By Joseph Staszewski
Oghenakpob Efekoro has enjoyed being the city’s best shot putter for most of his career, but the Forest Hills High School senior isn’t satisfied with just that. He wants to be the best ever at the event in PSAL history.
His quest is proving more difficult than he thought.
“It hasn’t gone quite so well,” he said.
Efekoro had his eyes set on the league’s longest-standing mark when the season began. Gary Gubner tossed 63 feet 1.5 inches for DeWitt Clinton back in 1960. Efekoro threw 59-09.00 in late December, a mark good enough for third all-time in the PSAL. Trouble with his footwork has kept him from being able to improve on that throw like he expected. Efekoro sees the positives and the negatives to the struggle.
“It’s bad because I’m not throwing well,” the UConn-bound Efekoro said. “It’s good because I’m still one of the best throwers in the city. If I do fix these things, then I’ll be really good.”
He won the PSAL Indoor title in the shot put with a toss of 56-11.50 at The Armory Saturday. Efekoro said the recent bad weather has kept him from being able to get outside and practice. He will have two more chances indoors at the state championship and nationals to set the mark before the outdoor season.
“I still have some time,” Efekoro said. “All is not lost.”
Whether Efekoro breaks the record or not, he will head to the University of Connecticut next fall, after picking the Huskies over Villanova and UMBC. He said he felt a special vibe when he stepped onto campus and thinks the UConn coaching staff could get him to the next level. Huskies head Coach Greg Roy, who is in his 24th year, has a throwing background.
Efekoro also hopes to learn from the team’s current throwers and considers it an honor to compete for UConn.
“When you have that coaching staff that has been there for a long time, it’s great,” Efekoro said. “You know things are going to go well.”
He is hoping for the same thing for the rest of his senior year.
