- One, two, ready, go.
[flowing classical music]
- Whoo! - Nice.
[laughter]
- Every day, all across the country...
- Nice. Nice.
- Aspiring ninjas are working together...
- They push me to achieve things
that I wouldn't achieve training by myself.
- Yay, team. - Yay!
- My training partner Adam Rayl right here.
- If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together, have a team.
- Inspiring one another
and pushing each other to incredible heights.
- What's up, "Ninja Warrior"? We push each other.
We train a lot. And... - Yeah.
- I think we're gonna both do really well.
- Tonight, on "American Ninja Warrior,"
the power of partnership.
- Make sure you go left hand here.
we've been working towards this since we were 11 years old.
Tonight, that buzzer is ours.
[dramatic energetic music]
- [chuckles] Oh!
- That's the spirit of ninja, supporting each other
on the year-long journey that culminates here,
in the Tacoma Dome, on "American Ninja Warrior."
Hello, everyone, and thanks for being with us.
I'm Matt Iseman. - And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.
Matt, the ninja world has been turned upside down this season,
and it could get crazy again tonight.
- Absolutely, big man. Veterans are falling.
The teenagers are rising.
We knew these kids were gonna be good.
We just didn't know they were gonna be this good.
- Yeah, last week, we had four teenage finishers,
including one, Vance Walker,
who conquered the 18-foot Mega Wall.
[buzzer blares]
But I expect the veterans to come back strong this week.
we've got some of the greats,
like the Wildman Jake Murray...
- Whoo!
- And the Papal Ninja,
Catholic Church worker Sean Bryan.
[cheers and applause]
Plus, the reigning women's champion,
the rock climber and model, Meagan Martin.
Meagan Martin takes the title!
And our ninjas tonight will face a brand-new obstacle
and another big choice.
For more on that, let's go down to Zuri Hall.
- Yeah, guys. At Split Decision tonight,
our athletes will have to face two balance obstacles
that give ninjas nightmares.
On one side, it's the notorious
ninja obstacle, the Log Runner,
which knocked out 36 competitors
in one night in season eight.
- Oh!
- Or they can choose another balance obstacle
that's caused nightmares for ninjas,
the always brutal Block Run.
- Isaac Caldiero splashes down!
- Let's go ahead and get things rolling. Guys?
- We're gonna start things off in a big way,
with the night's tallest competitor.
This is 6'5" Stephen Edwards.
He's a 40-year-old with four kids,
but fatherhood hasn't slowed him down.
[tires squealing]
[upbeat music]
- The first time I ever raced a car, I was hooked.
It's just nonstop, right on that edge the entire time.
At that point, I had a legit fast sports car.
[laughter]
Thank you, guys.
Now, I have four kids, and I drive a minivan.
That's what happens when there's a morning with Daddy.
Just because I got the minivan
didn't mean I stopped having fun.
Today, we're gonna autocross the van.
You can make any car go fast if you know what you're doing.
I'm gonna angle the tires inward,
so that they want to turn all the time.
I ended up giving the minivan a little bit of tweaks
here and there where I could.
There you go. Wheels on.
And then took it racing.
- We are underway. Course is hot.
- Racing in the minivan is a huge adrenaline rush.
* *
Yeah, yeah!
But everyone says,
"So why'd you bring your wife's car?"
And while the minivan isn't breaking any records...
[cheering] - Nice time for the minivan.
- I'm not coming in last.
Good job.
I'm always telling my kids to set their goals high,
and I will not let my kids down.
* *
[horn honks]
[cheers and applause]
Oh, my gosh!
- There's that big family of his
watching back in Pennsylvania.
[cheers and applause]
- Seatbelts. Buckle up.
- Oh, okay. Oh, the family's buckling up too!
- What a cool dad!
[countdown clock beeping]
- Oh, put it in gear. - Oh, okay. He's in gear.
Okay. Well, go then.
Zero to 60. - Looking smooth.
- He's got Long Levers down, Matt.
- Brand-new obstacle here, Akbar, Double Down.
- All right.
- You have to crank it up here.
- Oh!
- Now has to ride the bar down.
And you can see right there it slides back and forth.
Now has to swing over to the next bar.
- Well, he's got long arms, and that should help him out.
That's nice.
- He's got to crank it up once more
and then slide down again.
- Keep them L's coming down fast, now. Nice.
- Couple extra swings. Good.
He's through.
But here it is, Split Decision.
On the inside, Block Run, the outside, Log Runner.
No good choices on these balance obstacles.
- No, he's thinking.
He's looking through his rearview mirror.
He's like, "Nah." Yeah. Yeah, put the blinkers on.
