[dramatic music]
- Welcome to Universal Studios Hollywood,
our home for qualifying, and tonight,
we've got a special double episode
of "American Ninja Warrior."
- Hello, everyone, and thanks for joining us.
I'm Matt Iseman.
- And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.
Matt, these qualifying competitions
are intense, as these ninjas try
to keep their season alive.
- Absolutely, big man, and we've got another star-studded
group on tap for tonight.
For a preview, let's go down to Zuri Hall.
- Yeah, guys, we've got a lot of fan favorites
who are ready to hit the course tonight.
We'll see two groups of ninjas in this double feature.
Our first group includes the 5'2" superstar
"Gnarly Nate" Hansen and his training partner,
the two-time runner-up Austin Gray.
Plus, she had the best first season ever for a woman.
- And Greene is golden!
- Now, teenage sensation Taylor Greene is back.
And later, we'll see The Weatherman,
Connecticut dad Joe Moravsky.
All right, guys, release the ninjas.
- And oh, mama, leading us off is
the matriarch of the Beckstrand ninja
dynasty, Holly Beckstrand.
This 44-year-old Utah mother of five
is competing with two of her sons tonight.
She also helps to run two gyms, while somehow
finding time to be a ninja, too.
[gentle music]
- Being a mom of five kids means I'm really busy.
[music intensifies]
Making appointments-- orthodontist,
dermatologist, dentist, doctors, Kai's diabetes,
taking them to school.
The girls have dance.
The boys have work, as well as running two gyms.
[phone rings]
Thanks for calling The Grip in Green Valley.
Can I help you?
It all falls on me to take care of dinner
and keeping the house clean.
Sometimes my needs and wants come last, for sure.
- Let's go, Mom. You got it. Big jump.
There you go.
- Big on the back chain.
- There you go.
- Whoo! - Good, good.
- My mom is just absolutely superhuman.
And dismount to the domino. - Nice job.
- Whoa.
- Nice.
- I honestly don't know how she has
time and energy to compete and do everything that she
does in her daily life.
* *
- To be able to compete on "American Ninja Warrior"
season 16 with my two sons is pretty freaking awesome.
Season 16. - Let's go.
- Yeah!
- Whether I fall in the first obstacle or hit that buzzer,
I'm just super excited to be out here with them.
* *
[cheers and applause]
- Holly is a Ninja supermom.
- Come on, Mom. - Come on, Mom.
- She's going to lead it off for this family.
Her two sons will run later.
She's got a big group of supporters
back at the gym she runs.
[cheers and applause]
[countdown clock beeping]
Well, her husband, Brian, and son, Kai,
made history a few years ago as the first father-son duo
to hit buzzers together.
Could Holly be the first mom to do it with her kids?
[cheers and applause]
- Let's go, Mom.
- Climb up to face Ring Chaser.
She needs to catch that rolling ring,
then swing over to the hooks.
- There we go. There we go.
There we go. Nice. Get it, get it, get it, get it.
Nice. Nice grab.
- Makes it so much easier when you get that ring.
- Holly's got to make this transfer.
- Got it.
Now needs to get her swing going in the right direction.
- Pull. Pull. - There you go.
- The top four women from this group move
on to the semifinals.
Will probably need to get to that fourth of fifth obstacle
to be one of them.
Taking a lot of swings.
But Holly Beckstrand survives.
- Let's go. Let's go. - Come on, Mom. You got this.
- Now faces tonight's balance obstacle, Spinning Bridge.
- Here we go, Matt.
Holly gets through this one, man,
she's got a legitimate shot.
She's got a legitimate shot!
Oh, look at this.
- There's the smile, looking at her family.
5'2", 115.
Now the upper-body test commences.
- I think we've got another Ninja star on our hands.
- Well, when you own two gyms and you
have a family full of ninjas, you absorb some stuff.
- Ooh, and this is a heavy one, Heavy Metal.
- Come on, Mom. - Oh, come on, come on.
She's trying to-- - And she's not sure.
Come on, Holly.
Dig deep. Mama strong. - Yeah!
- She's shocked us. She's shocked us.
- She was surprised. - Look at that.
She didn't know she could do it.
Believe from within.
- And you can see, trying to correct that bar.
It's favoring the left side. - Come on.
Go into autocorrect.
You better autocorrect like the iPhone.
- Oh! - Nice.
- How did she hang on?
- Oh, my goodness.
- Holly Beckstrand just needs the dismount.
- She can see the promised land.
- And she's got it.
[cheers and applause]
- I see you, Holly.
I see you.
- And she has reached the fifth obstacle, The Cubes.
But, big man, this is a tough one.
Gotta work your way across the spinning blocks.
- There you go.
- She's looking back. She's trying to get advice.
- Turn the other one. - Reach under.
- She's trying to move the wrong side of the cube.
That's why it won't budge.
- Right hand under.
- I promise you, if she gets through this one, Matt,
this place is going nuts.
- She's still fighting.
- Oh. - Oh.
- Can't figure out The Cubes.
But what a run by Holly Beckstrand.
And she may have gone far enough fast enough to move on.
- I'm tired.
- The 44-year-old mom turned back the clock.
Watch this moment on Heavy Metal.
She just closed her eyes and went for it.
And she is just stunned that she landed it.
She set the bar high for the Beckstrand family.
- Oh, you're gonna cry.
- We'll see her sons Luke and Kai run in just a bit.
Our next ninja won over a ton of fans
the last time he hit the course.
This is Michigan teenager Ethan Gardulski.
His memorable run two years ago
was a breakthrough for him, and it inspired
so many others who struggle with mental health.
[gentle music]
- It's OK to not be OK.
To me that means, it's OK to get help.
It's OK to find people that accept you.
That's really big to me.
* *
- Before for "Ninja," Ethan struggled with being bullied
and anxiety and depression.
* *
We pulled him out of school in sixth grade,
because it was so bad.
When he got on the show, it was huge.
- For the millions watching all around the world,
what do you want to say to them?
- It's OK to not be OK.
- Yeah.
- When he hit the buzzer, and he had all the support,
the next day he woke up,
the first thing he said, he goes, "Mom, I made friends.
I have friends." And it was--
Finally, he found a group of people
that he felt like he belonged.
- Yeah.
- You're right there.
Having all my friends and the kids I coach
to support me while training really
motivates me to be better--
Nice, dude, nice--
and hope I can motivate them to be better.
- * Because I know that it's worth it to love myself *
* Made it out of hell *
* I've come a long way *
- Since last season, I've probably put on like 25
pounds, grown a couple inches.
Going into season 16, I feel way stronger.
And mentally, I feel great.
- I'm forever grateful for--
I know it's a TV show to some people.
But for him it was life-changing.
* *
- * I've come a long way *
* *
- And there's his biggest supporter, his mom Claire,
with a big group on the sideline.
- Come on, Ethan.
- And he's got his coach, Philip Scott,
watching back in Michigan.
- You got this man.
Whoo!
[countdown clock beeping]
- 5'10", 125.
He's put on 25 pounds since we last saw him.
- Yeah, that's right.
Really been working on that, Matt.
He's grown a little bit.
- Got a buzzer last time we saw him in qualifying.
Had an early exit in the semis.
Really said it was mental game.
So he wasn't worried about his physical skills
coming into it.
He said he wanted to work on his mental game.
- You can do it.
- And he's looking locked in.
- Yeah, and it's been such a confidence booster for him
as well.
And he's talked about how it's helped him with his anxiety
and how he's really starting to mature
and grow in this sport and as a person.
- On to the Spinning Bridge.
Watch the footwork here.
- Let's take this one out for a spin.
- Oh!
[cheers and applause]
- And it was four years ago, his mom took him to a ninja
gym for his birthday.
He said that was the day his life started to change.
- Come on, Ethan.
- It's a good thing he put on some weight, Matt.
This bar, 10 pounds, about 8.5% of his body weight.
- Well, he is rocking out, rotating it.
Now, a reverse lache.
- You can do it.
- This one could be a little awkward.
There we go.
Nice.
That looked easy for Ethan.
- Real smooth.
I got to say, what I like is Ethan,
you could see him using his whole body to generate
power to move that bar, really get a strong lache
and lock it in.
- Let's go.
- Gardulski looking strong, and Philip Scott
likes what he sees.
- Up now on The Cubes.
He's got to fly across these three spinning blocks.
They all move in a different direction.
It's an upper-body test.
Trying to figure out how to rotate
this front half of the cube.
- Yeah, a lot of these kids, they play video games.
They don't play Rubik's cubes anymore.
This is our version, The Ninja Cubes.
- We talked about him putting on weight.
He's still 125.
So it doesn't seem to be taxing him too much.
- Big turn, Ethan, big turn.
- Got to rotate it now 180 degrees.
- Matt, we've never seen anyone do it this way
with both hands on the same side.
