All-Staters Tetil, Herron Spark Each Other's Pursuits to Push Pace for Caro XC
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
September 9, 2026
Luke Herron opened the 2026 cross country season with a dominant win at the Mike Jackson Invitational at Croswell-Lexington.
But after winning by 55 seconds, the competition wasn’t quite over for the Caro senior. He still had to beat his friend and classmate, Violet Tetil.
“We did kind of come up with a little joke,” Herron said. “I said, ‘You know, Violet, I beat the second-place guy by like a minute, so you have to see if you can beat the second-place runner by a minute, so we can see who can have the better winning margin. I think she was like somewhere over 30 seconds, and I was a little under a minute, so it was close.”
Tetil won her race by 41 seconds, giving Caro a sweep of the individual titles, and Herron a slight second victory.
But more importantly, both were well ahead of themselves on the same course a year ago with times of 15 minutes, 49.2 seconds and 19:10, respectively. That bodes well for another special season from the returning all-state runners.
“That’s kind of a testament to them, the commitment to putting time in during the summer,” Caro coach Jeff Schember said. “That makes the difference for kids that are going to be really good. They’re pretty fit right now. They’ve got a lot of work under their belt.”
Beyond the times they are putting up, and titles they are winning, the duo is also providing a blueprint for their teammates.
“They can relate to it,” Schember said. “I have sophomore boys, and Luke as a freshman, low 17s was his best time. They’re like, ‘If I can get into the low 17s, I have the potential with that work ethic to get there.’ I hope they see that. Violet went on a whole other level the past couple years. So, I hope they see that and are driven to wanting to be like that.”
Herron and Tetil already have established themselves as two of the best distance runners in Caro history.
Tetil, who placed 12th at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final a year ago, is the school-record holder with her time of 18:50.5, run at Ubly in October of 2025. She also holds the track records in the 3,200 meters (11:30.82), 1,600 (5:10.61), 800 (2:15.01) and 400 (58.63).
She was runner-up in the 800 and sixth in the 1,600 at the LP Division 3 Track & Field Finals this past spring.
“I think that I was more motivated from (track), but I did have a later start to my summer (cross country) training because I went to the New Balance Nationals,” Tetil said. “I think doing that also motivated me a little more, like, ‘Oh, I’m actually pretty decent.’ I didn’t get a PR, but I was really close to my PR (in the 800). The atmosphere was amazing.”
When she was able to turn her focus back to cross country, Tetil came at her training not just with motivation from her success, but also from a new angle.
“I added a few things like weightlifting and strength training that made me a little bit stronger and able to withstand more mileage,” she said. “Last year, I kind of had a hard time with a positive mindset in races, so I think I kind of built up a more positive mindset, and that helped me get through the (Mike Jackson) race. I didn’t really set myself any goals or anything, I just wanted to go out and race and see how I could do. I didn’t even know what time I was running until the last mile of that race, so that was pretty cool to see that I was able to run a minute faster than last year.”
Watching Tetil get to this point has been motivating for Herron.
“Her perseverance in the sport has been amazing to see,” he said. “It’s crazy how she’s been able to take it all on and get better. She has a winter sport, she plays basketball, so it’s been amazing to see her balance all of that.”
Herron was sixth at the 2025 Division 3 Cross Country Final, and has the second-fastest cross country time in school history with his personal best of 15:39.1. That’s about 10 seconds off the school record set by three-time Finals champion Yami Albrecht. Passing Albrecht would certainly be a thrill for Herron, who didn’t start running competitively until his freshman year. But he isn’t letting that chase define him.
“It would be pretty awesome, I think, to be able to do that,” Herron said. “But I will say, I run for myself, and I’m not running for a record. I know that would be great, but I would love to just be able to be pleased with what I’m able to do. (The record) is not a thing that I lose sleep over, but I will say the state meet is something that I’ve always looked forward to. Yami was a three-time state champ, so I obviously can’t win three state championships anymore, but I’m getting closer to just being better than I was last year. My goal is to just better myself each and every year and prepare myself for what the next steps are.”
He hopes those next steps involve running collegiately, and he appears to be on track for that. He said Hillsdale College and Cedarville University are the two schools he’s most interested in at the moment. Tetil also has had interest from Hillsdale, as well as Wayne State and Bowling Green.
Before they take that leap, however, they still have plenty of work to do in a Caro uniform, as both are eyeing a top-five finish (or better) at the Division 3 Finals on Nov. 7 at Michigan International Speedway.
“I think it would mean a lot because we’re really good friends and we talk to each other all the time,” Tetil said. “So, I think it would be very motivating (to see Herron run well), because I mean even at some of the smaller races, if I finish on top, he’ll tell me good job, and then I’ll say, ‘Well, now you gotta beat that.’ So, yeah, there’s always motivation in that.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Caro’s Violet Tetil, left, and Luke Herron run their races at the 2025 Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway. (Middle) Tetil (811) charges toward the finish line. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Together Since Middle School, Gobles' Record-Setting 4 Building On Historic Run
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
September 24, 2025
GOBLES — When coach Marc Kline first met Libby Smith, he thought the sixth grader did not have much potential as a runner.