- His kids are cheering him on.
They love it.
- He put the blinkers. He's going to the outside.
- He's nailing it.
- On the Log Runner. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
- Oh boy. Here we go.
- He can't just slide across. He's gotta stand up first.
- Talk about speed cars.
He's having to be a four-wheel drive here.
- He's stuck in the dirt.
- You have to stand up. You can't advance--
- Ooh.
Oh, parked that baby right there.
- Turned out his car was a submarine.
- Good thing he put on his seatbelt at the start
so he was ready for that crash.
The racer just went too slow, and he got wet.
- Still a cool dad, though. - We still love you!
- We still love you, Daddy!
- Well, our next competitor
isn't even old enough to drive.
This is tonight's youngest athlete,
15-year-old Addy Herman,
a high school sophomore from Pembroke, Massachusetts.
She's the first of many we'll see tonight who got here
with the help of a good training partner.
- You can do this, Addy!
* *
- I met Taylor Johnson last spring
doing a local competition,
and we since then have become, like, best friends.
[laughter]
We travel together, train together.
She's super close with my family, too.
So she's pretty much like family now.
- We have those, like, fun times where we're together,
but then we'll, like, argue with each other too.
Her mom laughs about it too.
She's like, "You guys really are--
like, you act like siblings."
- This is what happens when you try to take a photo.
- People comment about it too. They're just like,
"You've really, like, taken a corner here."
And I'm like, "It's training with Addy."
* *
I never would have thought a 15-year-old would be the one
that would be amping up my training as much as I have.
* *
- Besides school, I'm not doing anything else but ninja.
I'll go to different gyms. I'll do it at my house.
I'll crosstrain. Like, that's everything I do.
I have been dreaming about this for so long
and I can't believe it's actually happening.
* *
- Come on! - Come on, Addy! Let's go!
- And Taylor's gonna be screaming on the sidelines
right next to Addy's mom.
And watching back in Massachusetts,
she's got lots of family,
including her dad and two brothers.
- Well, her brother Jacoby will be
on "Ninja Junior" this fall.
There she is. Looking a little nervous.
[countdown clock beeping] - Come on, Addy! Let's go!
- And she's been tearing it up
in ninja regional competitions,
dominating competitors all over the country.
- Let's go!
- We first saw her on "Ninja Junior."
Look how young she looked!
But she's really upped her training
in the last two years.
- She's got that look, too.
She's got the eye of the tiger.
She's not messing around.
- The youngsters this season--
it's just so impressive
the way they're coming out here
on this big platform--
good save there, by the way-- and delivering.
- 5'4", 125 pounds.
She's plenty strong, too, to be able to handle herself.
Nice, efficient move. You see, she's not messing around.
- Now it's Split Decision,
and she's not even looking at Block Run.
She's going straight for Log Runner.
- Yeah, come on, come on, come on, now. Look at that.
- Hey! Just effortless.
- Whoo! - And she is flying, Akbar.
- You got this! You got this!
- And Mom is her biggest cheerleader.
- Now on to Air Surfer.
She's got to jump that upside down snowboard
across those landing pads.
- Come on, Addy! Yeah!
- All right, placement.
Nice.
- Good job. This is a challenge.
And look at her, just looking calm.
- This is mind-blowing, what we're watching.
- This is the long transfer, Akbar.
- Yes it is.
- Long transfer. - But she can fly now.
She can fly! She's over the edge!
And she just skidded her way through!
- Great work out of Addy Herman.
Going for the dismount at the fifth obstacle.
No woman this season has gotten past
the fifth obstacle.
Will a 15-year-old be the first to do it?
- I can answer that. Yes. It's gonna be Addy Herman.
- You can do this!
- Stacy Herman, so proud of her daughter.
But Pretzel Twist is a beast.
She's got to turn that pretzel,
get it off the hook.
She's turning around to face the other side.
When it unhooks, it'll come swinging back.
Trying to be the youngest woman ever to hit a buzzer.
- After this, Matt, I'll call her history teacher.
I'm gonna tell them
to put Addy Herman in the history book.
- Akbar, the arms are hitting the pretzel handles,
and she's having trouble with momentum.
- Ah. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
- That grip is real, Akbar. - That's all right.
- But she adjusts. - What a correction!
- She adjusts! Nice adjustment.
- That is so impressive what she was able to do.
But now needs to lock it in.
- Ah, ah, ah--okay.
- And she does it well.
She is relying on being 15 and having a ton of strength.
- This is what it looks like when you put in the work.
both: Oh, no!
- No! Just couldn't hold on.
- Oh!
- What an effort out of the 15-year-old.
