If you were to ask the members of the men’s track team who leads the team, Zac Brouillette’s name would likely be the first.

The senior thrower defines leadership in every aspect, teammates say. He leads by example, he supports his teammates through every competition and he pushes his teammates to do their best.

“He’s always got your back in every deal,” said freshman thrower Luke Pinkelman. “Every competition, he’s always there cheering you on, in good times or bad — so he’s very supportive. He always makes sure we always perform at our best. He always makes sure we give our best effort possible. Failure is not an option for him — he’s always wanting to do the best possible.”

The coaches and Brouillette’s teammates said he is a model leader. Brouillette is someone who urges the team on, who leads with poise and who competes with heart — everything that his teammates and coaches could ask from him.

“Any time you have a team or group, with what we’re trying to do … you want individuals who are going to come to the floor and take what we’re telling the athletes to do and running with it, and then being able to see that person succeed and be that role model,” said head coach Corey Ihmels.

When Brouillette first arrived at Iowa State, he was a defensive end for the football team; however, that did not last for long. Brouillette was a track standout in high school in Sioux Falls, although Division I track was far from his mind until Brouillette’s father, Scott Brouillette, saw an open tryout for the track and field team.

Brouillette jumped at the opportunity and traded his football cleats for a set of track spikes. The track wasn’t all that welcoming to Brouillette; he struggled with technique and clung to the shot put.

Enter: throws coach John Dagata.

Dagata ushered in a new era of Brouillette’s career, the weight throw. Brouillette and Dagata were a track pair made in heaven as, within no time, Brouillette began to see a great increase in throws. The hard work finally paid off as he reached and placed in the NCAA Indoor Championships this year as a senior.

From rags to riches, Brouillette worked his way up to the top, going from a walk-on with barely a scholarship to the thrower who sparked the Iowa State track team.

“It’s almost like a fairy tale. All I was given was a chance and that was all I needed,” he said. “I just capitalized on opportunity and worked hard and now I’m here… Playing football, you get a little different instinct on how to go out and attack.”

Although Brouillette is a senior, his success during his tenure at Iowa State will be felt for a long time. Brouillette holds school records in the weight throw and the hammer throw, surpassing the records set by former Cyclone Jamie Beyer..

There is another reason why Brouillette’s success will be felt after he’s gone and it spans beyond the track. His success has affected every one of his teammates, and given his coach someone to compare others to.

“You guys are going to get tired of hearing Zac Brouillette stories from coach Dagata, because he’s set the standard. He came here as a walk on and now he’s one of the best in the Big 12,” Ihmels said. “I think that if it shows anything, it shows that if you put a little effort, a little hard work and follow along to what the coaches are telling you — and you believe in what we’re trying to get done — you can achieve great things. He’s just a walking testimony to that.”

The coaches said that Brouillette has laid the ground work for success in the Big 12 and for national success too.

“His legacy will be one which, obviously he’s in the record books and done some great things, coach Dagata is going to use him as an example and we’re all going to use him as an example as we move forward,” Ihmels said. “I think when we get the program to a point where we’re in the top half of the conference… It’s going to be because of people like Zac Brouillette. Hopefully five years from now he can look back and say ‘I was there when it started.’”