High school national champion and collegiate national qualifier Antoine Bardou has brought his running talents to the Wayne State cross country and track and field programs.

 
Bardou, who is a junior majoring in business administration, is from Saint-Chely d’Apcher, a small town about the size of Wayne in southern France. It was there at a young age he found a love for running.

 
“I ran my first cross country race when I was six years old,” Bardou said. “I got third place.”

 
That was the beginning of a long and impressive running career. Bardou is a versatile distance runner and has run competitively from the 1000 meters up to the 10k. While most runners specialize in a particular distance, Bardou is competitive at each distance. Some of his notable personal best times are 2:34.02 in the 1000 meter, 9:44 in the 3000 meter steeplechase, 19:50 in four miles, and 26:41 in the 8k.

 
In high school Badou was part of two French national champion cross country teams.

 
“My favorite running memory was when we won the cross country national championship my freshman year,” Bardou said. “We were hoping to get top ten, but we all ran well and ended up winning.”

 
Prior to coming to Wayne State, Bardou ran two years at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa. Last year Bardou qualified for nationals at the junior college level in the 1000 meter and finished in 9th place.

 
Bardou has already made a big impact on the Wayne State cross country team. Bardou’s time at the Augustana Twilight meet in Sioux Falls was the fastest of any Wayne State runner out of the six years the team has gone to the meet. A week later Bardou finished fourth at the Dakota State meet.

 
“He gives 110 percent every day,” teammate Joey Black said. “There is no 90 percent for him.”

 
“He is an intelligent runner,” teammate Corbin Lehn said. “He’s got a great personality and is a good fit for the team.”

 
Bardou also finds his team and Wayne State College a good fit.

 
“I love it here,” Bardou said. “I like the atmosphere, the campus size and I really like the athletic facilities. The coaches are great too. I really like the way our team works, everyone puts in hard work, no matter what.”