Akbar, these kids continue to impress.
- Her mom was a nervous wreck, but she didn't need to worry.
Addy Herman came out fast, came out confident.
She didn't get a buzzer, but what a debut
from this 15-year-old rookie.
- The top five women from tonight
will move on to the semifinals.
Addy Herman's got a good shot at being one of them.
- Nice, Addy.
- Tonight, it's ninja like you've never seen before.
- Okay, I see you!
- We've got gold medal-winning gymnast Shawn Johnson...
- [yelps] - Uh-oh. That's all right.
- And our defending women's champion, Meagan Martin...
- That is yours!
- Plus, one of the fastest ninjas on the planet,
Jake Murray...
- He's selling out right now!
- And a new crop of talented teenagers.
- Roll the tape again!
- With spectacular spills and thrills...
- Can I get a "whoo"? - Whoo!
- It's gonna be a knockout on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Oy vey.
A couple of Orthodox Jewish athletes
just flipped out on our course.
First up was 19-year-old college student
Zack Eichenstein, the Zack Attack.
Eichenstein honors his faith
by wearing a yarmulke when he runs.
- And he wants to show up and show out.
[cheers and applause]
- The rookie waved off Block Run
in favor of Log Runner,
a decision he quickly regretted.
- Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!
Maybe he should have gone on Block Run!
[air horn blares]
- Then, it was Jesse Orenshein,
who showed he's mazal tough.
- Ooh, okay, Jesse Orenshein.
- With his pregnant wife and other family members
cheering him on, the children's book author
provided a thriller of an ending to his story.
- Ooh. - Oh!
- What a heck of a flip, though!
Roll the tape again!
Wow, Matt. Orenshein does a flip, and he lands it.
That's the best flip I've ever seen off of an obstacle!
- Up next is someone who knows all about knockouts.
This is professional boxer Melissa St. Vil.
She's currently the super lightweight champion
in North America, and she's so tough,
her nickname is Little Miss Tyson.
She's the latest in a long line
of tough-as-nails women who took on our course.
Over the years, a number of female fighters,
like MMA champ Michelle Waterson
and UFC veteran Felice Herrig,
have strutted into the "Ninja Warrior" ring.
This is one tough lady.
But nearly all of them...
both: No!
- Were knocked out shortly after the bell rang.
- Oh! Hold on. Ooh!
My goodness.
- Knocked out by the first obstacle.
But this champ is ready to rumble.
- I'm going for a KO in Tacoma, baby.
[upbeat music]
I'm a world champion. I'm already ready.
- And she's got lots of family and friends
watching back in New York.
- Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, oh, oh. Oh, okay.
- I love her enthusiasm,
but she's gonna wear herself out.
- Let's go, Mel! Team Mel! - Oh, man.
She dropped it like it was hot.
- Come on, Mel! - Come on, Mel!
[countdown clock beeping]
- Trying to avoid an early exit
like those other fighters.
- She's looking a little wobbly.
- No, no, no, no, no, no. - Oh, no. Oh, no!
Oh, no! - Oh!
- Knocked out on the first obstacle, Akbar.
- Ding-ding.
That's like a Tyson knockout in the first round.
- It again shows
great athletes can struggle out there.
Skill in another sport doesn't always translate to ninja.
- I did it! [laughs]
- Well, only on "American Ninja Warrior"
can a champion boxer
be followed by a classical violinist.
On the left is MIT student Guang Cui,
and he's joined by his MIT classmate,
who's also running tonight, Daniel Sun.
- Matt, they know this is not "America's Got Talent," right?
[flowing classical music]
* *
If they can ninja as well as they play,
they're gonna be all right.
* *
- Well, these two love computer science
and classical music,
but Guang and Daniel are not your average nerds.
[cheers and applause]
* *
- You think about a student at MIT, right?
Maybe it's this scrawny guy
who-who just has his nose stuck in books all day.
- We are both musicians.
We are both computer science students,
and we build websites together.
- But we're probably not your typical MIT students.
- Definitely not.
[remixed classical music]
What's up, "Ninja Warrior"?
Most people are surprised when they hear
that we both do ninja.
We like to go hacking a lot, which is an MIT term
for climbing on different buildings.
- There have been a couple times
we've almost gotten caught by campus police,
but we've always managed to get away.
[laughter]
- MIT is not really known for its athletics.
- But we're gonna change that.
Guang and I, we're ready to bust some stereotypes.
- I'll see you at the buzzer.
- Sounds good, man. See you there.
[both laugh] - My bad.
- You wanna try that again? - Try that again?
- Yeah.
- Putting the headband on,
trying to secure those glasses in.
