EUGENE, OR--Winthrop's Marthaline Cooper finished 10th in the hammer throw at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday to earn second team All-American honors.

Cooper, a rising junior from Providence, RI, had a best throw of 60.23 meters (197-feet, 7-inches).  DeAnna Price from Southern Illinois won the individual title with a NCAA Meet record toss of 71.49 meters (234-ft., 6 in.) which was nearly 14 feet longer than second place finisher Julia Ratcliffe of Princeton.  The previous record of 70.72 meters was set by Georgia's Jenny Dahlgreen in 2007. 

Cooper's 10th place finish is the highest of any of Winthrop's previous outdoor NCAA Meet qualifiers.  The previous best finish came in 1994 when distance runner Jeff Greene placed 11th in the 5,000 meters.

"It was a gutsy effort today by Marthaline," said Winthrop track coach Ben Paxton. " She moved into  9th place after her third throw but was surpassed by the reigning NCAA indoor weight thrower. Marthaline showed she will be a force nationally in the future. We are so proud of the year she has had."  Cooper captured the Big South indoor weight throw championship and the Big South outdoor hammer throw title while shattering the school record.

Two other hammer throw national qualifiers from the Big South Conference competed on Thursday.  Liberty's Jocelyn Williams placed 16th with a throw of 58.04 meters while Gardner-Webb's Krista Chauvin finished 19th with a distance of 57.85 meters.