Coach Brinson leads the jumps and multi-event competitors at Eastern after joining the staff in the fall of 2022. She holds a USATF Level 1 certification and a USATF Level 2 Jump Specific Certification.
Athletes Coached in the Top 10
- Caitlin (Egypt) Simmons – 1st in Long Jump & Triple Jump (Indoor & Outdoor)
- Bobby Say – 2nd in Triple Jump (Indoor), 6th in Long Jump (Outdoor)
- 4th in Triple Jump (Outdoor), 6th in Long Jump (Outdoor)
- Cody Teevens – 4th in Heptathlon (Indoor), 5th in Decathlon (Outdoor)
- 10th in 60m Hurdles (Indoor)
- Kimberly (Tuti) Smith – 2nd in Long Jump (Outdoor), 3rd in Long Jump (Indoor)
- Azaria Purdy – 2nd in Triple Jump (Indoor)
- Grace Bruno – 6th in High Jump (Indoor), Tied 7th in High Jump (Outdoor)
- Chris Homen – 7th in Heptathlon (Indoor)
Brinson's second season with the Eagles was marked by impressive performances at the 2024 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Triple jump athlete Caitlin "Egypt" Simmons also had a standout season, placing 2nd at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, which propelled her to 1st place all-time in the Eastern Women's Triple Jump. Shortly after, at the NCAA West First Round, she achieved 1st place all-time in the Eastern's Women's Long Jump.
Decathlete Cody Teevens made history in April by finishing 2nd in the Eastern Men’s Decathlon, securing a spot as the 5th-best performer all-time in the event. Chris Homen also had a strong showing, finishing 7th overall. In the Women's Long Jump at the Outdoor Big Sky Championships, Tuti Smith placed 5th and earned a remarkable 2nd place ranking on the all-time list for the event in March. In the High Jump, Grace Bruno tied for 4th, while Wayne Jamison rounded out the performances with an 8th place finish in the Triple Jump.
During the 2023-24 indoor season, she coached Egypt Simmons to a 1st place finish in the long jump and the triple jump at the Big Sky Indoor Championships. In the men’s heptathlon Cody Teevens picked up the bronze medal at the Indoor Championships, while Colin Hughes finished seventh. In the women’s high jump, Grace Bruno finished fourth at the championships.
In her first year with the Eagles, Brinson led a jumps and multi-events group that secured two conference podium finishes and six entries to the EWU all-time top ten lists, including triple and long jumper Bobby Say, who became just the 24th EWU student-athlete to advance to NCAA Nationals, and third male since 2010. Decathlete Cody Teevens earned bronze at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, becoming the first Eagle to reach the podium in the event since 2001.
Prior to Eastern, Brinson coached at Buena Vista University (D-III) from 2020-21, joining as an assistant coach in 2020 before being elevated to head coach in 2021. In each of her two seasons at Buena Vista, she led the women's outdoor track and field team to its highest point total at the American Rivers Conference Championships. The 2022 indoor team posted its highest finish since 2013. During her tenure, Buena Vista produced 18 all-conference performances, including four conference champions, and four All-American finishes. In 2021-22, Brinson coached 17 men to BVU's all-time top-ten list along with 22 women and three Midwest All-Region athletes. Brinson coached a pair of individual conference champions in 2020-21 along with one national qualifier.
Before coaching, Brinson was a decorated athlete herself after a track & field career at both the University of Mobile (Mobile, Ala.) and Bethune-Cookman University (Daytona Beach, Fla.).
She was a 10-time NAIA All-American (indoor and outdoor) and a two-time NAIA national champion in the long jump while at Mobile. She set 11 indoor and outdoor school records and was named the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Track Athlete of the Year in 2016 and the SSAC Track & Field Athlete of the Year in 2017. After joining Bethune-Cookman, she was named the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference Field Athlete of the Year in 2018 and was an NCAA qualifier that same year. She remained with the university as a graduate assistant from 2018-20.
Brinson earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Mobile in 2017 and a master’s degree mental health counseling from Bethune Cookman in 2020.