- Let's go!
- His buddy Daniel will be on the sideline.
He'll run next.
And Guang's got his family watching,
and some of his fellow students
watching from back in Massachusetts.
He looks a little nervous. Trying to calm himself down.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Computer science major actually had his algorithms
published in the ninth International Conference
on Fun with Algorithms.
And if you haven't been to that conference, Akbar, it's fun.
- Yeah, no, I've never been to that conference,
but I am planning to go next year.
- We talk about the best athletes--
they're not just athletically gifted,
they have a problem-solving mind.
Well, he's a computer sciences engineering student at MIT.
This guy has great problem-solving abilities.
- He's got a big problem to solve here.
- And you can just see how that bar moves.
And he's got it. - Let's go!
- 5'8", 150 pounds.
- Nice. Same thing.
- Smooth. Smooth. - Good.
- Now he's just gotta get this dismount.
- And he's got it. Now it's Split Decision.
- You got this.
- Making his choice.
- Yeah, everyone's gone, so far, towards Log Runner.
- Let's go.
- We know the violinist has good hands,
but how are his feet?
- Here we go. Nice, nice.
Ta-ta-ta-ta, choppy feet. I like it.
- Is there anything this kid can't do?
Computers, music, and now ninja.
- Let's go! Let's go!
- All right, be careful here on Air Surfer.
In addition to playing violin, he's also a rapper.
He goes by the name Guizy. You think of Kanye.
- Yeah, Young Guizy.
- Right here, right here.
- Oh! - Come on, Guizy!
- Look at that left side of the board.
- Barely hanging on, Akbar! Got to correct it.
- Correct it now. - A nice save there.
- Let's go. Let's go. Just like that.
- Solid.
- Right on the edge--oh! - Oh! He just overshot it.
But he makes it to the fourth obstacle.
We'll have to see if that keeps him in tonight's top 30.
- Young Guizy played it cool at the start,
and he played it cool on the course.
But the computer science student
didn't correctly calculate his trajectory on the Air Surfer
and went right past it.
- That's tough. That's tough. Thought I had it.
- It is tough.
And the Air Surfer came from our Obstacle Design Challenge,
submitted by 15-year-old Jennie Bensley.
She was watching with her dad earlier
as ninja veteran Connor Galvin
tried to fly across Air Surfer and fell.
- Oh! - Oh!
If you're like Jennie and have an obstacle idea,
go to anwnation.com to see how to submit your designs.
We might see your obstacle on the course next season.
- She won an Olympic gold medal.
He played in the NFL.
Guess which one's gonna run our course.
Shawn Johnson and Andrew East are just ahead.
- Whoo!
- Plus, which ninja is promising
to cash in on the Mega Wall?
- He wrote himself a check?
- And why is David Campbell making that face?
It's all up next-- how's this, Matt?
[dramatically] On "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back. While we were away,
three rookies took their shot at our qualifying course.
Brooklyn, New York's Dale Webb
is a bodybuilder who calls himself Mr. Organic.
He looks like a ninja. Let's see if he is one.
His strict vegan diet kept him light on his feet.
- Nice. - But the physique failed him
when he reached the second obstacle.
- Oh! Boom. Fell right on his face.
[upbeat music]
- Jersey girl Rachel Degutz
made some noise in her ninja debut.
- Whoo!
- The energetic 22-year-old teacher
showed that she had done her homework.
- Okay, boss lady!
- And she made it all the way
to the fifth obstacle in her introductory run.
Hi! - Hey.
- Though she finally fell...
- Oh, no!
- She's got a great shot
at being in the women's top five.
- Yeah, Rachel! - Whoo!
- Then it was the second of our MIT students, Daniel Sun.
- Whoo! - Let's go, Dan.
- The math wizard mastered the Shrinking Steps...
- Okay! I see you, Science Ninja!
- But severely miscalculated on Double Down.
- Oh, no!
- I just missed it. Oh, man.
- Up next is another guy
competing with this good friend.
This is Cheshire, Connecticut's Jay Lewis.
He's running tonight along with his training partner
Blake Feero.
These guys are close.
In fact, they live on the same street.
- That's a Jay. That's a Jay.
- I first met Blake when I moved to Cheshire
when I was a two years old.
We went to preschool together--
- And we've been best friends ever since.
- Our houses are on the same street,
which is pretty crazy, you know.
- Only two houses apart.
- I see him sometimes every day of the week.
Sometimes we'll go to his house.
Sometimes he'll come to my house.
Just having fun, playing games,
that kind of thing.
That's what we like to see.
- Living so close to my friend Blake
has really helped me so much in ninja.