He's making it work, though.
- Getting it locked in, trying to reposition
the hands for the transition to the final cube.
This last one is tough.
It's easy to slip off.
But he lands it.
- Get the heck out of here.
- The top 12 men in this group will move on.
With this run, he's got a good chance
of being one of them.
This is amazing.
And Ethan Gardulski, he's looking OK.
- Yeah. Yeah, buddy.
- OK.
- Yeah.
- There's the personality shining now.
- Oh, my, Ethan Gardulski back atop the Warped Wall.
Oh!
- Yeah! - Yeah!
- I see you, baby. - Yeah, buddy.
- I see you, baby. - Come on, Ethan.
[cheers and applause]
- Yeah, buddy.
- Ethan, I love that you share this message,
it's OK not to be OK.
I know so many people benefit from hearing it.
But right now I got to ask, are you feeling
pretty OK right now, buddy?
- Yes, sir.
- Now, I know you put on some muscle.
Let me see the muscles.
- Yeah. - Yeah, baby.
Oh, the shirt's coming off. - Oh, come on.
- The shirt's coming off.
Ahh! - Boom.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- Yeah, baby.
- Yeah.
- Matt, I love it.
He worked hard for the muscles.
- And he has worked hard to be OK to be able to perform.
And moments like this, absolutely beautiful.
And we'll see him in the semis in a few weeks.
Tonight, our two-hour special edition
features ninja favorites,
including The Weatherman, Joe Moravsky,
The Beast, James McGrath,
and the Little Big Man, Gnarly Nate Hansen.
Plus, young talents like the history-making teenager
Taylor Greene and the speedy Kai Beckstrand.
- Fasten your seat belt for this one.
- And up next, Yari Breunig's a social media
star featured on billboards across the country.
But that's not her only talent.
- [vocalizing]
- All that and so much more
when "America Ninja Warrior" returns.
- We got a taste of Australia while we were away
as Kadeem Aarons threw a shrimp on the barbie
and brought us a snack.
The greatest cookie on the planet Tim Tams.
- Tim Tams.
This is good.
- Aarons is a U.S. citizen who lives Down Under.
And after missing the big ring, he had to survive
with the smaller one.
- Whoa.
- At 5'2", he made the walkabout
across Spinning Bridge.
- Barely made it.
That was incredible.
- But couldn't handle Heavy Metal.
- Oh! [air horn blares]
- Bloody hell.
- Hockey coach Ron Zaagman had some fancy stickwork
at the start.
The 37-year-old father of three had his family
cheering as he took on the course for the first time
in five years.
- Ooh. Nice, OK.
- Zaagman drives a Zamboni at his ice rink.
And he skated over Spinning Bridge.
- He's got a power play going.
- Yes!
- But his dreams of a buzzer melted away on Heavy Metal.
- Oh. [air horn blares]
- Straight to the penalty box.
- Another Michigan native, teenager Riley Porter,
made it to the national finals last season
and started strong tonight.
- Oh, she made that look easy, hooked it with authority.
- The high school track athlete rolled
across Spinning Bridge--
- She sprinted across, Matt.
She sprinted.
- --and rocked Heavy Metal.
- I see you, Riley Porter.
- She made it all the way to the fifth obstacle,
The Cubes, before her arms gave out.
- Oh. [air horn blares]
- On the course right now, the always exciting
cat daddy, Jackson Twait, the pet sitter from Iowa,
who likes to go fast.
- 6'1", 160.
Cat daddy.
- And good power. Look at him. - Wow.
- Laying back and generating the power
on that first transfer.
- He wasn't messing around with that one.
- Well, cats do not like getting wet.
What's going to happen here?
- Nice.
- Twait always has one of the most energetic sidelines.
His mom's over there, along with friends,
and a cutout of his cat Hashbrown.
- Well, he is licking this course.
Right into The Cubes and a good pace.
- If he finishes in under 1:20, he'll earn a shot
at the 18 1/2 foot Mega Wall.
If he can conquer that, he'll take home 20 grand.
- Three years ago he took on the Mega Wall.
Let's see if he can do it again.
- Well, he's one of the elites.
- Wow.
- Has made it to stage 2 the past two seasons
but got be careful on The Cubes.
- Got it. Real nice.
Cat Daddy is running this course purrfectly.
- Got to get that dismount.
- Nice.
- Hustle up, Jackson.
- 4, 3, 2, 1.
- Oh! - Oh, no.
- Cat daddy.
Meow.
- You busted your butt to get to the top of that wall.
You got the buzzer.
But, Matt--
- You needed to beat 1:20.
- And, Jackson, by 0.3 of a second, you did it.
- Yeah.
- Get your shot, buddy.
- Get down there.
- Oh, boy. - Can cat daddy
climb 18 1/2 feet?
[together] Mega Wall.
- He's got to have a lot of nerves
going through his body right now.
It's a lot different than when he did it
back in season 13.
It was 6 inches shorter.
- Mega Wall money is up to 20 grand this season.
- That would buy a lot of kitty litter.
- There you go.
You gotta drive.
You don't get 9 lives on this one.
You just get one.
both: Oh!
- And he's OK. Wow.
And you see an 18 1/2 feet.
When you miss-- that can be scary.
But cats always land on their feet.
We'll see him racing in a few weeks in the semifinals.
- Man, look how close he was.
He got his fingers over the top, but at 6 inches
taller than last time, it made a difference.
He took a tumble on the way down,
and scared the heck out of me.
Ahh! Ahh!
- Well, this next ninja to hit the course
knows how to hit the high notes.
- [vocalizing]
This is Wisconsin's Yari Breunig.
And not only can she sing opera,
she's a social media star with many talents.
[vocalizing]
- * Ave Maria *
I started getting into opera when I was in middle school.
I love being in the spotlight.
I am a social media influencer.
Yes. Yes!
I have about 235,000 followers.
I am on billboards in New York, LA, Atlanta, Dallas.
And I also create all the obstacles at our gym.
And I'm a mama.
I warn all my viewers that my kids are highly
involved in all my fitness.
I'm ready.
I'm so ready this year.
I got this.
[cheers and applause]
I love you so--
- Yari's got two daughters at home
watching with her husband.
Also watching some of the fitness
influencers she works with.
[cheers and applause]
She is the real deal and a big deal.
Her live stream get hundreds of thousands of viewers.
[countdown clock beeping]
First test for her is Pole Vault.
- And watch that skirt when she gets down.
Don't want that to dip into the water.
Good acceleration.
- She trains in Wisconsin with the Green twins.
We saw them run a few weeks ago.
- On now to Ring Chaser.
5'5", 118.
- This is her fourth season competing.
- Get it.
Nice.
- What hands out of Breunig.
Singing a good song here.
Well, she said it was the birth of her second child--
she started with postpartum depression,
found "Ninja Warrior" and said that helped-- that training--
- Come on.
- --helped get her right.
- Come on. - Nice.
- Yari.
- Yes.
[cheers and applause]
- On now to Spinning Bridge.
- Here we go.
Keep your feet hot.
Keep your feet hot, Mama. - Yes.
- OK.
- And Yari has matched her best performance
ever at "Ninja Warrior."
Now we'll see after a little opera at the start line,
can Yari handle some Heavy Metal?
- Wow.
Her daughter's got to be impressed
by what Mommy's doing.
- Well, if she can get through this obstacle,
she'll have a good chance to move on.
- Oh. [air horn blares]
- Oh.
- Goes out on Heavy Metal but a strong run for Yari Breunig.
That might be far enough, fast enough
to get her into the semifinals.
Coming up, she made history last there's a Ninja rookie.
- She lived up to that expectation.
[buzzer blares]
- What can a Colorado teenager Taylor Greene
do in her sophomore season?
She's next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- While we were away, three more ninjas
tackled our qualifying course.
28-year-old Calvin Tran calls himself the Two Digit Ninja,
because he weighs just 99 pounds.
And since everyone tells him to eat a donut,
he brought us some.
- I'll eat one for him.
- But the night's lightest competitor ended up with one
of the night's shortest runs.
- Oh.
Boy, he fell faster than we could take a bite.
- Jawon Turner is a waiter at a hot wings restaurant.
And it was happy hour when he hit the course.
- He's got the whole crew there, Matt.
Look at the family.
- The 28-year-old dad made it to the semifinals last season.
And he served up another spicy run tonight.
- Sweet feet.
Nice.
Oh, I know that feeling.
- Let's go.
- WonWon as he's known, had his
sidelines chanting his name.
But the good times ended on Heavy Metal.
- Oh. [air horn blares]
- Ohh!
- This close.
- South Dakota's Drew Nester is another ninja
brimming with enthusiasm.
- Ooh.
Let's see what you got, Nester.
- The army medic attacked the course on land--
- OK, Drew Nester.