Was he wrong.
Over the next few years, Kline noticed “there was a seriousness about her from seventh, eighth and beyond. You could just see even then, she’s going to be good, and she is good.”
“Good” is an understatement.
Last year as a sophomore, Smith finished third at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Cross Country Final. Her time of 18:26.4 helped lead Gobles to a sixth-place finish, the Tigers’ best in school history.
Since then, she has been chipping away, trying to get below the 18-minute mark.
She is getting closer, recording a personal record 18:07.0 to win Saturday’s Pewamo-Westphalia Invitational. Smith has now won six of the team’s last eight meets and finished second in the other two.
“I like the running part and the training,” said Smith, who lifts weights five days a week and runs on her own after school practices.
On those solo runs, “My mom (Casey) follows me on an electric scooter,” she said. “My dad (Mitchell) does, too. They take turns riding with me, and I like that.”
In practice, Smith trains with three buddies, and the four have been running friends since middle school.
“We’re the only ones in our grades who run, so we are like a tight little group of runners since sixth grade,” Smith said.
Her “little group” also consists of senior Madison Cooley and juniors Lauren Shaffer and Ava DeYoung.
“All four of them are our top four in Gobles history,” Kline said. “They all set the school record in (girls) cross. That’s like the perfect storm from my perspective. That’s amazing.”
Every time Smith runs another personal best, she breaks her own school record. Currently, Shaffer is second-best at 19:33.4, also a personal record recorded Saturday. DeYoung (19:48.2) is third in the record book and Cooley (20:33.7) fourth.
All four runners passed the former top mark of 20:41.5 set by Cheyenne Allyn-White in 2014.
“We all started so young, and that really helped and we all improved together,” DeYoung said. “When one person improved, you wanted to stick with them, you wanted to just keep pushing. We all worked together, and we all improved together.”
Sophomores Addison Tomsic and Alyssa Sparks plus freshman Taylor Cooley round out the team.
The only senior, Madison Cooley is also team captain.
“It definitely makes a lot more responsibility,” she said. “I had to make shirts for the team, have to make sure they’re doing all the warmups and cool downs.
“Sometimes I have to keep myself in check and be positive all the time. Sometimes it’s pretty hard.”
Facing her last season on the team, Cooley said it’s important to stay in the moment.
“You have to cherish the moments,” she said. “Our captain last year (Zoie Wood) was a senior and was on my team since eighth grade.”
Kline said Cooley has been fun to watch in the leadership role this season.
“Her leadership skills have improved so much,” he said. “She’s very critical to the team.
“She’s planning to run track (in college). It’s really amazing to watch a sprinter take on a 5k role.”
While Smith led the team to the Finals last fall, Shaffer, who finished 33rd (20:45.5), was second on the team.
The junior started running at a very early age when her dad, Eric Shaffer, coached cross country at Gobles.
“I used to come to the practices after school,” she said. “I followed them around and have been running since then.
“A lot (of success) is being consistent, (training) over the winter and summer so you’re always running.”
Kline said Shaffer is gritty and shy.
“She loves her family a ton,” he said. “I can see a special relationship between her and her dad, which is really fun to see. She has a lot of talent as well.”
DeYoung, who started running in middle school, said the fab four instantly clicked.
“It was really fun and I just stuck with it,” she said. “We have such a unique bond together. We do easy runs together when we can just talk about our day.
“There are other times when it’s a good pace and (Smith) goes off ahead. It’s so fun to see her do so good. It makes us all so proud of her. I would say it inspires us to do better because we all want to strive to be more like what she’s doing.”
DeYoung suffered four stress fractures of the tibia as a freshman and is still working her way back to peak form.
“I had a lot of support from my teammates,” she said. “Even when I was struggling and having hard times, they were always there for me.
“I really enjoy running and enjoy running with my teammates, and I wanted to get better. Even with the setbacks, I was working and striving to get better all the time.”
Kline said DeYoung is one of the hardest workers on the team.
“Her integrity level is so high,” he said. “I appreciate her. (Because of the injuries), she’s not been able to hit where she was early and is coming around really well this year.”
All four also run track during the spring, and while both sports involve running, Kline said track and cross country are like night and day.
“Cross country, everyone’s focused on one event, training, goals,” the coach said. “It’s all unified, and there’s a great sense of family that can develop from that team.
“In track, there’s 17 different events, people get so scattered. It’s really difficult in one sense to get that team feel in track, so that’s a big difference.”
Looking at this cross country season, “I am so excited about the opportunity we have this year,” Kline said. “Their buy-in, their interest and their love for each other.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Gobles runners including Madison Cooley, front left, and Libby Smith warm up at the Portage Early Bird Invitational this season. (2) Gobles girls cross country coach Marc Kline. (3) Smith and Cooley are joined by, from far left, Ava DeYoung and Lauren Shaffer. (4) Smith runs at Portage. (Portage photos by Miles Postema. Coach and group photos by Pam Shebest.)