A lot of times, when I'm training outside,
I'll be able to hear Blake doing stuff
on his Salmon Ladder, on his Flying Bar,
and I'll maybe give him a call,
see if he wants to come over and train with me.
What's up, dude?
- I saw you on your Salmon Ladder.
You want to come over, do some training?
- Sure, that's sounds great.
- All right, I'll be outside. See you in a few.
- All right. See you, dude.
- We push each other a lot.
- * You make me believe *
- I know sometimes he'll get a move,
and I want to get it,
and I'll get it right after him,
after we've been struggling for a while.
- Let's go. Come on, Feero. All you got.
To think that just a few years ago,
me and Blake were competing together on
"Ninja Warrior Junior"...
- Feero does it! - As advertised.
- To now think that we're on the adult show,
you know, it's one of those things
that you're always dreaming about it...
Yeah. - Yeah.
- But you never really expect it to become a reality.
And it's become a reality for both of us,
and that's something that I'm, you know, truly amazed by.
* *
- * You make me believe *
[cheers and applause] - Come on, Jay!
- Blake's down on the sideline along with Jay's mom.
- You got this, Jay! - You got this, Jay. Come on.
- And cheering from back in Connecticut
are Jay's dad and brother,
plus the Weatherman, Joe Marovsky, who coaches Jay.
- See that? You got this. You got this.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Let's go, Jay. Come on!
- Only 5'4" and 115 pounds,
one of the smallest and lightest competitors tonight.
But don't underestimate him.
- He's a junior in high school.
Got into ninja when he was ten years old
and never looked back.
His nickname is Jay Lache
because he can absolutely fly through the air.
- Oh! - Living up to his name.
Jay Lache could have caught that with his teeth!
- Yeah, you know he can't go out on no lache.
- Oh!
- Not when your nickname is Lache.
- Now, he's on to Split Decision.
- All right, which way? Which way?
- And no hesitation. He knows he's going for Log Runner.
It's just so remarkable.
17 years old, on the big stage.
And just look at him.
- Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
- Now climbing up to take on Air Surfer.
And the way he flies,
this should be right in Jay Lache's wheelhouse.
- We talked about it, he's 115 pounds.
That's not a lot of weight to hold him back.
- No problem with the first leap.
And goes right into the second.
And now the third.
- Jay Lache is doing his thing!
- Okay! - Did you see that?
He was double-pumping in the air!
- Okay, Jay Lache!
- Look at his reaction.
Double fists. Oh, he knew he had it.
And still has the baby face we first saw
back on "American Ninja Warrior Junior."
Trying to be the first tonight to solve Pretzel Twist.
This knocked out 17 ninjas last week
and already tonight two more.
- Matt, he's a junior at Cheshire High School.
Think he's not gonna be a big man on campus?
This kid does not need to be the Homecoming King.
He's the Ninja King.
- He is making this look too easy.
Trying to be our first finisher tonight.
- I promise this is gonna end up in the yearbook.
- Oh, my!
- This is gonna end up in the yearbook.
This will mark his 2021.
- There it is. - Yes!
- Yes! Jay Lache!
Matt, he ain't playing. Look where he's sitting.
- What we thinking? We thinking Mega?
- You got for 10K, Jay Lache! - Go get that money!
- Come on. You can do it! all: Beat that wall!
- You got this, Jay.
- Well, his nickname's Jay Lache.
It may be Jay Money if he hits this buzzer...
- Yeah, we gonna give him a new nickname.
- And gets 10K.
- We gonna give him a new nickname.
We gonna add on to his nickname.
If he gets this, I'm gonna pay his taxes.
- Oh! A good effort.
- Okay, that's all right. - Let's go!
- But can still be our first finisher of the night.
Yes!
[buzzer blares] - Let's go!
[cheers and applause] - * You make me believe *
* In something greater *
- Yes!
- Nice run, Jay!
- Yeah! Yeah!
- Let's go!
- Your first run on the big stage,
you got a buzzer, my friend.
How's it feel?
- It still doesn't feel real.
I don't think it'll kick in until I see it on TV, honestly.
- Well, I can show it to you right now.
You lived up to your nickname, Jay Lache,
flying through this course.
And check yourself out.
That Warped Wall was nothing for you.
And Jay, man, show me your muscles.
- Yeah! - Show me your muscles.
- Yeah!
- You hit that buzzer one more time, Jay.
- Let's go!
- * Believe in something greater *
- A great moment, Jay Lewis.
And his neighbor, Blake Feero, is gonna run next.
- Minutes ago, 17-year-old Jay Lewis
became the night's first finisher!
- Show me your muscles!