- --as well as in the air.
- Yeah, get excited.
- Let's go.
- Yeah, finish it.
- And when the 21-year-old conquered The Cubes--
- He can't believe it.
He's in complete shock.
- --it set him up for his first ever buzzer.
- Let's go.
- You got your mama crying down there.
- I love you, Mom.
[cheers and applause]
- Taylor Greene's "Ninja" career started off in style.
She hit a buzzer her very first time on the course.
She followed that up with something
no woman had ever done before, hit a second buzzer
in her rookie year.
The Colorado teenager then went further than any woman
at the national finals in Vegas.
- No one knows if she can top what she did last season,
but Taylor Greene is sure gonna try.
- Parents and brother on the sideline.
And she's got other family and friends
watching back in Colorado.
[cheers and applause]
[countdown clock beeping]
On her freshman season of "Ninja Warrior,"
she went out and had the best rookie
campaign of any woman ever.
Looking to build on that now.
- And was not afraid to get that buzzer.
- First place in qualifying and in semis, two buzzers
to start her season off.
Looking to repeat that here.
- Look at how quickly she's out.
- Been doing "Ninja" more than half her life, and it shows.
Such strength, such confidence.
And she's from Colorado, trains quite a bit
with Austin Gray and Gnarly Nate Hansen.
And they say at 15 she was already the best
female ninja they knew.
- Absolutely, she is her, Matt.
She is the one that everyone's talking about.
She's a real ninja.
- Nice.
- Come on, Tay.
- She also does track and field.
She's the top triple-jumper at Broomfield High School.
Gets through Spinning Bridge and cracks a smile.
[cheers and applause]
Even great ninjas are relieved to get
through balance obstacles.
- Well, on social media, she uses
the handle Sweet Ninja Girl.
But when she's on the course, Akbar,
she embodies the nickname you gave her, Mean Taylor Greene.
- Nice.
- And you can see the power.
That's a 10-pound bar.
A typical ninja bar is under 2 pounds.
- Matt, she's making this Heavy Metal
look like pop music.
Look at this. Pop, pop, pop.
Nice. - Oops, she did it again.
- OK.
- She was the only woman to finish the qualifying course
last season.
A few weeks ago Isabella Wakeham got the first buzzer
for women this year.
Taylor Greene trying to be the second.
- Watch the drop.
- Ooh, nice.
- Locked in.
And you could see the relief as she
closes in on another buzzer.
[cheers and applause]
- What does she have left for Cubes?
- Let's go, Tay. - Come on, Tay.
- Going back to last season, no woman
has been able to conquer this obstacle yet.
- Come on, Tay. - Come on, Tay.
There you go.
- Being a little more methodical.
And you could see that grip.
Oh, good job leveling up.
- Come on, Tay-Tay.
- You're good. You're good.
- Shaking out those forearms.
- Yeah, shake it off like Taylor Swift.
- You got it.
- Nice.
- Looking a bit gassed.
- She's going to have to dig deep here.
- Yeah, Matt, you saw that same thing.
You don't typically see that type of expression from her.
- Just 130-- - Nice.
- --but generating good power.
Good use of the hips.
- Yeah, using the hips, using the oblique
muscles there to really turn that cube around.
- And so impressive the way she's been shaking out.
She picked up rock climbing just to help
with her Ninja training, and it's paid off.
- Big-time. Big-time. Oh, amazing.
- Nice.
- The way she was able to mid-air like that.
One more move.
- And she's done it.
Now Taylor Greene's just a Warped Wall away
from another buzzer.
[cheers and applause]
- Austin and Nate were right.
She is one of the forces in this sport.
Continues to impress.
And no problem, Taylor Greene gets another buzzer.
Oh, wow.
[cheers and applause]
- I'm tired.
- You're tired?
- Yeah.
- You didn't look it at all.
This is your third buzzer.
You are a buzzer collector.
- Thank you.
- Taylor, you're Sweet Ninja Girl.
But when you get on the course, there's a switch that flips.
What is your mind-set as your attack in this course?
- I don't want to fall in the water.
[laughter]
- She was smiling early then had to dig
deep to get past the cubes.
But she becomes the first woman to conquer that obstacle
and adds another buzzer to her resume.
- Up next, Kai Beckstrand had a hot start last year--
- Here we go. [buzzer blares]
- --and a shocking ending.
- Oh, no. [air horn blares]
- Now he starts a new season when "American
Ninja Warrior" returns.
- We've already seen some impressive runs
from the women.
And moments ago, Jaelyn Bennett gave us another one.
- Nice.
Great grab.
- With boyfriend Austin Gray looking on,
the 23-year-old engineer from Colorado
equaled her best performance ever.
- She is doing it.
She is doing it big.
- Though she came up short of a buzzer...
- Oh!
- She's in good position
to move on to her third straight semifinals.
The classy Ninja Donovan Metoyer
always looks sharp in his trademark suit and tie.
- If you look good, you play good.
- The nine-time Ninja veteran had a shocking early
fall on balance last season.
But he sprinted through it tonight.
- He is blazing.
- Oh, he is on a mission.
- And he joined our growing list of finishers.
[buzzer blares]
- Whoo!
16-year-old Luke Beckstrand became the second
from his family to hit the course,
hoping to keep pace with his mom Holly who ran earlier.
And the Utah high schooler lived up
to nickname Luke Smash.
- That's the coldest ninja nickname in the game.
- Though the Utah high schooler
only weighs 115 pounds,
he had no trouble with Heavy Metal.
- Feel it. Feel it.
Nice.
- And the rookie got a buzzer in his very first time
on the course.
- OK, Smash.
- He joins his dad Brian and brother Kai who
hit buzzers in past seasons.
And now Kai has a chance to get another one tonight.
Zuri is going to get him started.
- Guys, Kai Beckstrand was a blur all last season.
And he started it off with the fastest time in qualifying.
Let's see if Kai can pull it off again.
He was the first to take Mega Wall last year.
And with his love of speed, it's no surprise
how he spent the 10 grand.
[horn beeps]
- Here we go.
Oh.
- I got some Mega Wall money last season.
And I used that to buy myself a sweet new ride that I
picked up recently, an Acty, which is a little truck
from Japan.
What makes it unique is, it's right-hand drive.
It's manual transmission.
And it's only 10 feet in length.
So it's a blast to drive.
Easy on the steering there, pal.
[cheers and applause]
- Oh, wow!
And then going into Vegas, I went a little too quick--
- Oh, no. [air horn blares]
- --and took a tumble into the water.
This year, I'm feeling stronger and more prepared
than I ever have.
Once I start that course, I just shift into another gear.
It's time to step on the gas.
[engine revving]
- Boy, if Kai gets to the Mega Wall again,
that would really cap off a big night
for the Beckstrand family.
They've had two good runs already.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Kai's training to be a firefighter, like his dad
and has no trouble climbing his way past Pole Vault.
- We first met him on "Ninja Jr.," and my has he grown.
5'10", 180.
And look at him. He could have taken a nap
while he was waiting for that ring to come.
He's got a great tempo, great pace.
- Easy.
- And heads straight into Heavy Metal.
Now, going fast like this led to a fall
on the Jumping Spider on stage 1 last year,
ended his season early.
But doesn't look like he's going to change his style.
- Wow.
He's making that 10-pound bar look easy.
- And goes right onto The Cubes.
- Of course, he's got all that muscle
mass that he put on last year.
Looks like he put on a couple more pounds.
- And his power continues to grow.
- Yeah, this is where that weight room strength
and that ninja strength combines, makes for a really,
really strong performance. - Look at that.
And he launches, uses his right to start moving it.
And he's got plenty of time.
He's going to get another crack at the Mega Wall.
Well, he delivers once again.
Kai making it look so easy,
the fastest time of the night.
[cheers and applause]
Wow.
- And, Kai, I gotta ask, man.
Luke Smash came out here.
And he put out a pretty good time.
Were you thinking about your brother's time?
- Yeah, I can't let the young'uns win.
[laughter]
- Are you ready for your shot at 20K?
- Obviously.
- Go do it, buddy.
- The Beckstrands just dominating.
Well, got it last year.
Can he get it again this year?
[together] Mega Wall. Mega Wall. Mega Wall.
- 18 1/2 feet, here we go.
Yes. And that boy's unstoppable.
He's done it again.
[cheers and applause]
- That's $20,000 for Kai from the Wells
Fargo Active Cash Credit Card.
- Hey, Kai, that ain't even fair, man.
We need to put that thing to 20 feet for you.
- Might as well.
- Just like last season, you had
the fastest time in qualifying and the Mega Wall.
Seems to be a pattern with you, bud.
Congratulations.
Go celebrate with your family, bud.
- At this point, I might have to borrow some money
from Kai Beckstrand.
- I tell you what, he's not satisfied with 20 grand.
