The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
RIVERSIDE’S MARSHALL HAS FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Broken foot, concussion impact senior’s outlook
“It made me sit back and really look at swimming from a different perspective. I’ve grown a lot with my team and my coaches. And I think overall, it’s been a really good experience just to kind of soak it all in in a different way.” — Riverside swimmer Charles Marshall
Luck has not been on Charles Marshall’s side the last yearplus.
Last winter before Christmas, the longtime Riverside standout broke his foot, costing him much of his junior season.
Then in the summer came a concussion, costing him valuable time in preparation for his senior campaign.
So when you talk to Marshall these days, it’s understandable to hear someone with a fresh perspective — both in swimming and, by extension, in life.
Dec. 22 at the Hilltopper Invitational, the glimpses of greatness that defined Marshall’s path as a freshman and sophomore were evident again.
The senior won the 100-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke and swam legs on Riverside’s winning 200 medley and runner-up 200 free relays.
Marshall was already one of the area’s most intuitive performers in swimming, a craft in which he immersed himself with a later start than most of his contemporaries.
But that broad and mature outlook has added some depth now.
“It kind of stunk, because I broke my foot and was out basically the whole season (last year),” Marshall said. “I swam our first meet, which was this meet, Hilltopper. It was our first meet last year. I kind of just swam relays for postseason. And then, when I was getting back into the pool for the summer from that foot injury, I hit my head on the wall and I got a concussion. So I was out for a whole year pretty much.
“But it was kind of nice. It made me sit back and really look at swimming from a different perspective. I’ve grown a lot with my team and my coaches. And I think overall, it’s been a really good experience just to kind of soak it all in in a different way.”
As a freshman, Marshall was part of Riverside’s first relay in boys swimming in school history to advance to state, as the Beavers were 19th in Division I preliminaries. He was sixth at the D-I Cleveland State District in 100 back and was a second-team News-Herald all-star.
Former Riverside sprint free standout Nate Jerry once told the story of how Marshall got his start, learning to swim at the Perry Outdoor YMCA and, to that point as a ninthgrader, only swimming competitively for 2 1/2 years.
Marshall enjoyed even more of an ascent as a sophomore, advancing to state in 100 back and, once again, on the Beavers’ highly regarded 200 free relay. He was 18th in D-I prelims at state in 100 back and was a 2017 firstteam News-Herald all-star.
Last winter was destined to be a dynamic year for Marshall at that pace, but an unfortunate mishap changed everything. An accidental fall at home broke Marshall’s right foot and put him on crutches and in a walking boot heading into the new calendar year.
Marshall was determined to return in time for the postseason, and to his credit, he fulfilled that promise. While still not quite 100 percent, Marshall managed to advance to the D-I CSU District in 50 free and contributed solid legs on the Beavers’ 200 medley relay (11th) and 200 free relay (10th).
Then foot healing had to give way to concussion healing.
It will be important to Marshall to find his old form in January and February to make a deep postseason run. It will be fun to search for and mold that fourth relay member so Riverside can vie for another state berth in 200 free relay with Marshall and fellow senior stalwart Kyle Silver, along with promising junior Edgar Kokos, back in place.
It will be on Marshall’s radar to find the low-25 openers in 100 back again and try to see if the Beavers can peak around 1:30
in 200 free relay with four swimmers under 23 on their splits.
But this time, as the road to Canton beckons soon, the sense for what matters most will be a little different, thanks to a fresh perspective.
“I’m kind of just looking at it as like, freshman and sophomore year, I was really concerned with, ‘I’ve got to be the best. I’ve got to be the fastest,’ “Marshall said. “Now, it’s kind of opened my eyes in the sense that swimming is more than just going fast. It’s enjoying your team. It’s having a good experience with your team, building those relationships with your teammates and your coaches.
“And it’s kind of hard to explain to be honest with you. My character has grown a little bit. And I’m just really happy with who I am as a person right now, compared to my first couple years in high school.”