BHS alum Bostick part of Minnesota Vixen’s first championship

When the Minnesota Vixen captured the first Women's Football Alliance national championship in franchise history on July 25, 2008 Burnsville High School graduate Kandace Bostick was right in the middle of the celebration.

Bostick helped the Vixen defeat the three-time champion Pittsburgh Passion 42-14 in Canton, Ohio, continuing an athletic journey that has taken her from the basketball and track and field teams at Burnsville High School, to an undefeated collegiate basketball championship team to recognition as one of the top defensive backs in women's professional football.

"It feels great, almost like a storybook," Bostick said. "We've been through a lot of things as a team. People always count the Vixen out. We're never the ones they want to pick for winning or doing something great. This win solidified that if you put in the work and do the things you're supposed to do, you can come out on top."

Bostick earned Second Team WFA All-America honors this season after helping anchor the Vixen secondary. In the championship game, she broke up two passes and delivered a key hit on Pittsburgh's quarterback leading to the Passion largely avoiding throwing to her side of the field.

"It took a lot of preparation and watching a lot of film," Bostick said. "The coaches gave us a good game plan, and the players all worked together. We wanted to change history. Everybody did their part."

Long before she was helping make history on the football field, Bostick was being introduced to competitive sports by her parents. Her dad was an avid basketball player and her mom ran track.

"My dad played basketball and never let me win," Bostick said. "That's where my competitiveness comes from.”

After moving to Burnsville at the end of eighth grade, Bostick attended Nicollet Junior High and then Burnsville High School.

"I loved my high school experience," she said. "It was the first suburban school I went to that had so much diversity. There were so many different people there, and I hung out with everybody. It was a great experience for me."

Nearly two decades later, she still feels connected to the Burnsville community.

"I'm still connected with some of my teachers," she said. "I think Burnsville is such a tight community. Any time anything happens in my life, I always hear from someone from Burnsville saying, 'Good job.' I think that's pretty cool after all these years."

Following graduation, Bostick continued her basketball career at Rochester Community and Technical College, where she helped the Yellowjackets to a 34-0 record and a national championship. She later transferred to Augsburg University, where she competed in basketball and track and field while majoring in kinesiology.

Originally, she planned to become an athletic trainer.

"I was doing athletic training going into my senior year, and I realized I don't like broken bones or blood," she said with a laugh.

Instead, another opportunity unexpectedly changed her life.

"I kind of came into football by accident," Bostick said. "My residence life boss signed me up for the Vixen tryout. I was getting ready to leave college and thought, 'I'm not going to have organized sports after this.'"

Bostick made the team and her speed and instincts translated well to football. She began her Vixen career as a running back in 2013 before stepping away from athletics to serve in the United States Marine Corps for five years.

Following her military service, she played two seasons with the Houston Power before returning to the Vixen in 2023. She wasn't planning on playing again until a call from longtime Vixen player Cynthia “Red” Bryant changed her mind.

"I was back in town and “Red” called me and said, 'Come play,'" Bostick said. "You don't tell “Red” no. She's a legend. The rest is history."

When Bostick returned, the Vixen already had a talented group of running backs, so coaches suggested she move to cornerback.

"They said, 'You're fast, try corner,'" she said. "I guess I was pretty good at it because they haven't let me go back to running back since."

Away from football, Bostick works overnight shifts as an aircraft maintenance technician for Delta Airlines, often heading directly from work to practices and games during the season.

"Half the games I'd come from work Saturday morning, take a quick nap, then we'd have walkthroughs," she said. "My teammates always hype me up and give me a hard time about not sleeping. I'm pretty sure everyone's looking forward to me actually getting some sleep now that the season's over."

As rewarding as winning a national championship has been, Bostick says the relationships she's built through football mean even more.

"I think the most enjoyable thing is the people I'm playing with," she said. "We all have jobs and do different things, and you get to know people from all different walks of life. The camaraderie we build is special."

That bond was never stronger than during the Vixen's championship run.

"We always find a way to rally around one another," Bostick said. "Being in the dogfight with your sisters is just a great feeling. You can always count on them to pick you up."