He's got his eyes set on that million dollars
on stage 4.
The ultimate underdog Nate Hansen's captured
the hearts of ninja fans.
Now someone's captured his heart.
We'll see them next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to LA, where three ninjas
from the Chicago area took over the course minutes ago.
19-year-old college student Maggie Owen
made it to the National Finals last season.
- In the center.
- And with her mentor Jesse "Flex" Labreck cheering
her on, the four-time "Ninja" veteran
started off strong tonight.
- Hot feet, hot feet, hot feet.
- Just 5 feet tall, Owen fought her way
to the fourth obstacle.
- Oh, no. [air horn blares]
- But with a strong showing by the women tonight,
that may not get her to the semifinals.
Then it was Flex's fiancé, Chris DiGangi.
Who had an uncharacteristically
rough run.
- Ooh, catch it. Catch it. Catch it.
- After missing the ring, he had
to get through the second obstacle the hard way.
- He's making Flex nervous.
- And followed it up with a stumble
across Spinning Bridge.
- Whoa.
Hey.
Hey, what a big fall.
- And the 12-time veteran's struggles
continued on Heavy Metal.
- Nice.
Oh. [air horn blares]
- He's now in danger of not advancing to the semifinals
for just his third time ever.
- Dang it.
- The third ninja from the Second City was DiGangi's good
friend Mike Silenzi, AKA The Stallion.
- Giddyup.
- With a stampede on the sideline,
The Stallion went galloping through the course--
- Ooh.
Booyah-ka.
And bucked his way through Heavy Metal.
- Lost his hat in the process.
- At 37, he's one of the older competitors.
But he conquered The Cubes and came through
with his fifth straight qualifying buzzer.
[buzzer blares]
- Hey!
- That was big-time prime-time.
- Now, the final runners in tonight's first group
are two of the best.
Up first is Gnarly Nate Hansen.
He's 5'2" because of a growth hormone deficiency.
But he's developed a huge fan following.
And one fan in particular has captured his heart.
[gentle music]
- Growing up, I was bullied a little bit,
always called names.
And it was really difficult going through that.
Morgan and I met all the way back in high school.
I was the band nerd.
And she was the super-cute cheerleader.
I tried to pursue her.
But I got put in the friend zone.
* *
- Yes, Nate Hansen's going to stage 3.
- You know, as I've become more successful
on "Ninja Warrior,"
it grows a confidence inside of me as a man in general.
And so using that confidence definitely helped me
win Morgan over.
- Look at the little lake.
- It's so pretty.
- I was waiting for Nate to actually take the hint
for a little over a year.
Like you. You're pretty.
- Thanks. - [laughs]
Apparently the hints weren't good enough.
- The temperature's not too bad.
It's a beautiful day. - Yeah, it's gorgeous.
Then when he asked me to be his girlfriend,
I was very surprised, because I didn't think he had it in him.
- Oh, look at them. They're so cute.
Is that going to be us one day?
- Yeah. - Yeah?
- You know what they say, never give up.
- * Oh, yeah *
- All right, what are we starting with, baby?
- Monkey bars. - Monkey bars.
All right, get after it.
I'd never been in a relationship
before dating Morgan.
- One more. Let's see if he's got it.
Oh. Oh.
- Morgan is definitely the most supportive person
in my life, who reminds me how hard
I've trained for this
and what I'm capable of and that everything's
going to be OK.
- * Oh, yeah *
- Come on.
Come on, babe, you got it.
- Morgan loves gifts.
But the best gift I could give her is the buzzer tonight.
- * Oh, yeah *
[cheers and applause]
- And he's throwing a kiss to Morgan,
who'll be watching in Colorado along with the winner
of last year's Women's Championship Katie Bone.
- Come on, Nate. Let's go, Nate.
- Nate's got his family down on the sideline.
[together] Gnarly! Gnarly! - You hear that.
They got that Gnarly Nate chant going.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Well, with only one other athlete still to run,
Nate knows what he needs to do.
Just has to get through Heavy Metal
in under 1:08
and he'll be guaranteed to move on.
- Nate has been a beast in "Ninja Warrior,"
made it to Vegas each of the past three seasons.
- Yeah, that's right.
He went out early in Vegas last year.
So you know he's coming in hungry this season.
And he's quickly through 2.
[cheers and applause]
Facing Spinning Bridge.
Good balance test here.
- Nice. And Nate doesn't mess around.
You see the intensity and the speed.
He has a sense of urgency every time he runs it.
That's a veteran move.
- Well, he's in good shape on the clock.
If he can just get through this obstacle,
he's assured of moving on to the semis.
- Well, Nate Hansen, a great athlete.
But I think it's his--
- No! - Oh!
- Ohh.
- A shocking fall. - Wow.
- He was cruising through this course.
But now his season could be in jeopardy.
Check out how close Nate was to getting
that heavy bar over the hook.
1 inch higher and he would have had it.
- Hey, Nate. - Hey, Zuri, how are you doing?
- I am doing good.
I know this isn't the result that we were looking for.
We're so used to seeing you hit these buzzers.
What happened here on Heavy Metal?
- Yeah, you know that bar is pretty heavy.
And I saw a lot of other competitors
throw it and get their head pretty close.
So I was a little hesitant.
Hopefully it was far enough, fast enough.
We'll see.
- OK, and we always love having you out here.
Thanks, Nate.
- Yeah, we'll get back up and do it again.
- There it is.
Guys, take it away.
- Well, take a look at the leaderboard.
We've had eight finishers so far.
The top 11 are guaranteed to move on
with the 12th and 13th place going to a runoff.
And right now that would include
Nate Hansen, who's on the bubble
with one runner remaining.
And as fate would have it, that final athlete
is his good friend and training partner, Austin Gray.
And the 26-year-old happens to be one of the best
ninjas in the world.
He and Nate have trained together for years
and even lived together for a while.
- Now, Austin could send his homey home.
- And Nate has come over to be on Austin's sideline,
even though his season may soon be over.
[countdown clock beeping]
Austin Gray is one of the best.
Twice he was the runner-up in "American Ninja Warrior."
And last season he made it to stage 3.
- And Nate Hansen understands that right now Austin Gray
has to go out and do his best.
- Well, if he gets through the first three obstacles
faster than 25.78 seconds,
Nate Hansen's season will be done.
Austin Gray is trucking, and it's not looking good
for Gnarly Nate.
- This could be it.
- That one stings.
- And Austin Gray just ended his best friend's season,
not I that that was his objective.
But he's not done.
- He's moving fast enough to have a shot at the Mega Wall.
Kai Beckstrand got it earlier.
Austin just needs to finish in under 1:20.
- Hurry, but don't rush.
That's the key.
Booyah-ka.
[cheers and applause]
- Well, it's all gonna come down to how quickly
he can get through The Cubes.
- With all his other accomplishments,
he's never gotten a Mega Wall.
He tried it twice before and failed both times.
I'm sure he'd love that 20 grand.
- But the clock is ticking.
He's now got less than 20 seconds if he wants a chance.
- And The Cubes can slow you down if you don't
have the right technique.
- Got about 10 seconds now.
He's going to need some big moves
if he's going to pull it off.
- Oh, boy. He ain't gonna do it.
- Time runs out for the Mega Wall.
But as long he can finish, he'll have a good seed
for racing in the semifinals.
And Austin Gray with the exclamation point
gets that buzzer.
[cheers and applause]
He says I was close.
Well, done, man.
Well done.
Your best friend on the bubble.
Your success means his season ends.
Oh, you didn't know that.
- I didn't know that.
- Well, I'm sorry to inform that, man.
But that is the way of "Ninja."
- It is.
- But guess what.
You're going to the semifinals again, man.
- Here we go.
- Congratulations.
- When we come back, we're heading to our
side-by-side course for The Runoffs.
And the women's race could be history-making
as 44-year-old Holly Beckstrand tries to join
her sons in the semifinals.
That's coming up on "American Ninja Warrior."
- The Paris Olympics are coming to NBC and Peacock
this summer starting July 26th.
We've moved over to our two-lane course
for our first runoff of the night between our 12th-
and 13th-placed men.
And for the first time ever, it's dad against dad.
42-year-old Brandon Varner, a Colorado electrical engineer
who has one son, taking on a father of four,
33-year-old cabinet designer from Indiana Jesse Maurer.
- [beatboxing]
- Earlier tonight Maurer showed off
his beatboxing skills on the start line
and inspired Akbar and I to do a performance of our own.
[both beatboxing]
- And with a huge group watching from back home,
the three-time veteran was flowing through the course.
- Oh, my goodness.
- But the beatboxer didn't have enough spin
for The Cubes.
- Maurer's going to need some power on this.
Oh! [air horn blares]
- Brandon Varner is a former professional freestyle skier.
