'Prepapalooza' Kicks Off 3-Week Celebration
May 31, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Nearly 30,000 athletes will take part over the next six days in what will again be the busiest week of the MHSAA calendar, with teams in all nine spring sports competing for District, Regional or Finals championships at sites across both peninsulas.
The first Finals champions of this spring will be awarded Wednesday in Upper Peninsula boys tennis (UPDATE: both U.P. tennis Finals have been moved to Thursday due to rainy weather concerns), followed by six more in Upper Peninsula boys and girls golf Thursday. Four divisions of Lower Peninsula girls tennis start their two-day tournament Friday, and on Saturday, more than 7,000 athletes will join them competing in four Lower and three Upper Peninsula Track & Field Finals.
In addition, baseball, softball and girls soccer teams begin District action tonight, with most of those tournaments wrapping Saturday. Girls and boys lacrosse teams continue Regional play this week, and Lower Peninsula boys golf teams will play Regionals on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Second Half again will serve as your home for all MHSAA Finals coverage, with correspondents providing stories and photos, along with full results, from all of the Upper Peninsula Finals this week and then all 18 LP and UP Finals this weekend, Lacrosse and LP Golf Finals on June 14, and Baseball, Softball and Soccer Finals being played June 19-21.
Check back as well for video highlights from most competitions and sign up to watch all broadcast tournament action over the next three weeks for only $9.95 on MHSAA.tv. All schedules, lists of competitors and tournament brackets updated with scores real-time can be found on MHSAA.com. Keep connected as well with the MHSAA’s social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PHOTO: The Unionville-Sebewaing softball team celebrates last season's Division 4 championship.
We Always Will Remember Our Friend, Tom Rashid
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 8, 2021
In these days following the death of Thomas Rashid, many mourning across Michigan have recalled the late MHSAA Associate Director as truly one of a kind – both in his work, which has had as significant an impact on the day-to-day processes and policies of school sports as anyone’s in this state’s history, and as a person who made everyone feel like a close friend moments after first meeting him.
We are glad to pass on tributes that have been made to him this week, as well as his visitation and funeral arrangements and a video interview with Tom that has provided us great comfort this week as we remember our friend – who also played roles as leader, mentor, advisor, supporter, consoler and many more through the years.
Visitation will take place from 4-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes in East Lansing, and will include a Rosary service at 7 p.m. Visitation also will take place Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in East Lansing, with the funeral Mass to follow at noon – Click for details. Saturday’s Mass also will be streamed live on the Diocese of Lansing’s Outreach Mass YouTube feed – Click to watch.
Tom always felt the focus should be on students and what they could learn from school sports – with the beauty of that philosophy meshing well with how his vast contributions mostly took place away from the spotlight. Deservedly so, it’s been shined on his legacy this week:
Obituary | Detroit Free Press | Detroit News | Detroit Catholic | MHSAA
On a related note, in lieu of flowers, the family has suggested donations including to the Thomas Rashid and Vic Michaels Scholarship Fund for Catholic student athletes at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan – Click to learn more.
We have been thankful this week for these 36 minutes to hear Tom’s voice again – this video from Michigan Lacrosse Review, an interview with Greg Normand after Tom was selected for the Michigan High School Lacrosse Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018 – is Tom to a T as he, in his own words, explained what drove his life’s work.