Booker High thrower using 'superpower' for chance at scholarship

Nikki Marceus had no clue what destiny awaited her when, four years ago, she walked into Brookside Middle early one morning.

She was headed to the weight room before class. When she arrived, she was approached by a man she didn’t yet know, but would come to know well. It was Gary Dixon, the school’s throws coach on the track and field team. He asked if she had any interest in joining the team.

“I didn’t know what throwing was,” Marceus said. “I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ I’m open-minded, though, so I said OK, I’ll try it.

“Somehow, I ended up here.”

In this case, “here” is short for “receiving an invitation to the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet in New York City in March.” That’s a top-two track meet in the country, according to Dixon. Marceus, now a junior at Booker High, is the first thrower from the Sarasota area to qualify for the meet.

She qualified at the USA Track and Field Under 19 Florida Weight Throw Championship on Clearwater Beach on Sept. 30 by launching a “weight” (20 pounds) 44 feet. She’s a versatile thrower, though: She also competes in the shot put, the discus and, her personal favorite, the hammer throw. 

“When you rotate the third time (on the hammer throw),” Marceus said, “you feel like you have some superpower.”

If Marceus decided to give the superhero thing a try, she’d have super resilience in addition to super strength. Her success story differs from many others in one important way: She gave up the sport for a year and a half. She was persuaded to try other sports, she said, such as soccer, volleyball and tennis, the latter of which conflicts with track and field season. She liked those sports, she said, but she wasn’t as good at them as she was throwing.

It was through the effort of Dixon and others that Marceus realized her future hinges on a throws scholarship. Without one, it will be difficult to afford college tuition. She’s currently working at Fast N Fresh for extra money, but that only helps so much. Even attending the New Balance meet, which is her best chance to be seen by top-level scouts, will require some planning. Dixon and Marceus have started a GoFundMe page where people can donate to her travel fund.

Thanks to her previous work with Dixon, or perhaps sheer talent, Marceus didn’t have difficulty getting her body back in throwing shape after her time off from the sport. She “came back with what she left with,” she said, which was advantageous. Her versatility as a thrower is something schools should see as a major asset, Dixon said. 

“Her potential is tremendous,” Dixon said, “and she's a good kid. She always has a smile on face.”

She had a month of training before the Clearwater Beach meet, she said. Going into the meet, Dixon told her she needed to surpass 13 meters (42.65 feet) to reach the New Balance Nationals Indoor.

When her weight landed, she heard the announcer’s voice come over the loudspeaker. She heard him say “13” and then stopped listening. She was too busy screaming for joy.

Marceus is still raw as a thrower, Dixon said. Her technique is good for her experience level, but she doesn’t lift weights yet. She’ll need to do that in college to take her skills to new heights. Before that, though, she needs to get to college.

If she’s able to go to New York City, she’ll have the weight of expectations not on her back, but in her hand.

All she’ll have to do then is throw.