So he was ready to get big air on the course.
And he also made it to The Cubes.
- That was beautiful.
- But it was all downhill from there.
- Ahh!
[air horn blares]
- Now these two dads will race for the final spot
in the semis.
- Well, these two bonding over the fact they're
both family men.
- Varner's son and wife are on his sideline
while Maurer's four kids and other family members
are watching back in Lagrange, Indiana.
[cheers and applause]
It's a four-obstacle race.
Whoever goes the furthest the fastest
advances to the semifinals.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Boy, this is a classic my daddy's
better than your daddy race right here,
two dads going at it.
- Varner first up on the Flying Shelf Grab--
Oh! - Oh, my goodness.
- Airballs it.
But Maurer must complete this obstacle.
- All right, Maurer's got the power.
Here we go. Nice.
- Just needs the dismount, and he will
win the battle of the dads.
And there it is.
He's done it.
- OK, Jesse Maurer.
[cheers and applause]
- Jesse Maurer is going to be racing in the semifinals.
On the women's side, the three who punched their ticket
to the semis are Taylor Greene, who got a buzzer tonight,
Michigan's Riley Porter, and Colorado
engineer Jaelyn Bennett.
The fourth and final spot in the semis
will go to the winner of the Runoff between fourth=place
finisher, Utah mom Holly Beckstrand,
and fifth-place Judith Carroll,
one of Australia's top ninjas.
As a dual citizen, Judith is hoping
to match the success she's had on "Australian Ninja Warrior"
as one of the few women to hit a buzzer
and make it to their national finals.
- That was a pretty big accomplishment.
But "American Ninja Warrior" is the big one,
the one that counts.
If I can do my best here, then it's like proof
that I can do it anywhere.
- I think it's great that Judith came
all the way from Australia.
I do know she's a great athlete.
But I train with my two boys that are speed demons.
- [indistinct] There you go.
- This is "American Ninja Warrior."
And I'm going to have to send her packing, mate.
[dramatic music]
- Holly Beckstrand could make history.
If she wins this race, she'll join her two
sons in the semifinals.
They both hit buzzers earlier.
And Judith's got her friends waving the Aussie flag.
- Here we go.
Holly Beckstrand is part of a ninja dynasty.
But she's 44 years old, 17 years older than Judith.
Judith is 5'8" and 6 inches taller than Holly.
- Well, let's see if those long legs
giver her an edge on Home Run.
- You got to be explosive on the first obstacle.
- Carroll springs ahead.
- Always big to complete an obstacle first.
- Should you both fall, the win goes to
the one who completed the previous obstacle.
- Two super competitive-- - Look at these two.
- --athletes right here. - Oh, this is a good race.
- They're switching back and forth.
Tied up now. Nice.
- And Judith, once again, the first one off.
Now into Wing Nuts-- both: Oh!
- And Holly Beckstrand's run in history
comes up short.
She won't be joining her sons in the semis.
It's the Australian Ninja moving on.
I'm sure Holly will still be on the sidelines
cheering on Luke and Kai.
- Oh, she wanted it badly, put up
a good fight against Judith.
OK, Judith.
[cheers and applause]
- Judith's not celebrating yet.
She wants to prove she can finish
the course on the American version of Ninja Warrior.
But this is a beast, Sideways.
Got to get that lead hand down and around.
- Nice. - Good job there.
- Ooh.
- Well, Judith Carroll splashes down under
but not before punching her ticket to the semis.
Well, we're not done.
We're going to back it up and start over
with a new group of ninjas.
- Yeah, that's right. That includes The Weatherman,
Connecticut's Joe Moravsky.
And from Massachusetts, it's The Beast, James McGrath.
Plus, Sydney Yee is the ultimate overachiever.
She's a member of MENSA, a boy scout.
- Good morning, scouts.
- And now she's a ninja.
- We'll see her and a whole lot more on the second hour
of "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Universal Studios Hollywood.
It's a double feature!
We just had one group of ninjas punch their tickets
to the semifinals.
Now a new group will try to do the same.
- That's right.
We changed up the course for this second set of ninjas.
The high-flying Reel to Reel is now the second obstacle.
And the punishing Jawbreakers are
in the number five position.
- And just like the previous group...
- Oh!
- The top 12 men and top 4 women will move on
to the semifinals.
The final spots will be earned in the Runoff
at the end of the night.
- Let's get these ninjas going.
- First up in this group is Ohio's Sydney Yee.
She's our youngest athlete of the season.
And at just 5 feet tall,
she's tied for the smallest competitor tonight.
But she's got a big heart and a big brain.
- Some people say I'm a bit of an overachiever.
I play violin. I swim. I run track and field.
My IQ is 134.
But my favorite activities are Ninja and Boy Scouts.
Good morning, scouts. all: Good morning.
- I got into Boy Scouts because of my brother
because I went on a couple campouts with him.
And I was like, whoa, I really wish
I could do this type of stuff.
And once they let girls in, you know,
I was one of the first people to join it.
We're going to be going on a backpacking trip today.
I have learned so many cool things,
from learning how to do first aid,
to learning how to survive by myself in the woods.
Scouts is just amazing.
Ever since I was eight, I've always dreamed
of getting on "American Ninja Warrior"
and showing everyone what I can do as a ninja.
So I'm going to crush that course tonight.
Scout's honor.
- She calls herself the Sly Ninja
because her initials are SLY-- Sydney Lynn Yee.
Got her family on the sidelines.
And Sydney's got a whole lot of fans in this crowd.
[countdown clock beeping]
She does hurdles on her high-school track team,
but facing the Pole Vault here on our course.
And she's through.
- Sydney Yee's going to earn her merit badge
for Ninja tonight.
She's already celebrating. Look at her.
[cheers and applause]
- She'll be the first tonight to try Reel to Reel.
Has to slide down and fly from one film reel to the other.
- Whee! Look at that!
- That's a big swing for her, but she landed it.
And now she's through.
[all cheering]
- She is hyped.
[cheers and applause]
- Only 5 feet.
Spinning Bridge is going to be a tall order.
But she survives!
Well, the Sly Ninja showing she's quite nimble.
She's pumped up.
She's a member of Mensa, with an IQ over 130.
Let's see if she can solve Heavy Metal.
The top four women from this group will move on.
She's putting herself in good position to be one of them.
5 feet, 109 pounds with this 10-pound bar.
See, it's easy to get it favoring one side.
Typical bar under 2 pounds.
- Yeah, she's more compact at 5 feet.
So she should be able to generate the power!
- Oh, my! - What? Whoa!
- That was a last-second catch!
- Oh, my goodness!
But you know what?
She knows all about calculation.
Oh! [air horn blares]
- Couldn't hold on.
But what a fun run by Sydney Yee.
- She used her scouting survival skills
on Spinning Bridge.
And she's so smart,
she made a midair adjustment and landed
that backward move on Heavy Metal,
before slipping off the third hook.
- Sydney, congratulations on an awesome run.
- Thank you. - How you feeling?
- Oh, I'm feeling great. - All right.
You absolutely killed it out there.
You looked like you were having so much fun.
- Yeah, I was so happy to be here.
Like, this is a dream come true.
And I was just having a blast. - Yeah.
I'm no Mensa member,
but I feel like you went far enough, fast enough.
We'll know soon enough, OK? Great work.
- Thank you. - Absolutely.
Family, get on in here.
There you go. Matt, Akbar, back to you.
- We're so proud of you.
- Our next athlete definitely has the X factor.
This is Xavier Dantzler,
or you can just call him X.
The 19-year-old from Queens, New York,
used to take the train to learn from the Ninja greats.
Now a new generation of ninjas come to train with him.
- * Yeah, secret weapon, I'm the cheat code *
* I'm an animal, I'm still going beast mode *
- OK, whatever.
I mean, you know, do stuff I can't do--that's fine.
- Before I started Ninja,
I was actually the biggest fanboy in the world.
- * The strong will survive, this ain't for the weak, no *
- Joe Moravsky is one of the people
that I watched all the time for so many years.
- * I'm an animal, I'm still going beast mode *
- X really didn't start that long ago,
but he's a beast.
And he reminds me a little bit about myself.
- I used to take a 2-hour train ride
to the gym and back.
It's different this year. I'm driving now.
And now I'm at this gym
from about 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. every single day.
- * You don't want none of this *
* Facts, that comes with it, comes with it *
- When I started coaching these kids,
I realized how much they look up to me,
and I realized how much of a hero they see me as.
So I want to make all of them proud so bad.
- * Secret weapon, I'm the cheat code *
- So hitting a buzzer, that would feel absolutely amazing.
- * I'm an animal, I'm still going beast mode *
- And some of the kids he trains
are watching his run tonight.
- Let's go, X!
- And his dad, on the left,
is watching with other family members back in New York.
