CARRABASSETT VALLEY — At first, Craig Marshall didn’t think he wanted to be here. The heavy cast on his left hand kept him out of the U.S. Alpine Championships, and Marshall almost let it keep him away from Sugarloaf altogether.

But he couldn’t stay away. One, Marshall had to cheer on and support his three Colby College teammates racing this week — Mardi Haskell, Sierra Leavitt and Jeanne Barthold. Two, Marshall had another way to stay involved with the national championships, even if he couldn’t compete.

“If I happened to not be able to race, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be around or not. I thought it might be too bittersweet, but in the end, I’m glad I can be here,” Marshall said.

Marshall spent the week as a color commentator. Working alongside veteran ski racing announcer Peter Graves, Marshall offered insight on the course and the racers throughout the week.

It wasn’t racing, but to Marshall, it wasn’t bad, either.

“I think he’s a natural at this. It’s clear he has a deep love of the sport, and has great current knowledge,” Graves said.

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Marshall was injured while training for the NCAA championships at Whiteface, N.Y. During a run, Marshall dragged his hand through the snow, like he often has. The snow was hard and wet, and didn’t give.

“It just sort of snagged,” Marshall said.

He dislocated the index finger and thumb on his left hand, and expects to be in a cast for three months. Soon after the injury, Marhsall learned he had qualified for the national championships. A native of Carrabassett Valley and graduate of Carrabassett Valley Academy, Marshall was unable to race in front of his hometown crowd on the mountain he knows best.

“It was nice to get that honor to be selected, but at the same time, there’s nothing worse than looking up and seeing these guys I normally compete against up there racing,” Marshall said. “I’m glad this injury happened when it did and not earlier in the season. Qualifying for NCAAs and qualifying for nationals was what I really wanted.”

Two years ago, an illness kept Marshall from racing in the Colby Carnival. That was when he tried announcing for the first time. He met Graves for the first time on Wednesday, and after a couple days, the duo sounded like they were longtime partners. Graves set Marshall up to offer stories about the racers, or to analyze their form as they came down the course. They even set each other up to slip impromptu one-liner ads for the championship’s many sponsors.

“The last few days it’s gotten way better. We just met on Wednesday. We’ve definitely gained a little bit more chemistry,” Marshall said on working with Graves. “With these nationals, it’s much less about reporting the times and more about entertaining the people… It’s just all off the top of my head. I’m fortunate, just because I’m around it. Especially with the first half of these fields, they’re older athletes and I know them personally.”

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Earlier in the week, when asked how long the injured hand would keep him out of racing, Marshall said “Forever.” On Saturday, he didn’t rule out a return next season, although it’s unlikely.

“The great thing about skiing in college is all the support you get, structurally and financially from the school,” Marshall said. “It’s a hard sport to do when you’re on your own. If I find the right situation and have the energy for it, then yeah, but at this point I have no concrete plans.”

Marshall will graduate from Colby in May with a degree in American Studies. He worked an internship at NESN a few years ago. If things go well, this week’s time in the broadcast booth could became a vocation.

“I’d love to be able to work in sports in some avenue. Whether it be marketing or journalism, but broadcasting is sort of my pipe dream,” Marshall said. “Hopefully, I can take advantage of either my skiing or golf knowledge and pursue that.”

Only 22 years old, Marshall learned the lesson generations of athletes have lived by. When the competition is over, participation doesn’t have to end, too.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM


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