Brett Best began his tenure as the throws coach in 2003. Since then, Winthrop throwers have rewritten the record books recording more than 200 school records, 16 Big South Conference Champions, 42 All-Big South Conference performers, 10 NCAA first round qualifiers, four NCAA Championship Round Qualifiers and four NCAA All-Americans, more than all other Winthrop University sports combined.
Marthaline Cooper (Providence, RI, Classical HS) was the jewel in the Eagles crown as she was a four-time All-American from 2015-2017. In 2015, she was an All-American in the hammer throw, finishing 10th at the outdoor NCAA Championships.Â
The following winter, Cooper put together one of the finest seasons for a Big South thrower in conference history. At a meet in January, Cooper fired off the longest weight throw in the country, leading the field for a majority of the season. Her throw ended the season as the fifth best throw in the country and 18thbest throw in the world. At the NCAA Championships, she finished sixth, the highest finish ever for a Winthrop athlete.
In the spring of 2016 Cooper followed up her indoor success with a miraculous outdoor season. She set the school record in the hammer eight times that year, won a Big South title, and advanced to the championship round. At the University of Oregon’s famous Hayward field, she set the Big South bar high, finishing third in a very competitive field, earning her third All-American award and earning Big South Athlete of the Year awards.
Cooper completed her collegiate career in winter of 2017 by finishing tenth at the NCAA indoor championships in the weight throw, earning her fourth All-American award and finishing as the most decorated athlete in Winthrop University history.
Best has also coached the pole vaulters, with his vaulters setting two school records in his two-year tenure.
Prior to arriving at Winthrop, Best coached at Beloit College (Wisc), where he coached several All-Americans in the throws and jumps. From 1997-2001, Best coached at Virginia Tech where he coached All-Americans in the hammer and heptathlon.
Best was an all-conference thrower at the University of Chicago where he met his wife, Gwen Daley, who is a professor of geology at Winthrop.