He's got his mom down on the sidelines
along with some East Coast ninjas,
including Joe Moravsky.
[countdown clock beeping]
Graduated from Bayside High School in Queens.
He was part
of the state-championship football team a few years ago.
- He was a running back, so you know he's got some speed.
He now wants to be a stuntman, Matt.
No better place to show off your skills
than right here at Universal Studios.
[cheers and applause]
- Well, the running back has to run across Spinning Bridge.
And he stumbles through.
[cheers and applause]
X continues to give it to you now,
facing Heavy Metal.
- He's been hitting the iron. You can tell.
He's put on some muscle since the last time we saw him.
He's 160 pounds.
Now he's got to throw around 10 pounds.
- Look at that. - Whoo!
- Like you said, Akbar, hoping to work in the movies one day.
Well, This is your audition
here at Universal Studios on New York Street.
- Ooh, that is fire right there!
- Made it to the semis each of the previous two seasons
but never hit a buzzer.
[cheers and applause]
- Let's go! - Let's go!
- His two qualifying runs have ended on the fifth obstacle.
He'll need to get through Jawbreakers
if he wants to break that streak tonight.
- Yeah!
Ooh, look at that! All right!
- Jawbreakers, such a unique challenge
with this bar.
Out and up.
- This one's a difficult one, Matt.
This is like that TMJ, right? That Temporal Mandibular Joint.
Get it in there! Nice!
- Got it in!
And X is going to get his first-ever buzzer.
[cheers and applause]
X marks the spot! [buzzer blares]
- Let's go!
- Yeah, buddy! - Hey!
- Let's go!
- Xavier, give them the X, baby!
- Let's go! - Give them the X!
- Let's go!
- Yeah!
- X, what's it feel like to get that first buzzer?
- Feels damn good!
- Where's that energy coming from?
- I've trained so hard.
I want to make everybody proud, so...
Man, it just feels so good to be up here.
- Well, you deserve it. - I can't--
- Well, let's say you got the X factor, my friend.
Go down and celebrate with your family and friends, X!
- Whoo! [laughing] - Love it!
[cheers and applause] - [speaks indistinctly]
- We'll see X racing in the semifinals in a few weeks.
[cheers and applause]
Coming up...
- Whoo!
- Our second hour is coming on strong.
We've got the ninja with the sixth-most buzzers ever,
James "The Beast" McGrath...
- Whoo!
- And the man with the most buzzers,
The Weatherman, Joe Moravsky.
- I'm just trying to keep those buzzers going up.
- Plus, Orthodox Jewish athlete Jesse Orenshein
is Mazal Tough...
- Whoa! Oy, vey.
- On "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Universal Studios,
where our second obstacle, Reel to Reel,
has been a blockbuster.
Keeoh Winkler is a professional video-game player
and a former championship springboard diver.
So he had the ups for the first obstacle.
- Gamers are athletes, too.
- But the 24-year-old gamer glitched on the second.
- Oh! [air horn blares]
Wow.
- Brooklyn breakdancer Frantzce Theodore had all
the right moves at the start line.
- This kid Frantzce is for real.
- But the rookie's debut ended on Reel to Reel.
- Show me what you're working with.
Ooh! [air horn blares]
- 20-year-old James Burns is a LEGO brick fanatic.
He builds incredible structures
with his more than 400,000 blocks.
But on Reel to Reel, he had a mental block...
- Oh!
- And didn't release.
- He forgot to let go!
- He tried multiple times
to build up momentum for another try
but to no avail.
- You can see he seems defeated.
He looks like he is sick.
- And the LEGO man finally let go.
[air horn blares]
Up next, it's one of the legends of Ninja,
James "The Beast" McGrath, now 37 years old.
First started competing
back in season 2.
He's sixth all time
for career buzzers
and is now
a sought-after Ninja coach.
- Yes, James. Whoo!
- James' number-one fan is his fiancée,
a Ninja great in her own right, Allyssa Beird.
- All you got out there. Have some fun.
- Allyssa's out this season with an injury.
- Beast, Beast, Beast!
- He's got the godfather David Campbell
on the sideline, along with a big group
of Northeast ninjas he trains with.
all: Beast, Beast, Beast... [countdown clock beeping]
- All right, here we go.
- McGrath, 6'2", 160,
was away from Ninja for a long time,
dealing with multiple injuries.
But he's back and healthy, and we saw it last season.
- Oh. - Oh, McGrath
in no-man's-land. - Oh, boy.
- And we just saw this with James Burns.
It's almost impossible to recover.
This would just be heartbreaking for The Beast.
- Ooh, now you see he's trying to generate
enough force to get it back up to get that same force.
He's in trouble, Matt.
- James McGrath, a shocking mistake.
- He ain't letting go, Matt. He's still working.
- Do it!
- Oh, my goodness!
Oh, my, he's done the improbable!
- What a save! - He's done the improbable!
- We thought that was going to be a box-office flop.
- Oh, my gosh. [laughs]
- He's looking spent.
- Wow!
- Yes. [cheers and applause]
- What does he have left for the rest of the course?
- Matt, he knows how lucky he is to be able to link that.
That is incredibly difficult to do.
- Regroup for the balance obstacle--former track star.
Ooh, little stumble. - Oh, my goodness.
He's going to feel that one tomorrow.
[cheers and applause]
- This course is hitting back on The Beast.
All: Beast, Beast, Beast, Beast, Beast, Beast!
- You know, James has always been a savvy veteran.
He's using that 12 years of Ninja experience
to keep this run alive.
- Well, it doesn't get any easier.
Up next is Heavy Metal.
- This one could be a little concerning.
He spent a lot of time on Reel to Reel.
Let's see if he can handle this Heavy Metal.
That's a 10-pound bar.
- 6'2", 160, this guy has a lot of power.
Will his grip be able to handle this?
- Ooh. Ah, he's been holding on for a minute now.
Nice.
- And you can see him just bringing those feet up
to get that massive power.
- Nice.
- What a gutty performance.
He's now through four obstacles.
And this crowd getting on their feet
to salute The Beast.
- Yes.
- Well, Akbar, with this slow pace,
he is still vulnerable.
He's so slow to this point,
he might not make it into the top 12.
If he wants to guarantee a spot in the semis,
he needs to finish.
Still got to get through Jawbreakers.
And what does The Beast have left in those arms?
Reel to Reel certainly haunting him.
- Get it in there. Nice.
- Good start.
- I'm concerned about the second one
here for McGrath, Matt.
- He's got the power. Does he have the accuracy?
- Nice. - Great job there.
- All right, if he can get this last one...
- Final exam for The Beast. - The hardest one right there.
Punch it in the joint.
Punch it. Nice.
- Oh, my, and The Beast-- new life!
And he's getting another buzzer,
the 22nd of his career.
The Beast earned that one. [buzzer blares]
Oh-ho! - Whoo-hoo!
[cheers and applause]
- Did I go over time? - [laughing] Yeah.
- Was I close? - No, it took you a long time.
- Man, that was one of the all-time saves.
- Oh, man.
- You deserve an Emmy for that one.
- Thank you. [cheers and applause]
I might deserve an Emmy.
But I don't deserve a Mega Wall.
- [laughing] Yeah.
Great job, man. - Let's go!
[buzzer blares] - We'll see you in the semis.
- Yeah!
Whoo!
[cheers and applause]
- Up next, she's one of Ninja's top women.
But New Jersey's Abby Clark has hit a wall.
- It's just so frustrating year after year
knowing that I'm so close.
- Oh! - Ah!
She'll get a chance at redemption
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Three more ninjas took on the course minutes ago.
Vermont pre-school teacher McKinley Pierce
is known as Lady Mighty Mouse
because of her strength-to-size ratio.
- Ooh, come on, show me the muscles.
- But at only 5'1", she came up a little short
on Reel to Reel.
- Ooh! [air horn blares]
- Then it was McKinley's friend and training partner,
Vermont teenager Anna Kenyon.
- Get up high. Get up high.
- The rookie barely survived Pole Vault
and then got past the obstacle that took out McKinley.
- She's like, I'm safe. I'm good.
- And then took on the balance obstacle.
- The Spinning Bridge!
Oh. [air horn blares]
- But she still got a big hug from her mentor.
- I'm so proud of you!
5'3" Gavin Obey made a big impression
in his Ninja debut.
- Ooh, that's a one-handed save, if I've ever seen one.
- The Massachusetts teenager wears khaki cargo shorts
and calls himself the Casual Ninja.
But he looked like a serious competitor.
- Oh, Gavin Obey is a one-man wrecking crew.
- The rookie rocketed his way to the fifth obstacle.
- No!
- And though he fell, his fast time to that point
means he's almost assured of moving on.
Up next, one of our top female competitors,
New Jersey's Abby Clark.
She hit a buzzer six years ago.
