Iowa head men’s cross-country coach Larry Wieczorek has labeled his young team as being deep, exciting, and “horses.”

But the adjective he uses to describe his soon-to-be-named cocaptains Brendan Camplin and Tommy Tate? Experienced.

Both fifth-year seniors, Camplin and Tate have put an enormous amount of effort into the program, starting when they both arrived in Iowa City late in the summer of 2005, Wieczorek said.

“These are two guys who came in as walk-on athletes and devoted five years of their lives to us,” he said. “They did not come in with the credentials. They both had rough edges to even out. They are good examples of guys who know how to persevere.”

Perseverance was a big reason why Camplin believes he and Tate will succeed as captains this season. It is something he has tried to teach the new runners who will represent the Black and Gold this fall.

“It’s a longer, tougher season then what they are used to in high school,” said Camplin, a native of Batavia, Ill. “You’ll have some guys going to the well too early, really digging into their reserves. When they reach in there later in the year, there is nothing left.”

Tate, who Wieczorek said can be “a demonstrative and emotional leader,” will try to bring that attitude every day in hopes the more junior members of the squad will take notice.

“I try to lead by what I do, which isn’t always the easiest thing,” said Tate, who hails from Galesburg, Ill. “In high school, I was far better then everyone else. What I’ve come to learn is how to work with the team.”

Wieczorek hopes that his two captains will be able to reach every member of the squad. The two athletes bring different leadership styles to their new roles.

“Brendan is a biomedical engineering major,” the coach said. “So he takes a calculated approach. Tommy, he’s a high-energy guy. I tell him that when he’s around, I don’t need to eat power bars.”

While Wieczorek admits that there were a number of runners he could have given a captain spot to, he ultimately chose to reward Camplin and Tate for their long devotion to the Iowa cross-country program.

That being said, Wieczorek still expects leadership roles to be taken up by each of his veteran athletes.

“Leaders are going to lead even if you don’t name them captains,” Wieczorek said. “You can’t stop a leader from leading.”

One runner that he hopes will help carry the leadership role is All-Big Ten selection Jesse Luciano. Though he was not named a captain, Wieczorek was quick to point out that a certain four-time All-American wasn’t named a cross-country captain, either.

“I wasn’t a captain during the cross-country season,” said Wieczorek, who won an individual Big Ten championship when he ran for the Hawkeyes in 1967. “Later on, I was named captain of the 1966 Iowa Big Ten championship track team.”