- And during the break, his friend and neighbor,
16-year-old Blake Feero, got his shot.
- You know his motto, Matt. Blake don't break.
- You're gonna crush it, Feero. Let's go!
- The high school sophomore schooled the early obstacles.
- Feero was moving like a Ferrari.
- Yeah!
- Feero was so strong,
he overshot the landing on Air Surfer.
- Oh, no! Whoa. Rookie mistake.
- Gonna get it next year.
- Then it was a competitor almost 40 years older,
as 54-year-old Caroline Lee
made her return to the course after a battle with cancer.
- She's been through so much in her life.
- The Amazon manager competed back in season three
and fell on the second obstacle.
Oh!
So she had high hopes of doing better this year.
But history repeated itself on Double Down.
- No!
- After ten years, I still fall on the second obstacle.
God.
- Judas Licciardello is an auctioneer
who talks as fast as he runs on the course,
and he had his sights set on the Mega Wall.
- [auctioneering]
Let me hit that buzzer, baby. Mega Wall, here we come.
- The New Jersey native survived
a close call on Log Runner.
- Stumbles, bumbles, fumbles, oh!
- But the auctioneer never made it to the Mega Wall
because he couldn't close on Pretzel Twist.
- Oh, no!
- Going, going, gone.
- Up next, we've got a couple of training partners
who grew up in the Amish community of Pennsylvania.
This is Paul Fisher, a barn builder who's running tonight
with his friend Ivan King.
These two have a special bond
after their very unique upbringing.
- I grew up on an Amish dairy farm.
We're aware that we're different, you know?
But you didn't look at the world
like it was evil or anything.
I thought it looked exciting.
I definitely wanted to explore the outside world, for sure.
[upbeat music]
* *
- Paul and I both decided
to leave the Amish community at the same time.
It definitely was not an easy decision.
- Whoo-hoo. - Let's go.
- And it was nice to being able to share
some of those experiences with a trusted friend.
* *
Nice. Nice.
- We'd hang out every weekend, and we had similar interests.
We did some Spartan races, marathons, CrossFit,
and that led to ninja.
- Keep going.
Go, go, go.
- We needed a place to train, so we got this barn,
and we just filled it up with ninja obstacles.
* *
My job is carpentry, so we've been having a great time
building the obstacles together and bonding over that.
It's been great.
Hit the buzzer.
- As a kid, being Amish, we didn't have a TV,
so competing on "American Ninja Warrior"
is gonna be the coolest thing I've ever experienced.
* *
- And he'll have friends watching back in Pennsylvania.
- That's my boy! That's my boy!
- We'd love to have his family watching,
but they don't own a television or a computer.
[countdown clock beeping]
He still visits and keeps in touch with his family.
Decided to leave the Amish community
after he drove his first car at 21 years old.
Said, after that, the horse and buggy
just wasn't fast enough anymore.
- [chuckles]
Hey, if he likes fast cars,
then he's gonna like Double Down.
This is like a roller coaster.
- Come on, Paul! - Come on. Come on.
- There it is!
- Got it! - Good transfer there.
Growing up on a farm, did a lot of manual labor.
Says he still swings a mean hammer.
Describes his grip strength as prodigious.
- Oh, you got it. Breathe. - Right foot, left foot.
- You got a choice here on Split Decision.
- Oh, about to choose Block Run.
- First one to attempt it.
- You got it. You got it.
[cheers and applause]
- [chuckles]
Oh, he said, "Heck no."
He's going with Log Runner.
- Arches. Arches.
Come on, Paul. - He's wide-eyed.
He's wide-eyed. He's ready.
He just jumped over that last one.
[cheers and applause]
- Now staring up at the Air Surfer.
The top 30 from tonight move on to the semifinals.
And Paul Fisher will have a good shot
if he can get through this obstacle.
- Let's go. Let's go. - Nice.
Uh-oh, watch out for that left side.
- Left side a little off.
- He is showing some good upper body strength here.
- Left side up again.
- He's gotta watch out. He must be right-handed.
- Finish it. Come on.
- Here we go. Big up.
Nice landing.
- There it us. What a rookie effort.
And he's through the fourth obstacle.
What was that? A handstand?
[laughter]
Save your energy.
He's so excited--I know, you're excited, right?
Well, he's definitely not a gymnast.
That's an ugly handstand.
And he fell right on the springboard.
- Yeah, you know, the Pennsylvania Dutch,
famous for their hot soft pretzels.
So he should be right at home here.
- I love soft pretzels.
- You're in Amish Country now. - Amish strong!
- Let's go, Paul. Let's go. Come on, man.
