Chase Bonner, a junior environmental science major from Estherville, Iowa, is a thrower for the Buena Vista University men’s track and field team. For Bonner, his love for track and field came early in his life. 

“My passion for the sport for me came back in middle school. I had a high school coach that was willing to work with me,” said Bonner. “He let me practice with the high school athletes and helped get me to where I am today. He believed in me, and I saw that, and it made me to want to continue to get better.” 

For Bonner, coming to BVU was an easy decision. One could even say it was meant to be, as many of his family members attended the University. 

“My family is so important to me as they are always pushing me to do my best and encouraging me with everything I do,” said Bonner. 

During the indoor season, Bonner competes in the weight and shot put events, and during the outdoor season he throws both the hammer and shot put. 

“My favorite event is the hammer throw. It’s just really fun to throw, and it was a new event that I picked up when I came to college,” said Bonner. “Before BV, I had no experience in the event.” 

Bonner feels that he has grown positively since arriving at BVU, in a variety of ways .  

“Since my freshman year, I have definitely gotten stronger and more confident in my throwing abilities. At the same time, I picked up a new technique and a new event, which has been really fun.” 

The team’s Head Throwing Coach, Shane Maier, has witnessed Bonner’s growth over his career and is proud of his improvements. 

“Chase has grown substantially with his mental focus and his ability on self-correcting his form with respect to the shot put and hammer throw,” said Maier. “He has also excelled and improved in the weight room immensely with his strength levels.” 

Bonner and Maier have had similar goals, as they look back at this past indoor track and field season and look forward to the rest of the indoor season.  

“My goals for the outdoor season are to consistently get better with technique and to place higher at conference than I have in past years,” said Bonner. 

“I am expecting Chase to continue to improve on his form in the shot put and hammer throw to allow him to be in the hunt for a top three placing in the shot put at the Outdoor IIAC Championships and final in the hammer at the Outdoor IIAC Championships,” added Maier. “I also feel Chase is in the hunt with Drew Beall on breaking the outdoor school record in the shot put.” 

Looking ahead to his final year as a Beaver, Bonner aims to set personal bests in all of his events, make finals during the conference meets, and leave his mark on the school by putting his name up on the record board.  

Bonner also has words of advice for the younger members of the team. 

“Fight through the first few years – it will get better. You are not good at something overnight; trust your coaches because they know what they are doing,” he said.  

Maier sees many strong qualities in Bonner and appreciates his accountability, respect, hard work, and coachable nature. 

“Chase’s ability to stay focused under pressure, his work ethic, patience, and ability to self-correct his form when needed allow him to be competitive,” said Maier. “Chase is a man of few words, but when he does say something, he is very helpful in assisting the underclassmen with their technique.” 

Bonner placed third in the hammer at the most recent meet, the Grand View Viking Classic on April 27. The Beavers will compete next at their last meet before conference at the Loras Invite on May 4.