The spotlight could not shine much brighter than it did on the Bernhardt siblings this past winter.
Both Leah and Hunter have devoted their lives to swimming. They both grew up as members of the Cortland YMCA (Leah for 10 years, Hunter for nine) and each have state championships from the association to go along with their youth careers.
They now find themselves as two of the top swimmers on the Cortland Men and Women Swim team.
So far at the college level, Leah was a SUNYAC rookie of the year and earned first team All-Conference honors during her freshman season. During that same season, Hunter would be named SUNYAC Men’s Co-Swimmer of the Year as well as the conference’s Men’s Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Championship Meet as a sophomore.
Both siblings would once again be named All-Conference as they would finish no less than 4th in 3 of their events (200, 500, and 1650 yard freestyle events) and Hunter would reach Cortland immortality, as he would break not one, not two, but three school records in the 500, 1000, and 1650 yard freestyle events (that’s how it’s done, LeBron).
This journalist would catch up with the Bernhardt siblings for a nice sit down in Corey Union to discuss their love for swimming, this past season, and what is to come next for the superstar sibling duo.
Jordan Lewis: We’ll kick this off with you Hunter. You broke the school record for three major events during the SUNYAC Championship Meet. We can all probably guess how excited you were during the moment, but could you go a little in-depth to what that moment meant for you?
Hunter Bernhardt: It was like a dream come true. I’ve dreamt about breaking this record three years ago at SUNYACS where I was extremely close to doing it for the 500. So it was amazing.
J.L.: This is actually your first season back since that championship meet three years ago. What kept you focused during that time, and what were some things that you did to keep yourself focused during that time?
H.B.: There was the COVID year, and last year with all of the mask mandates still playing a factor, so I wasn’t really comfortable returning to activity yet. I just kept swimming in ponds and pools during that time. Any chance I got to go for a swim, I would do it to make sure I stayed in shape for when I returned.
J.L.: Is there anything workout wise outside of swimming that swimmers do to keep themselves in shape as well?
H.B.: I don’t really do much in the weight room. It’s mainly during the season, not so much during the off-season. I mainly workout at home and use my bike to keep myself in shape.
J.L: Swimming isn’t really popularized on the college campus. What exactly does it mean to the level of competition when Hunter goes out and breaks school records, but comes up just a bit short? Do you guys feel as though you have to kick into an even higher gear once the championship season rolls around?
Leah Bernhardt: Swimming is really competitive in SUNYACS. We compete against Geneseo all the time and they are usually the top team. Last year when the team swam, it wasn’t as competitive because people were still coming back from the pandemic. Everyone was in top shape this year, and we almost fell behind a little bit from taking the year off. But it was really just on a whole different level, it was so unbelievable to watch
H.B.: It was a four way tie for first in the 200 freestyle, which is pretty crazy.
L.B.: Exactly. It’s a whole new perspective for us trying to make nationals. The guys that finished first at SUNYACS hardly crack the top 30 for nationals, so it’s a completely different ball-game.
J.L.: The grind as a student athlete is definitely not an easy one as we see. Student Athletes tend to put their all into athletics, but some don’t seem to find that balance, and it ultimately hurts them in the classroom. While putting your all into trying to reach that national stage, how do you guys find the time to really balance out school work, social life, and other things that go along with being a college student?
L.B.: I’m a graphic arts student. So during the season, I always have to try to find time to do my artwork throughout the day. With swimming, we’ll have to go to the weightroom during the week, we have to find time to swim on our own, and during the week, we might have to all swim at the same time. After a while, you have to just make a schedule and figure out when you’re going to find time to do all of those things. And that’s something we are both still trying to figure out. It’s definitely a challenge.
Jordan Lewis: When you find that balance, it starts to become routine. As student athletes, there can be a tendency at time to become obsessive with that routine. When you become obsessive, what do you tell yourself to be able to keep yourself at ease?
L.B.: I was probably at that level during the last month of swimming. Part of the team went to Florida for a training camp, but we wanted to stay at home. We were doing double the workouts together, but we were alone. We were getting thrown into a bunch of events that we normally don’t do, including the mile. So there was a struggle trying to figure out how much to swim before doing this race. It felt like my body gave out that week. So now I want to make sure next year I want to find out how much I need to swim so my body doesn’t give out, and attack it head on.
H.B.: I feel the same way about it. I’m a little more active than she is though.
L.B: Somedays he’ll bike ride for about 40 miles. I don’t get up to that level. He’ll just keep going and going. It’s ridiculous.
Jordan Lewis: Wow. That takes an insane amount of cardio to do that. It seems as though there are a lot of things that are different about swimming. Swimming, as often as people do it, seems as one of those sports that you have to go out of your way to find a place to swim. You both swam at the Cortland YMCA for half of your lives. How did that work?
L.B: A kid we knew in second grade swam for the YMCA. So we decided to try it. The season goes from September to March, then we get a month off, and then we go for the summer session, then get another month off. Basically 10 months out of the year for 10 years we were swimming. There were plenty of other sports that were glamorized, but it was just nice to be a part of the swim team and do something different. We’ve done it for so long and we just kind of get a rhythm to it.
J.L.: In regards to the passion you guys have for swimming, is there anybody that you guys may have idolized that bought that passion for the sport.
L.B. and H.B.: Michael Phelps.
J.L.: FIgured he would be one of the names that came out.
L.B.: Of course! Katie Ledecky for me was another one. Her distance swimming was always amazing to me. To see her still competing now is just insane to me. After seeing someone for so long it’s crazy. Even looking at kids now swimming these times, we just think about all the hard work that goes into it. It just makes us think about how talented these swimmers are.
J.L: With college careers dwindling down, specifically for you Hunter, what would you take away from your time as an athlete.
H.B.: Haven’t really thought about it yet. But I won’t miss it too much. During the summer I’ll be lifeguarding, and I do plan on coming back for my last year of eligibility next year. So we’ll see.
The Bernhardt siblings gave a lot of great insight. As both Hunter and Leah seem to be returning for another year of swimming, it is safe to believe that there will be even more that these two will accomplish, and this past year was just a little scratch on the surface for the talented brother-sister combination.