It wasn’t on the sweltering 90 degree heat or the hundreds of bystanders in the stands at the USATF Junior Olympics regional qualifier meet in Rome. It wasn’t on the collection of talent from Florida, South Carolina and Georgia that surrounded him. On the starting block of the 800 meter race that he found himself in, Marcus’ laser-focus was on the starting gun. When Marcus heard that, he jetted out of the opening leg and made the first turn of the two-lap race. Then he suddenly felt one of his socks touch the asphalt. One of his shoes had been kicked off by the runner behind him, and the race wasn’t even close to being halfway over. But his focus didn’t waver for long. With his stride now uneven, the athleticism and strength that he had worked to build over the past year began to take over. He completed the last 650 meters of the run as if nothing happened, riding a new personal best of 2:41.64 to a fourth-place finish and beating the rest of the field by two seconds. Marcus had just qualified for the USATF Junior Olympics, which will take place from July 23-29 in Greensboro, North Carolina.