Name: Alexander Bernst
Program: Commerce
Academic Year: 3
Sport/Position: Rowing/Stroke Seat
 
Most students are lucky if they squeeze in some breakfast before a morning lecture. For varsity student-athlete Alex Bernst, he's already crushed a two hour rowing practice on the water.
 
A typical day for a rower begins at the crack of dawn. Arriving at the boat house for 5:15am, Bernst and the rest of the Gaels rowing team are on the water by 5:30am.
 
The morning row is followed by classes and a refuel until the Gaels are back at it again.  
 
"In the afternoon, we'll have a second workout that lasts about an hour and a half. It could be another row, a session in the weight room, or a cross-train depending on the day," said Bernst.
 
For the third year rower, there is no other way he would rather spend his days.
 
"I began rowing in the ninth grade. I wanted to try a new sport when I started high school, and I was choosing between rowing and rugby," said Bernst. "I was a pretty small guy and my chances of getting hit by someone twice my size were pretty high, so I went with rowing."
 
Turns out, the decision to pursue rowing worked out pretty well for the Queen's stroke seat.
 
Coming into the Head of the Trent Regatta in Peterborough this season as the defending Lightweight Men's 1X Champion, Bernst showed that he is ready to compete in the 2017 season.
 
Alongside teammate Nick Grubic, Bernst headlined the Trent regatta for a second consecutive year, taking first place in the lightweight men's double. The pair of Gaels dominated the event, putting nearly 30 seconds between themselves and second place.
 
In true athlete fashion, Bernst could only describe the race as: tough, but fun.
 
"Head of the Trent isn't like the standard six-lane rowing race. It's approximately 5 kilometers long and done as a time trial," explained Bernst.
 
"Rather than race beside other crews, you're on your own most of the time. Since you don't know how fast all the other crews are going, all you can do is row as hard as you can and pray you have some energy left for the second half."
 
The road to the 2017 season has been a tough for the gritty Ottawa-native, whose goals this year are to stay healthy and win.
 
"Last year, in the final few weeks of the season, I had some very bad luck with a bike accident and some illness. I wasn't able to race OUA's and taking several weeks off impacted our results at the national championship regatta," recalled Bernst.
 
"This year, making it through the season in one piece is pretty important," said the stroke seat. "That said, winning races is my main goal."
 
So far, Bernst has done well to keep his goal front and center. At the Brock University Invitational last weekend, Bernst represented the Gaels in the Light Men's 1X event and took home 1st place in the final.

October will be a true test for Bernst and the Queen's rowing team, who will race OUA's at the end of the month, with the national championship regatta the following weekend.
 
"Most of the athletes from last year's team are back this year, and I think we've all come a long way in both fitness and skill," said Bernst. "Over the summer we had athletes compete on Canada's national team, different provincial teams, and win national championships. I think the team is set to bring home more than bronze medals from our provincial and national championships.
 
With a big month ahead, Bernst has his eye on the prize.
 
"My focus, and I believe that of my teammates, is to win gold medals from each of those regattas."