Robert Brewer/MDN Pro powerlifter Kevin Bostian deadlifts 405 pounds during a training session at Blast Furnace gym in Minot this past Wednesday afternoon. He and Minot State senior Alyssa King will be competing at the IPL Olympia Pro Powerlifting meet in Florida later this week.

This Friday and Saturday, the International Powerlifting League will be hosting its Olympia Professional Powerlifting Invitational in Orlando, Florida.

As it turns out, two Minot residents plan to compete at this professional powerlifting meet. Kevin Bostian, a 31-year-old Pennsylvania native and Air Force veteran who has lived in the Magic City the past four years, and Alyssa King, a 21-year-old Minot State student who hails from Saskatchewan will be among the field of competitors this coming week.

The two local powerlifters have contrasting backgrounds of how they ascended to become Olympia participants. Bostian has spent the past seven years competing at the amateur level of powerlifting. An athletic background that included baseball and football, Bostian reveals that hockey was the sport he mainly focused on throughout his high school years. Eventually, it was the supportive atmosphere within the powerlifting community that led him to change sports.

“In powerlifting, everybody cheers for one another and it’s super exciting to be a part of that kind of environment,” Bostian tells The Minot Daily News. “Whenever you go to different meets, the atmosphere is really amazing whether you go as a competitor, or just being there as a fan.”

As for King, she states she never had any prior involvement with sports at any level. Instead, she just starting going to the gym in order to pursue personal fitness goals. Slowly but surely, the Minot State senior says she was encouraged to start competing in powerlifting meets.

“As I kept working out consistently, the guys at Total Nutrition in Minot told me I should start powerlifting. Then I got serious about it, got myself a powerlifting coach, and I’ve been prepping for meets ever since this past January,” King says.

The sport of competitive powerlifting consists of three exercises: squat, bench press, and deadlift. Bostian qualified to compete at Olympia in all three exercises in the 242-275-pound single-ply weight class. A first-time Olympia competitor, Bostian met the requirements to lift in Orlando during the Battle for the North meet in Fargo back on Feb. 6. At that competition, the former high school hockey defenseman recorded a squat of 760.6 pounds, a bench of 523.6 and a deadlift of 661.4 for a total of 1,945.5 pounds.

Meanwhile, King will compete in the deadlift and bench exercises in the 123.4-pound weight class in the 20-23-year-old division. As a raw lifter, King will not be using any additional weight lifting equipment for support.

At her first ever meet in April, King earned the honor of best raw junior lifter at the North Dakota State Powerlifting Championship in Dickinson. There, she qualified for the deadlifting portion of the Olympia by posting a lift of 308.6 pounds. At her most recent meet, the No Retreat No Surrender meet in Fargo last week, she qualified for the bench portion of the Olympia with a lift of 154.3 pounds.

Heading into the big meet in Orlando, Bostian shares that his main goal is to post a combined score of 2,000 between his three lifts. As far as individual placing is concerned, the 11-year Air Force veteran does not have any expectations.

“I just want to shoot for 2,000 and let the chips fall where they may. I’m going to be a small fish in a very big pond with a lot of great athletes, so I really have no idea where I’m going to place. I just want to put my best foot forward, and I’ll be happy with whatever placing I get,” Bostian says.

For King, the MSU senior who plans to graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree in communication disorder says the experience and thrill of being at Olympia is her main concern.

“I feel that powerlifting is really all about competing against yourself. I am always looking to beat my own personal bests and just enjoy the atmosphere. The sport is really growing in North Dakota, and I just really like going to meets because they are always packed with so much energy,” King adds.