In Track and Field, she broke multiple records and was a three-time Sun Belt Conference Athlete of the Week. Named First Team All-Conference in Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field, she qualified for the NCAA Championships East First Round, winning six events.
Cross Country was much of the same story — she was a three-time Sun Belt Conference Athlete of the Week, as well as being a four-time All-Conference runner and the first woman in Marshall history to run in the NCAA National Championships.
This summer, she was named a finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year.
Even with all these successes, ask Herring about her favorite Marshall moments, and she’ll call to mind a situation she wasn’t even there to witness.
“When I was in Birmingham, Alabama, running at our Sun Belt Indoor Championship, my mentor teacher, Stephanie Spencer, somehow found an ESPN+ login and broadcasted my race to our second-grade class where I was doing my student teaching,” Herring said. “She sent me a video of all the children chanting, ‘Go Ms. Herring!’ as they watched me compete. It is moments like those where I was so proud and thankful to be a part of this community.”
Herring’s days of running for Marshall University are over, but her days inspiring other members of the Marshall family are still going. After earning an undergraduate degree in elementary education, she is now working on a master’s degree in literacy education and a certificate in early childhood education, with plans to graduate in the spring of 2025. She works as a graduate assistant at Marshall’s Early Education STEAM Center, assisting in the preschool classroom on campus.
Along with running, working with children is something in which Herring strives to give her best.
“I chose this career path because of the positive impact that teachers had on my life,” said Herring, a Parkersburg South High School graduate. “Teaching is not always easy, but it has been the most rewarding experience that I’ve had the privilege to be a part of.
“I love that every day is something new. I have never had to worry about getting bored with my job. … Students come to school with new ideas, personalities and creativities each day. I know it is super cliché, but making a difference in a child’s life is something that is so rewarding.”
She also has worked with children through activities such as Marshall’s Sweetheart Clinic, which encourages young girls in sports, and Country Roads Running Camp, mentoring high school runners. She also worked for Marshall’s HELP Center in 2023, serving as a learning specialist who tutored local students with learning disabilities and ADHD.
While doing her student-teaching at Southside Elementary School in 2022-2023, she worked closely with members of the Huntington community, including collaborating on a Black History Month project in which teachers reached out to prominent figures in the Huntington community and set up interviews for the students to lead with those individuals.
“These experiences have allowed me to become more involved in the community here in Huntington and West Virginia and give back to the same people that have supported me along my journey,” she said.
“The community involvement that I have taken part in here in Huntington has allowed me to grow as an athlete, student, teacher, and person.”
After graduating in the spring, she hopes to get a job teaching in an elementary school, with plans to take an exam to be certified as a literacy specialist.
“My choice to attend Marshall was the best decision I could have made,” Herring said. “I have formed lifelong friendships, excelled athletically and been given a wide range of academic opportunities for a quality education. Academically, the university offers smaller class sizes, advanced technologies, tutoring services, experienced professors and other various services that contribute to students’ accomplishments.
“Although Marshall is a Division I school, I never felt like I was just a ‘number’ to the university. I had personal relationships with my professors, coaches and administrators. It was because of these relationships that I was able to succeed both academically and athletically.”
Herring said that several of the skills that she learned through running, such as resilience and how hard work pays off, have translated to other areas of life — like working with children, school and even relationships. And although she no longer competes for Marshall, Herring is still running just as much, she said.
“Shortly after ending my track season, I ran my first marathon in Charlevoix, Michigan, and plan to run the Columbus marathon,” she said.
There are many people to thank for their support along her journey, but she highlighted
Coach Caleb Bowen, who “took a chance and invested in me,” she said. “He is an advocate for his athletes as runners and people and truly cares for everyone around him.”
She thanked the Marshall community as well.
“Over the past five years, they have shown me nothing but love and support throughout my running/ academic career,” she said. “My professors, mentor teacher, administrators, coaches, and teammates are the reason I was able to make Huntington my home.”
Most of all, she wanted to thank her parents, who have “traveled all over the country to watch me run and have been my support system since day one,” she said. “They are truly my number one fans, and I cannot thank them enough for all they have done for me.”
