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06/04/2024 11:34 AMSports around the world can be outlets for athletes to excel, no matter which continent or country they are competing in. This is no different for James Oberg, a determined and hard-working track and field athlete who has made his way to the big stage.
The Guilford junior thrower spent his first two years of his high school career in Germany after moving there in 2020, competing in the shot put and discus. In addition to competing in indoor and outdoor track and field, he is also on the football team for the Grizzlies.
“I started competing my freshman year, and I had a lot of friends that were on the football team in Germany that did track and field, getting me into the sport,” says James. “In Germany, there were only nine schools that we competed against, with the competition not as strong as it is here.”
For the track meets in Germany, each competition was a two-hour bus ride away on a Saturday, with no invites. The meets led to the European’s, which is similar to the state championship meet here. James quickly adapted to the time commitment that it took to succeed in the sport.
As James made his transition from racing in Germany to competing in the U.S., he took his first outdoor track season in stride and quickly rose up the ranks among the local competition.
“My outdoor season is going super well for me, I feel like it was a little bit of an adjustment when I moved, but I have moved so many times that I have gotten used to it,” says James. “For the overall season, it went super well, I have met most of my goals, setting personal records (PR) of over 10 feet.”
When it came to testing his skills, James competed in the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) East Sectional meet, where he set two new PRs. James threw 52’3” in the shot put and 137’9” in the discus. Then, in the SCC Championship meet, he won the shot put with a throw of 52’03” and was named to the All-SCC First Team for his performance.
Guilford Head Coach Liam Norton saw a lot of potential with James from the get-go, and his performance at the Class MM State Championship meet on May 28 allowed him to prove that he deserves to be in the conversation with the most elite throwers Connecticut has to offer.
“Our throwers did fairly well, including James, who placed fourth in the shot put and fifth in the discus. He has had an incredible first season with the team, working with both myself and Coach Pambino,” said Norton. “He threw 50’ 9.5” in the shot put and threw 137’6” in the discus. At the start of the season, he was throwing between the 110s and 120s. Once we got to May, he started throwing in the 130s, making a name for himself in the southern Connecticut throwing division. He has been working closely with Coach Pambino on specific things with the discus and the shot put. He has also been working really well with teammates Timmy Hastings and Wesley Tandler, who are our other two shot put and discus state qualifiers. They all make a really strong team together. He is a terrific guy on the team, and we are lucky to have him, especially since it is his first year competing in the United States.”
As the season progressed, James was able to utilize his knowledge and skills to help the less experienced throwers, and he, along with Hastings, served as great mentors on the turf.
“I was a little bit more knowledgeable for the shot put, and we were both confident in what we were doing for discus. I stepped in to teach the novice throwers in the shot put with the help of Coach Pambino,” says James. “In Germany, my coach made it a point to let us run our meets because people in Germany were not that knowledgeable to measure the distance in the pit. Timmy, Wesley, and I also throw for a track and field club called Throw Hawks.”
Moving across the world to compete at a highly different level for track and field poses as just one of the many challenges that James has faced during the start of his junior year.
“He came into the beginning of the season throwing in the 47s and hit a little bit of a plateau, where he kept throwing around the same,” Norton said. “In some meets, he felt that he did not improve from the prior week, regardless of how well he did. At the Hillhouse Invitational, James broke 50’ for the first time, and that was breaking through a plateau of sorts. It really allowed him to start excelling into the 51s and 52s. Now, he has set his sights on breaking the school record of throwing in the 54s in the shotput.”
With his improvements during the month of May and staying competitive meet after meet, James earned a spot in the State Open Championship on June 3. He was seeded at No. 1 for discus in the first flight and No. 6 for the shot put in the second flight. Prior to the meet, James set a clear mission for himself, as he knew the competition around him would be amped up significantly.
“I am just really looking forward to having some good competition that I did not have for most of the season,” says James. “The SCC is not the strongest in shot put. I am just really happy to get that competition that I have been looking for. I am trying to break the school record at Opens this year. If it does not happen, my goal next year would be to break the record.”
At the State Open Championship on June 3, Oberg recorded a throw of 51-1.75 in the shot put, finishing seventh overall in the event.