Heavy liftersL Johnson, Olson 'muscle their way to BVHS records

Isaac Johnson and Kellen Olson both had similar goals when they began their senior powerlifting seasons. But while their goals were very much the same, Brandon Valley powerlifting coach Adam Bobzien said there are visible difference between the two 2023 state powerlifting champions.

“Isaac is definitely more of just straight power,” Bobzien said of the 308-pound-plus competitor. “When you watch Isaac powerlift, he wows the entire crowd. He can shut-down the entire meet so that everybody watches the weight that he puts up and they’re just amazed what he can do. That’s just his style. It’s just so much weight, so much power and people are amazed with that ability.”

As for Olson, the 148-pound lifter heads the list of BV’s “most decorated” weight class.

“We had our first state champion in that weight class many years ago in Riley Frantzen, and then Nick Hanson was amazing and kind of rewrote the record books after Riley had graduated. Then we had Carson Beyer last year who won every award possible in that weight class and now Kellen,” Bobzien said. “We’ve had so many state champions and so many lifters that just standout in that weight class, and Kellen is absolutely just another one of those.”

Kellen Olson

Olson got somewhat of a late start in the sport. He was a sophomore when some of his friends starting lifting together and he joined in. As a junior, his buddies encouraged him to get on the team.

“I’ve always wanted to be the big muscular kid and I always thought lifting heavy things was a cool thing,” he says, “but I mostly did it for my confidence and to make myself feel better. It’s addicting.”

Olson achieved his goals by pushing himself “to the limit every single day.”

“Every time you’re in the gym, you just want to go as hard as you can, and that really excited me,” he said.

Although he tips the scale at just 148 pounds, Olson’s dedication to the sport is clearly visible in the numbers he’s put up. He started out squatting 115 pounds, and this year raised that poundage to 415 pounds.

“In three years, that’s crazy,” he says.

Olson’s starting weight in the deadlift – his favorite of the three lifts – hit 185 pounds. He last lifted 465.

“It’s a simple thing. Just pull it up. There’s technique – you just got to pull it,” he tells.

As for bench, he remembers hitting one plate – 135 pounds – four reps his first time in the gym. At this year’s state meet, he benched 225. 

After placing third at state his junior season, Olson set his sights on claiming the 148-pound title his senior year. He did just that by setting new records in squat, deadlift and total.

“My friend last year broke all those state records and I told him I was going to come for him. We just joke around and stuff all the time, and he came and watched me do it. He was a little ‘mad,’ but it was all fun and games,” Olson said. “When I first did it, it was like ‘It’s no big deal,’ and then when I got home and I sat on my couch, I was like, ‘Oh wow, I really did that.’ I couldn’t believe it. It took a few days for it to really sink in.”

Bobzien points out that Olson lifted over seven times his body weight to earn state champion status.

“The thing about Kellen is that he was just so focused. He knew exactly where he was with every lift. I tell kids that are kind of approaching – the ones that know they should be state champions – the real difference is that you can narrow your weight down and have just a small window, and Kellen was able to do that. All those guys that I listed could do the same thing. Their starting weight was only 15 pounds less than the most that they are going to do. Some lifters jump 20 to 30 pounds in between each lift, but these guys are so focused in on that weight. They know exactly what they can do. They know where the next lift is going to take them, and Kellen was one of those people.”

Olson plans to continue to lift, and will compete July 22 in Omaha at a USA Power Lifting event.

Isaac Johnson

Isaac Johnson wished that he would’ve been introduced to powerlifting sooner than his sophomore year. And like Olson it was a trio of friends that lured him to the weight room. 

“I really didn’t want to compete. I just wanted to get stronger on my own without having the burden of competing against other people. Then I kind of figured it out that it’s not like that,” says the eight-time record holder. His resume of records include the South Dakota state record in squats in two weight classes, 300 and 308-plus, deadlight in two weight classes, most pounds lifted overall in two weight classes, and especially notable, the all-time state record since the 1990s for both squat and deadlift.

All this success for a guy who was trying to avoid competing.

“I wish I had started earlier. I feel like I kind of cheated myself out of more greatness. I just kind of did it. That’s my thing. I try to go everywhere with a chip on my shoulder kind of thing – like you’re really good until you prove it otherwise. I feel like I said what I was going to do and then I just did it. That’s the biggest thing and that’s my goal in life is just to define what my goals are and then achieve them and then move onto the next one,” he said.

Bobzien said that’s the kind of student-athlete that Johnson has grown to be.

“He tried 600 pounds on the squat last year (at state) and didn’t get the lights that he needed as far as passing the lift. This year, he came in with a goal – ‘I’m getting over 600 pounds’ – and he achieved that goal. He fought through some injuries from football and from hockey, and that’s the other thing that a lot of people don’t know about Isaac is he has a full schedule of hockey that he deals with along with powerlifting. He’s a busy guy and just very goal-oriented and very focused on what he does,” the coach said.

Johnson’s goal-focused concept helped him to elevate the weights he was lifting. As a sophomore, he squatted 495 and benched 225.

“I want to say I failed a 500-pound (dead) lift. That was actually in the newspaper and my mom has that cut out on the fridge,” he shares.

Johnson’s record-setting performances at state this year came on a day when he wasn’t 100 percent healt.

“I was pretty sore and my hands were still ripped open from deadlifting the previous week,” he said. “I wasn’t really totally sure I could get that 605-pound squat up, but I did and it was just stellar. It was kind of a surreal experience, out of body experience.”

Johnson realized early on in training that he has the ability to succeed.

“I kind of had inclinations because I was definitely surpassing my peers in the way that I worked out,” he said. “Getting up at 5:30 in the morning, you’re not always 100 percent there mentally, but you have to just do it. I just try to put my best foot forward every time – not just in powerlifting – but in everything I do.’