But, lately, her qualifying runs have hit a roadblock.
all: Beat that Wall! Beat that Wall!
- The last time I got up the Wall
was way back in qualifying in season 10.
And it took me three attempts.
- This letter is about to be signed, sealed, and delivered!
Yes! That's what I'm talking about!
- Since hitting the buzzer, I've had three other attempts
at the Warped Wall.
- Ooh!
- It's just so frustrating year after year
knowing that I'm so close.
- Oh! - Oh!
- It hasn't come together again.
[serious music]
- Yeah, here we go. You're on. You're on.
Roll with it. Oh!
- But I'm working my butt off in the gym.
And, you know, I know I can do it.
- Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
- I've seen myself doing it. I visualize myself doing it.
And I can't wait to get up that Wall.
[cheers and applause]
- Abby's got a ton of fans
who know what it would mean to get up that Wall.
That includes her boyfriend, Joe Capo,
and fellow Jersey girl Rachel Degutz.
- Come on, Abby! - Let's go!
[countdown clock beeping]
- 5'3", 125 pounds.
She was a track athlete
at Springfield College in Massachusetts.
And no problem with Pole Vault.
- Matt, she was a top college gymnast
and all-around athlete.
- Ready for her close-up on Reel to Reel.
[cheers and applause]
Makes the grab.
Very smooth.
She's quickly through the first two obstacles.
Abby Clark has made it to the semifinals five times before.
If she wants to go back, probably needs
to at least reach the fourth or fifth obstacle.
- Whoo-hoo-hoo!
[cheers and applause]
- On now to Heavy Metal.
This has been a tough one tonight.
- It's a bar gauntlet right here.
- Crush it.
- Got it.
- And this reverse lache is the real challenge,
especially at just 125 pounds.
Got to generate a lot of power to get that bar out and up.
- All you got!
- Up and over, nice!
[cheers and applause]
- Good move by the Jersey girl.
Watch the drop here.
Can peel your hands right off.
- Yeah, you got to anticipate that drop,
come in compact.
- Great job.
But here she is yet again--
the fourth year in a row she's made it
to the fifth obstacle in qualifying.
Can she get past it?
She wants so badly to conquer this and get another shot
at the Warped Wall. [crowd chanting "Abby"]
- Listen to the crowd. They're like, I got you, AC.
AC going to be cool with it here on Jawbreakers.
- Well, she is an intense competitor
was an all-American gymnast,
knows how to launch her body in space.
But Jawbreakers, such a unique challenge.
- This is when you got to be an authoritative ninja.
You got to jam it in there, break that jaw.
Get it! Just like that!
- The first one's not so bad.
But you can see, the jaws start facing down,
which means you really have to be aggressive,
get the bar out, and then shoot it up, lock it in place.
- You need to apply a lot of force.
You got to really slam it inside the jaws.
- Good job there.
Well, this is the most challenging one.
But Abby Clark--it all comes down to this move.
- Give it the extra! - All you got, Abby!
- Give it the extra! - All you got!
All you got!
- All right, get it up and over real quick.
Nice! Got it! - Yes!
- Look at that! I knew it!
- And now a rematch with the Warped Wall.
- Go get it.
- Made it up this Wall six years ago.
Since then has failed here three times.
She wants this badly.
- Straight toes!
Really push, accelerate up there!
- She's got it.
She's going to be one and done right here, Matt.
Watch this. One and done, one and done.
Get it! - Yes!
[buzzer blares]
[triumphant pop music]
* *
- Abby Clark gets that buzzer!
And not surprising to see she's emotional.
This means so much to her.
* *
Abby, we can see the emotion.
We know how hard you've worked
for just this moment right here.
What's going through your head?
- Oh, I'm just so proud of myself.
I put so much work in, and hard work pays off.
- Well, it does.
And, Abby Clark, you showed up in a big way.
Congratulations. - Thank you.
[cheers and applause]
- She's now guaranteed to be racing in the semifinals
in just a few weeks.
- Some other Ninja veterans
hit the course earlier tonight,
including Massachusetts' Dave Cavanaugh,
who was competing for the ninth season.
- Oh! [air horn blares]
- His shocking fall on Spinning Bridge
was his earliest exit ever.
- Oh, my goodness.
- Five-time Ninja veteran Brittney Durant
almost met the same fate on Spinning Bridge.
- Let's take this one out for a spin.
Whoa!
- The clothing designer from California
has made it to the semifinals the past three seasons
and was looking strong on Heavy Metal.
- Nice! Hold on. [air horn blares]
- Though she fell,
her fast pace means she's still got a good chance
to move on.
Fan favorite Jamie Rahn, aka Captain NBC,
had his legion of fans cheering him on.
But he also had an early scare.
- Oh, no, no! Whoa!
- The superhero recovered
and was able to fly his way to the fifth obstacle.
- Oh, nice, Jamie Rahn.
- He looked like he was on his way to 20th career buzzer.
- Oh, no. [air horn blares]
- He'll now have to wait and see if that's far enough,
fast enough to get him to the semis.
Well, up next, another fan favorite--
The Weatherman Joe Moravsky.
Can he get his record-setting fourth Mega Wall?
We'll find out
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- A couple of high-school sweethearts
hit the course minutes ago.
New York teenager Emily Gardiner
was fired up for her second season of Ninja.
- Oh, yeah!
- With her boyfriend, Kevin Rodriguez,
cheering her on, Gardiner celebrated her success
after the second obstacle.
[cheers and applause] - Let's go!
- And the third.
- Let's go, Emily. Nice, nice!
Ooh, she got a little fire in her.
- Gardiner made it
to semis and Vegas last year as a rookie.
- Oh! [air horn blares]
- Though she fell on Heavy Metal,
she's got a good chance of moving on to the semis
again this year.
Then it was her boyfriend Kevin's turn.
And he came out flying.
- He is going for speed.
[cheers and applause]
- And the Rhode Island teenager easily beat
Heavy Metal and Jawbreakers.
Then finished with the fastest time of the night so far.
- That run right there was money.
- And that earned him a shot at the Mega Wall and 20 grand.
- Here we go. Sprint, nice sprint.
Ah, not enough power.
- But he'll be a top seed in the semifinals.
Well, our next athlete is Mazal Tough.
This is children's book author Jesse Orenshein
from here in Los Angeles.
We first met him six years ago.
And a lot has changed since then.
- When I run the course, I run it as a proud Orthodox Jew.
I wear my kippah. I wear my tzitzit.
One of my biggest regrets, actually, from the first time
I ran the show was cutting my hair
too short to wear a kippah.
- Yarmulke coming off, and this dude is Mazal Tough.
- During my run, one of my friends
had a sign that said, Jesse is single, in huge letters.
- Look at this, trying to get him a date out here.
- I did get a lot of messages from women and men.
That was a strange time. [chuckles]
But a lot's changed since I ran that course.
I started dating my wife
just a few days after the show aired.
And now we're married, with two beautiful little girls.
[upbeat music]
I've also self-published 15 children's books.
* *
And I even have a book coming out called "Our Little Ninja."
And it's about two parents trying to raise
a little boy who is a ninja from the day he's born.
Now I'm hoping for the perfect storybook ending,
which ends with me hitting that buzzer.
[cheers and applause] - Jesse's family is watching,
but it's late for his young daughters.
No doubt his wife reads them one of Jesse's books
before bedtime.
[countdown clock beeping]
- 5'10", 177 pounds.
- Nice, good leap.
Get up to the top. Nice landing.
- But the second obstacle is the one he's worried about.
He's fallen here the last two times he's competed.
[air horn blares] He's nervous about this one.
[air horn blares]
Reel to Reel is the second obstacle tonight.
Jesse's also a screenwriter.
So maybe he'll have better luck on this one.
- Nice!
- And he's relieved but still has to dismount.
[cheers and applause] - [shouts indistinctly]
- And he's pumped.
- Two years that took me out, baby.
- Go, Abba, go. Go, Abba, go.
- Boy, is he glad to have that one behind him.
Let's see what he's got for Spinning Bridge.
Ooh, nice.
- Whoa, Abba.
- Uh-oh, his yarmulke came off.
Got to put that back on.
all: [chanting] Mazal Tough, Mazal Tough.
- Some of the other ninjas chanting "Mazal Tough."
- Yeah, he's got the crowd into it.
He's got a lot of chutzpah.
- But this is where it gets real.
Staring down Heavy Metal.
Whatever happens, he's going to have a new chapter
for Grandpa Herbie's stories.
He's also written screenplays,
hoping to script the perfect ending to his story tonight.
A lot of great Jewish heavy-metal artists--
of course, think of Kiss.
- Yeah, and I can see
he's making Gene Simmons proud tonight.
Ooh, nice.
- Well, Jesse wants to rock and roll all night.
- This transition right here, though,
has been the kiss of death.