- Well, only the teenager Jay Lewis
has gotten past this obstacle tonight.
This is where all that barn training can come in handy.
This is a lot of swinging around using your upper body.
- Good job. You can just see the force
on the grip when you peel back there.
You can see him keeping his L's,
trying to make sure he keeps engaged.
Nice. Great.
- You can see the striations on the forearms, Akbar.
Grip strength looking locked in.
- Want to make sure you're not too powerful
when you're taking off... - Wow.
- So that back swing doesn't throw you off.
- And the barn builder closing in on a buzzer.
- Oh, no!
- Oh.
- The surprising run of Paul Fisher comes to an end.
But a strong debut for the rookie.
- I thought he had Pretzel Twist solved.
But he missed with his left hand on that last pretzel
and swung back too fast, and his night was over.
- Dang it.
- Still to come,
the best ninjas in this family may have four legs.
Abby Clark and her dog Ace
are coming up on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Before the break, Pennsylvania's Paul Fisher
powered his way to the fifth obstacle.
- Oh, no! - And minutes ago,
the other formerly Amish carpenter, Ivan King,
tried to hammer his way through the course.
- Let's go!
- The 29-year-old rookie
rocketed through the first three obstacles...
- Hat's on backward, running through. He got it.
- And was sailing through Air Surfer...
- Oh, watch out! He's right on the tip!
- But he couldn't nail the landing.
But at least his hat stayed on.
Casey Rothschild was waving the rainbow flag.
She's the leader of Queer Ninjas Unite,
an LGBTQ support group.
- Everybody represented on "American Ninja Warrior."
- In season ten, at just 19 years old,
Rothschild became the youngest woman to ever hit a buzzer,
a record that still stands.
- Yay! Casey, are you kidding me?
- Now 22, Rothschild came out rolling again tonight.
- Boom, boom, boom, oh, oh, no, no, no, no. Whoo!
[cheers and applause]
- She fought her way to the fifth obstacle,
but became the latest victim of Pretzel Twist.
- Starting to slip with that right hand, Matt. No!
- Oh, so close.
- Still, she's in a good position
to move on to the semifinals.
Then, a doctor was in the house,
as Dr. Stewart Mahler stepped up
and showed off some of his sick dance moves.
- He's got the rhythm down.
- After embarrassing his wife and kids, Mahler,
who's a physician in Rochester, New York,
sliced through the first two obstacles.
- Whoo!
- All right, this is your time.
- At Split Decision, he almost went for Block Run,
but changed his mind,
and the doctor wishes he'd gotten a second opinion.
- Ooh! Right in the diaphragm.
After that gut shot, he's gonna need some probiotics.
- So we've seen 17 athletes so far tonight,
and not a single ninja has attempted Block Run.
And there's a good reason.
It's been a giant killer over the years,
taking out big names
like the Big Dog, Jody Avila...
- No, no, no! - Oh, no!
- And even ninja's first million-dollar winner,
Isaac Caldiero.
- Whoa! What? No!
- But statistically, Block Run is actually the easier option.
It's got a knockout rate of 28%
versus Log Runner,
which eliminates competitors 40% of the time.
- Oh!
- That's largely due to one brutal night in Oklahoma City,
when the Log Runner took out 36 competitors,
including the great Casey Catanzaro.
- Oh. - Oh, hold on!
- No!
- Personally, I don't like either choice.
- Thanks, Zuri.
Well, we'll see if anyone tries Block Run tonight.
Up next, one of the breakout stars from last season,
the Gnarly Ninja, Mr. Nate Hansen.
- Whoo!
- Last season, Nate shared his story
of overcoming a growth hormone deficiency,
and it earned him a lot of new fans.
[upbeat music]
Only 5'2". Can he make it up the 14 1/2-foot wall?
And he's got it!
- Okay, Gnarly! - Let's go!
- Gnarly Nate Hansen! - Whoo!
After my season 12 run, the messages that I got
from parents and kids around the country saying,
"You've inspired me to be a better person,
you've inspired me to overcome my own obstacles in life,"
really warmed my heart.
- Get it. Get it. Go. Touch.
Go. Run, run, run, run.
- Aiden's a younger kid from Michigan,
and he also suffers from growth hormone deficiency.
His mom sent me a message
and told me about how he's been battling it
and having to take shots day in and day out.
And I know, growing up as a kid,
how hard that can be,
from the bullying to the own self-doubt in your mind
of "Am I good enough?"
So I connected with Aiden.
We had a Zoom call.
How you been, Aiden?
- I've been pretty good.
- He told me all about his school
and all about his ninja.
- I got a new record of making it up
the 12-foot Warped Wall. - That's awesome.
