ELKHART — Penn High School meant an awful lot to Christian Bonner.
Bonner, in the big picture, meant even more as a Kingsmen to his alma mater.
Bonner, who had his hands in a little bit of everything at PHS, is the South Bend Tribune’s Male Athlete of the Year for the 2025-26 school year.
Bonner put up strong numbers across the board in football, basketball, volleyball and unified track and field his senior season.
But the thing that helped separate the likable, intelligent young man from the rest is his intangible qualities
“Christian was an absolutely great leader and a great teammate,” said Penn football coach Pete Riordan. “He was a captain for us for a reason. He was very hard working and consistent in showing up every day.”
Bonner helped lead Penn to an 11-1 overall mark on the gridiron, which included going 7-0 to win the Northern Indiana Conference title. The defensive end had 30 tackles, including six for loss, to go with two sacks, nine quarterback pressures and a fumble recovery.
“The thing about Christian is that he embraced the process to get better.” Riordan said. “He was excited to be there and that’s contagious. That trickles down to the younger players in the program. Christian did a really good job too of taking our younger players under his wing.”
Bonner will play for the North All-Star team in the annual North versus South contest on July 10 at 7:05 p.m. at Decatur Central High School in Indianapolis. He will then move on to play football at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion.
Bonner also made his mark on the hardwood as a glue guy for coach Barak Coolman’s talented team. The 6-1 post player averaged 7.6 points and five rebounds per game.
“If I could clone Christian Bonner, I would be a very successful coach,” praised coach Coolman. “He is just a great young man. He’s high character, hard working and a ball of energy.”
Coolman, by the way, is a very successful coach. He is 305-141 overall in 18 seasons, including a 52-23 mark at Penn the past three seasons after replacing Hall of Famer Al Rhodes.
“Christian just loves to play and compete,” added Coolman. “He’s also got a heart of gold. He’s humble and just loves life. You could not ask for a better kid to coach. A lot of credit goes to his parents, but also to him.”
Bonner did fail to get to start every game on the court though. But it was not due to an issue on or off the court, other than his busy schedule.
“He missed warmups for our home game with Fort Wayne Carroll to sing a solo in the choir concert that night,” related Coolman. “I did not know if he was going to make it to tipoff on time, so I did not start him. But he sang his solo, hustled over to the gym and played well for us that night. That’s Christian.”
Bonner was happy when he found out about his latest honor. He was especially elated that his father Endesha was the one who shared the news with him.
“I had just woken up and my dad said that he had one more thing for me,” said Bonner. “He then told me and at first I didn’t process it right away. Then I was like wow and I hugged him. It was just super cool for him to be the one to tell me and an amazing feeling to share the news with him.”
Bonner is quick to give his parents, Endesha and Cynthia, plenty of praise. Endesha was a fine athlete himself and is now an assistant coach for the highly-successful Penn girls basketball program. Mom works in the Elkhart schools system and is a former volleyball coach herself.
“My parents have always instilled hard work in me and they are two of the hardest working people I know,” Bonner related. “I listen to them. They say that the hard stuff is what is worth it. I’m so proud of them.”
Bonner also helped the Penn volleyball team win back-to-back sectional titles the past two seasons. He then capped his high school career off by being part of the Penn unified track team that won a state championship on June 6 in Indianapolis.
“I just like being involved and like what I like,” Bonner explained. “I don’t like just doing nothing. That’s a waste of time.”
Bonner, who has two brothers Dominic and DJ and a sister Bria, has some very fond memories of his impressive senior athletic seasons.
“In football, we were down 16-0 at home to Mishawaka and came back and won,” said Bonner of the 28-22 win over Pemm’s archrival last August. “I remember a goal line stand we had in that game. That was the most fun I’ve had on a high school football field. And then beating Crown Point to win the first-ever sectional that I had played in.
“The Riley basketball game where I scored 20 points. I was just so emerged in that game. The back-to-back volleyball sectional championships. And then there was no better feeling than the unified track state championship. To win that and see the smiles on my teammates faces was just amazing. It was so fulfilling.”
Bonner attended school in Elkhart until heading to Penn as a freshman.
“Penn means everything to me and it’s the best choice I, actually my Dad, ever made for me to go there,” Bonner said. “It’s a special place. It’s a real family there. I think about all the people, coaches, teachers, administrators, who poured their hearts into me.”
Bonner impressed both Coolman and Riordan with his team-first mentality and involvement in so many things at PHS.
“Christian just played a vital role for us,” noted coach Coolman. “He was a key contributor for us. Everyone has a role and he was our glue guy.”
“Christian loved Penn and he took full advantage of what it has to offer,” Riordan said. “He’s such a genuine person. He always had a smile on his face. He was very successful at Penn.
“I think that he will do well at IWU. His work ethic will translate to college. I think it’s a great fit for him.”
Bonner, who is working at Notre Dame this summer, is ready for the next chapter in his busy life.
“I’m stoked and excited,” concluded Bonner. “My dream was to play college football and now I have this opportunity to do that. To see all of my hard work pay off is nice.”
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Do-it-all Bonner earns Tribune’s top honor for 2025-26
Reporting by Scott Davidson, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Scott Davidson, South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
