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.)
What a Finn-ish for West Bloomfield Star
November 7, 2012
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
Success comes so easily for some great athletes that they take it for granted.
West Bloomfield senior Erin Finn has experienced enough adversity in her running career that she appreciates each and every accomplishment.
Finn’s freshman year in cross country and track was cut short by stress fractures. So one of the greatest distance stars ever to come out of Michigan remained under wraps until 10th grade, when she placed fourth at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 meet in cross country and second in the 3,200-meter run in track.
She went on to win the MHSAA cross country title as a junior in 2011 before setting the all-class/division record for with her time of 10:17.86 in the 2012 Track Finals.
Finn entered her senior year brimming with confidence, hoping to enhance her reputation as one of the state’s all-time greats.
Instead, she endured one frustrating performance after another. The worst part was nobody could understand why Finn was regressing.
Finally, one month before the state cross country meet, Finn was diagnosed with an iron deficiency that was correctable primarily through supplements but also by getting more meat in her diet.
“My parents cook meat really poorly,” she said. “Really, like leather. I started doing some more of the cooking.”
She got stronger in the final weeks of the season, peaking with a personal-best 17:07.9 that dominated the Division 1 Final meet by 26.6 seconds. It was the fourth-best time ever by a girl in an MHSAA final since Michigan International Speedway began hosting in 1996.
“My freshman year, I got stress fractures,” recalled Finn, who receives a Second Half High 5 this week. “I kind of went crazy, because I was a little too underweight from running too much. I
wouldn't take that back. I wouldn't take this back. I've learned so much. God always has a plan. It’s just sometimes I’m too dumb to figure it out.”
Finn sustained her only loss of the year to two-time Division 2 champion Julia Bos of Grand Rapids Christian, by 15 seconds at the Spartan Invitational on Sept. 14. That’s when Finn began to wonder what was wrong with her.
“I ended up getting a fever the next day,” Finn said. “At first I thought it was over-hydration. Then I thought it was being sick. Then I had worse and worse races. I didn't train this hard this summer to get slower and slower. I’m doing everything right. I’m finally getting to bed early this year.”
When her problem was pinpointed in early October, Finn established a mindset that nothing mattered until MIS. After failing to break 18 minutes in three straight races before the diagnosis, Finn ran 17:47.1 in her final conference meet and 17:50.8 in the Regional before running her personal best Saturday.
“I’m definitely getting back there,” Finn said. “God has blessed me. I don’t think I ever prayed so much before a race.”
Finn joked that her goal prior to her senior year was to make people ask, “Who is Megan Goethals?”
“Just kidding,” Finn said. “That will never happen.”
Goethals is considered the greatest distance runner Michigan has produced, having run the only sub-17 time by a girl in an MHSAA Final as a senior at Rochester in 2009.
Goethals, in fact, is one of Finn’s idols, as is former Waterford Mott star Shannon Osika. Goethals now runs at the University of Washington, while Osika is a future teammate of Finn’s at the University of Michigan. She competed against both at one time or another over the last four seasons.
And back in the pack at MIS are runners who undoubtedly look up to Erin Finn.
These are the glory days of girls distance running in Michigan. Finn’s name is in the conversation with the very best. Of the top 15 times ever run at MIS, 14 have been run during the last five years by girls who have helped the state make an impact at the national level.
Finn shattered the national high school indoor record in the 5,000 meters last March with a time of 16:19.69 in the New Balance Nationals Indoor in New York.
She took second in the national Foot Locker cross country meet last year after placing seventh as a sophomore.
“I hope to follow in Megan’s footsteps by placing so well in nationals, both in high school and in college,” Finn said. “There are so many other wonderful runners. I’m so excited to run at Michigan next year. I was at Big Tens. I was never so excited to be at a cross country race. It was so much fun to see the girls who are going to be your teammates perform so well.”
In her final cross country meet for West Bloomfield, Finn let speedster Hannah Meier of Grosse Pointe South set the early pace before taking the lead one kilometer in and never looking back.
After reaching the finish line with a second straight MHSAA title, Finn was greeted by at least a half dozen reporters.
“Wow!” she exclaimed. “I never felt so cool before with all these cameras and stuff.”
The way Finn is running, she’d better get used to it.
PHOTO: West Bloomfield's Erin Finn crosses the finish line first during Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at Michigan International Speedway. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)