jim Dingus and David Lacy Event: High Jump Player, School: Kevin Carlson, Katella Year: Junior Mark: 7-0 State champion; first county athlete to leap 7-0 Event: Pole Vault Player, School: Tyson Jacobsen, Capo Valley Year: Senior Mark: 15-2 Joined Corona del Mar’s Keith Miller (15-0) as only county vaulters to clear 15-0 Event: Triple Jump Player, School: Phouphet Singbandith, Magnolia Year: Senior Mark: 51-7 3/4 Undefeated in 1990; won state title with the second-best mark in the nation Event: Long Jump Player, School: Phouphet Singbandith, Magnolia Year: Senior Mark: 23-7 3/4 Nebraska-bound athlete led the county by nearly one foot Event: Shotput Player, School: Mark Parlin, Esperanza Year: Junior Mark: 62-9 County champion; won Southern Section and Masters titles Event: Discus Player, School: Andy Marrone, Dana Hills Year: Senior Mark: 192-1 Broke 4-A record; won the Masters and was fifth at state Athlete of the year: Phouphet Singbandith, Magnolia