Senior Michaela Adams demonstrates her form in the hammer throw as a member of the University of Indianapolis women’s track and field team.
Jacob Walton | UIndy Athletics
Hugs and unintentionally embellished accounts of the past are hallmarks of a reunion, but not this one.
The need for team points eclipsed sentimentality when Michaela Adams, Reagan Emberton and Emily Bonser found themselves in the same warmup lines earlier this month.
On April 15-16, Ball State hosted a track and field invitational that included Emberton, a Bowling Green sophomore, and her teammates; also participating was the University of Indianapolis, which includes Adams and Bonser.
All three took part in the shot put, discus and hammer throw events, with varying results.
“It was kind of cool to have three of us there from Johnson County,” Bonser said. “It kind of reminded me of our rivalries in high school.”
Added Emberton: “I was very excited to see Michaela again. And Bonser. It’s business, but we know we’re friends.”
Their paths to get to this point in their respective college track careers have also been different.
Adams, a 2018 Whiteland graduate, used to be teammates with Emberton, who picked up her diploma a year later. Bonser graduated from Greenwood in 2019 and attended Miami of Ohio before eventually choosing to transfer to UIndy.
As the oldest of the three at 22, Adams has experienced her share of career detours, beginning with missing her freshman season after sustaining a torn left shoulder labrum. The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the outdoor season, and Adams has put off surgery for another injury in order to compete these past two seasons.
Adams is a senior academically, but could return for another season of track should she so desire. At this point, she doesn’t.
“This will be it for me,” Adams said. “I have a torn hip labrum on my left side, so I have to have surgery at the end of June. I’ve been competing with it all year. The indoor season was rough, but outdoor season is a little better.
“I’m definitely glad to be competing again.”
Bonser started the 2021-22 school year as a regular UIndy student, but over time missed the camaraderie a team setting offers. And, yes, the competition itself.
“She is the one who reached out to me in February to see if there were any spots on the team,” Adams said. “It’s been nice because Emily is a good athlete. Now that she’s my teammate, I feel like she pushes me.”
Bonser and Emberton previously crossed paths with Miami of Ohio and Bowling Green being members of the Mid-American Conference. Bonser was part of the Redhawks’ roster as a freshman and sophomore, though she eventually felt the tug to train and continue her academic pursuits elsewhere.
“It was hard my first semester at Miami because I had never been away from home before,” Bonser said. “I was excited for the (freshman) outdoor season, and then COVID hit. Being (at UIndy) has been pretty fun. Michaela and I always think it’s funny that we used to go up against each other, and now we’re teammates.”
Meanwhile, Emberton is doing her thing at Bowling Green.
She redshirted her freshman year, then sat out the 2021 indoor season after breaking the fifth metatarsal in her right foot practicing the shot put.
Like Adams and Bonser, Emberton continues to progress and appreciate.
“I’m kind of up and down, but I’m happy where I’m at,” Emberton said. “I’m getting stronger, but I need to work on my technique. You need to have your shoulders and hips to be in position and have it all come together.”