Oh, he's struggling, trying to get it balanced up.
- And he locks in. - Nice.
And his yarmulke fell off!
It's in the water!
- But he finishes the obstacle.
He's got a backup! - He's got a backup?
Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!
Oh, boy!
He came prepared. Amen.
[laughter] - That's so exciting.
- Well, always run with a backup.
Orenshein to the fifth obstacle.
Back in season 10 made it to the semis,
looking to get back there here in sweet 16.
- Nice.
Oh! - Ooh!
[air horn blares]
Spun out like a dreidel.
But makes it to the fifth obstacle
with a backup yarmulke,
proving he is indeed Mazal Tough.
- It's still on my head.
- Yeah, he's got one yarmulke on his head
and one floating in the pool under Heavy Metal.
- Thank you for cheering me on.
- He'll have to wait and see if he'll need them
for a semifinals run in a few weeks.
- Guys, no one in Ninja history
has more buzzers than Joe Moravsky.
And you know he'll be aiming for another one tonight.
Joe's also tied for the most Mega Wall buzzers
in Ninja history, with three.
- You better believe I want to hit
that fourth Mega Wall buzzer.
I'm going to keep that number going up.
- Joe's wife, Stephanie, watching back home.
She'd love to see him take home that 20 grand.
- You got this.
- Let's go, Weatherman. - Joe's dad on the sideline.
And there are lots of Weatherman fans in the stands.
[cheers and applause]
[countdown clock beeping]
We expect excellence with Joe Moravsky.
What an impressive Ninja résumé he's put together--
more buzzers than anyone,
tied for the most national finals appearances.
Twice he was the Last Ninja Standing.
Only thing missing is that million-dollar grand prize.
- And perhaps this will be his year, Matt.
He's been doing this for long time now.
- He's come out fast tonight.
Definitely going for that Mega Wall.
Kevin Rodriguez has the top time so far,
but Joe's running like he wants to beat it.
5'10", 170 pounds, father of 3 kids.
When you look at him, you wouldn't know he's one
of the greatest to ever do it.
But Joe Moravsky just keeps delivering.
- Yes!
- You can see it on his shirt--
don't quit, do it.
- Staring down Jawbreakers.
He was so fast through the early obstacles,
he can catch his breath here.
Well, he's already punched his ticket to the semis
with his pace to this point. - Nice.
Oh, great power.
Remember, last year in qualifying,
went out in that fifth obstacle.
This last one is the most difficult, but he's got it.
- But not tonight. - He ain't messing around.
- Moravsky gets another buzzer,
the fastest time of the night! [buzzer blares]
And earns a shot at the Mega Wall.
His record-breaking total continues.
- [cheering] Yes!
- That's the 31st of his career.
- Let's go! - [chuckles]
[buzzer blares]
[dramatic music]
- Whoo!
- You've done this so many times, Joe.
How does it feel?
- Dude, I freakin' love "American Ninja Warrior."
- Yeah, buddy! Well, it loves you.
- Well, we've got some good news.
You've got the fastest time so far.
Now make your way down to that Mega Wall.
- Yeah! Whoo!
- Joe Moravsky, looking to add to another
record-breaking total for him.
This would be his fourth Mega Wall ever.
- Well, this is the highest one we've ever had
on the show--18 1/2 feet.
all: [chanting] Mega Wall, Mega Wall.
- Come on.
- Come on, Joe. - Come on.
- Will lightning strike a fourth time?
- Oh! - Oh!
- He needed some boostsies on that one.
- Joe Moravsky, a rare misstep on the Mega Wall,
but punched his ticket back to the semis.
When we come back, we're off to the races in the Runoffs.
And 5-foot Boy Scout Sydney Yee
will have to outrun our tallest female competitor,
6'2" Sasha Moore,
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- The last few minutes have been a blur,
thanks to three Jersey Boys.
First, it was 21-year-old Joe Meissner.
- Look how fast he's moving. Oh, he's going for that time.
- The college student came out running
like he wanted the 20 grand from the Mega Wall.
- All right, you got six seconds--got to run up.
- And he hit the buzzer just under the 1:20 time limit.
So he got his chance at the 18-1/2-foot wall.
- Here it is. Power, power.
Ooh, boy.
- But he's still moving on to the semis.
Then another impressive ninja from the Garden State,
18-year-old James Sannella,
hit the course going even faster.
- Nice, he ain't messing around.
- Sannella made it all the way to stage two
as a rookie two years ago.
And he started his season off strong tonight.
- OK, Sannella!
- His time meant he, too, got to try the Mega Wall,
despite less than optimal footwear.
- He's doing it in some skateboard shoes.
He's about to do an ollie.
Ooh, wrong gear.
- Then it was New Jersey's Josiah Pippel,
the teen phenom who's racked up 11 buzzers
in his first 3 seasons.
- Look at that bounce in his hair, bounce in his step.
- Pippel loves race cars and speed.
And he was flooring it on the course tonight.
The high schooler edged out Joe Moravsky
for the fastest time of the night.
- Go, go, go, go, go.
- That gave him a chance
to take down his second career Mega Wall.
- Oh, so close!
His hand was on it!
- He had 20 grand slip through his fingers.
But he'll be a top seed when the semifinals
start in a few weeks.
Well, he sits atop our leaderboard,
just ahead of Joe Moravsky.
We had seven finishers overall,
including veteran James "The Beast" McGrath.
Those in the top 11 are guaranteed to move on.
The 12th- and 13th-place men went to a Runoff
to determine the final spot in semifinals for this group.
That was a matchup
between children's book author Jesse Orenshein,
who we saw earlier,
and Stanford PhD student and artist Vincent Pane.
In his earlier run, he delivered a sculpture
he created of Akbar...
- Hey, pretty cool.
- And then delivered a strong run, making it to Jawbreakers.
- No!
- The race between these two stayed close early,
with Vincent Pane off the Flying Shelf Grab first.
- Nice!
- But he fell on the first Wingnut...
- Oh!
- Opening the door for Orenshein,
who just needed to complete the obstacle.
But he fell, too.
- Oh!
- And that gave the win to Vincent Pane.
He's going to the semis.
- We both got wet. - Great job.
- Moving over to the women's side, those moving on
are Abby Clark, who got a buzzer tonight,
California clothing designer Brittney Durant,
and New York teenager Emily Gardiner.
The final spot will be decided in a battle of extremes.
One of our shortest competitors,
5-foot-tall Boy Scout Sydney Yee,
will race our tallest woman, 6'2" Sasha Moore.
- Matt, she's almost as tall as me.
- Sasha's a grad student at Stanford,
where she plays on the club volleyball team.
Earlier tonight, her long limbs helped her get
through Reel to Reel and Spinning Bridge...
- Yeah!
And she got them knee pads on.
Them volleyball knee pads helped
her out on that last one!
- Until her run ended on Heavy Metal.
Oh! - Oh, no.
- She's really tall.
She has a giant wingspan.
She's going to have no problem reach to obstacles
or jump to obstacles that I have trouble with.
- I'm one of the tallest ninjas out there.
And she's one of the shortest competitors.
But the course doesn't care how tall or short you are.
It's really just about how fast you can attack it.
And I'm just excited to show what a tall girl can do
and win this race.
- Tonight I'm going to be a giant killer.
[dramatic music]
- Let's look
at the big differences again.
Sasha's 14 inches taller,
45 pounds heavier,
and 9 years older than Sydney.
She just towers over her.
[cheers and applause]
[countdown clock beeping]
- Let's go!
- Sasha's one-stepping it, while Sydney uses two steps,
but they're both through quickly
and on to Flying Shelf Grab.
And this is where Sydney Yee can make some ground.
- Sydney Yee, very explosive.
She's so much lighter.
- But it's a five-foot gap between the shelves,
not easy with her size.
And Sydney Yee first off, and that is big.
But I think the Wingnuts, Sasha Moore,
with her long reach, should have
a little easier time here.
But we'll see if Sydney can fly.
- Matt, Sydney looks a lot more comfortable.
You can see right now Sasha Moore
trying to get her groove.
- Well, Sydney has proven me wrong.
She is flying on the Wingnuts--
5 feet tall. - Ooh, look at this.
- Oh! - Oh!
- And Sydney Yee has done it.
In a battle of extremes, the underdog comes out on top.
Her brother's telling her to keep going,
try and get a buzzer.
What a night for this 5-foot-tall 15-year-old.
Sydney Yee, look at her on Sideways.
- You know, Matt, I really think
it's those survival skills she learned in the Boy Scouts.
It really paid off, and she survived this Runoff.
[crowd shouting]
Oh!
- Just couldn't finish it out.
But Sydney Yee's going to the semifinals.
So that's a wrap from Universal Studios Hollywood.
For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall, I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you next time on "American Ninja Warrior."