Identical twins Stephanie and Tiffany Herrera are seniors on UD’s cross country, and track and field teams, who have been running together since middle school. Their bond made their transition to college athletics easier and now they’re guiding new team members.

Twin Hens go the distance

Article by Hilary Douwes Photos by Nick Vuylsteke October 30, 2025

Identical twins on UD’s cross country team inspire the best in each other and their teammates

If you watched a UD women's cross country team race in the last few years, you may have done a double take as two of the Blue Hen runners went by. That’s because Stephanie and Tiffany Herrera are identical twins.

The pair are members of both UD’s cross country and track and field teams, and have been running with — and against — each other since middle school. Both are just under five feet tall, and both are fast — running just over three miles in the time it takes most of us to walk one.

The seniors, who are from Bear, Delaware, are inseparable and have been from the day they were born. Stephanie is the oldest, but only by one minute.

“A lot of people have just called us Herrera or twins,” Tiffany said. “In high school they would combine our names and call us Stiffany.” She dyed her hair blonde this year so people could tell them apart.

Tiffany Herrera crosses the finish line at a meet earlier this fall.

They are best friends and roommates, and both say the Whitney Athletic Center is their favorite spot on campus. But they diverge when it comes to academic interests and future plans.

Stephanie is a psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences with a minor in human development and family services through the College of Education and Human Development. She would like to be a school counselor one day. Tiffany is a communication major with a minor in journalism, whose dream is to be involved with TV broadcasting.

They began running seriously in sixth grade, after trying “probably every single sport in the world and having every single coach we had pull us aside and tell us to do track and field because we were so fast,” Stephanie said.

The pair started as out sprinters, but switched to cross country in eighth grade, even though they never really wanted to do long distance.

“We would skip the warm ups and just hop on the line and we ended up being good at it,” Stephanie said.

Stephanie Herrera would like to be a school counselor after she graduates from UD.

“Stephanie was better than me at running at the time,” Tiffany said. “That sparked me to try to be like her.”

After successful high school careers that included multiple state championships and all-state team honors, the sisters nearly went to different colleges. Both were recruited by UD, but while Stephanie committed to becoming a Blue Hen early, Tiffany wanted to head south — at least until signing day.

“I texted the UD coach who was recruiting me at the time and told him I was coming,” Tiffany said. “I couldn’t imagine college without Steph.”

Their close bond was invaluable as the twins got used to competing at the college level.

“Everyone’s good and top in their state, so it was an adjustment,” Stephanie said. “That plus running 50 to 55 miles a week and weight training was so different for us. Having someone I could rant to and who knew me so well made it feel so much better.”

“When I got to UD I definitely was overwhelmed but now being a senior I feel strong,” Tiffany said. “When I look at the freshman girls on my team I see a lot of myself in them, and I try to guide them and be there for them because I know it is a hard transition.”

While the duo have always run the same distance during cross country season, they competed in different events during the track season, until this year.

So who has been the fastest since they’ve been at UD?

“It always varies season through season,” Stephanie said. “We do the same training so it just depends on the day. Tiff's cross-country season this year has been better, but we'll see what happens in track.”

The UD team will compete in the Conference USA cross country championships on Nov. 1. To see the results, visit the cross country team’s website.