He's an awesome kid. He is super-duper kind.
I'm just as much of a fan of him as he is of me.
- Keeping pushing it, and maybe sooner or later
you'll get a 13-foot wall,
and then maybe even a 14-foot wall.
When I was a kid, no one else had growth hormone deficiency
that I could look up to.
- Let's go! Whoo!
- So my goal is to be that person
for Aiden and other kids,
so they can look up to me and say,
"I will overcome this obstacle."
[cheers and applause]
Hey, Aiden!
- And Nate giving a big shout-out to Aiden,
watching back in Michigan.
- Let's go, Nate! - Aww, this is nice.
Aiden's excited. He gets to watch his hero.
- And Nate's got a bunch of other fans
watching back in Colorado,
plus he his roommates,
Jonah Muñoz and Austin Gray on the sidelines.
- Just another example of ninjas supporting each other.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Nate Hansen, just 5'2", 125 pounds,
hit a buzzer his first time on the course last season.
Hoping to do it again,
but so far tonight, only one finisher.
- Let's do it! - Come on.
- Says loves being underestimated.
- Whoo!
- He just uses it as motivation.
- Yeah, go ahead,
underestimate the Gnarly Ninja if you want.
Nate Hansen is a beast.
Had one of the fastest times in qualifying last year.
Just showed us such confidence.
Currently a business major at the University of Colorado.
- This is wicked fast.
- On now to Split Decision. He's going for Log Runner.
- You got it. You got it. You got it!
Boom! Just like that!
- Made it look easy. And Aiden loved it.
- Didn't even break a sweat through the balance obstacle.
- But now, it's two upper body obstacles,
starting with the Air Surfer.
- Living in Colorado, I'm sure he's seen snowboards,
but not like this.
- You can see him trying to visualize the landing.
Good control.
He's had lots of extra training this year
living with Jonah Muñoz and Austin Gray.
- Wow, that's a lot of good ninjas in one house.
- Just needs this last swing. Oh!
- Ooh! Got caught up. - How did he save it?
- That was a great save!
Whoa, he almost got in trouble!
- You got this, Nate.
- And he is through. - Atta boy!
- Now, just one more obstacle before the Warped Wall,
but Pretzel Twist has been difficult.
Only the teenager Jay Lewis has gotten past it so far.
- Nice technique.
- By turning around like that,
there's less chance of peeling off when he locks it in.
- Looks good. - Good.
- Nice one, Nate. - Good job, Nate.
- Let's go, Nate. Come on, Nate!
- Come on. You got this!
- Let's see, will he have anything for this transfer?
- Nice. Great job.
- Da-da-da-da-da-da. Okay! Okay!
- This is impressive.
- They say if you stay ready, you never have to get ready.
And he's been staying ready this entire time.
- Nate, one more swing, and he's got that dismount.
Nate Hansen. And he's gonna set a new fastest time.
- You always bet on the Gnarly Ninja!
[cheers and applause]
* *
- Let's go, baby! Whoo!
* *
- You are such a motivation.
But what's it like being up here after last season,
knowing kids like Aiden,
they're watching you-- you're making a difference?
- Absolutely, man. I mean, my goal is not to be
the best on the show,
it's to inspire people out in the community just like myself,
and Aiden happens to be one of those kids.
I'm so glad I could change his life,
and my goal is to change many more.
- Inspiring people all around. Nate Hansen did just that.
Hit that buzzer one more time, Nate.
- Whoo!
* *
- It's not easy training
when your wife is Olympic legend Shawn Johnson.
- What are you doing? Drop it lower. Come on.
- Zero fun. - One more.
- But Andrew East is gonna be on our course.
She said she's never been this nervous
at a competition before. - I haven't.
- And Shawn's gonna be in our booth,
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back to "American Ninja Warrior,"
where tonight we're seeing a theme develop: teamwork.
- Yeah, that's right. Sometimes you need
a partner to do your best.
And tonight, we've seen some dynamic duos.
We've had college classmates and teenage neighbors.
And minutes ago, it was another powerful pair,
because rock-solid Adam Rayl is now training partners
and roommates with the Papal Ninja Sean Bryan.
- You got it, Adam. Come on!
- And the new arrangement seems to be working
as Rayl, a six-time veteran and former gymnast,
put together a strong run.
- Sticks the landing!
- And even took a shot at the Mega Wall...
Oh!
But had to settle for the regular wall
and becoming our third finisher of the night.
- No problem for Rayl. Hits that buzzer.
But he wanted the big wall.
- Then, the two switched roles,
and Bryan got his shot at the course.
- Come on, Sean.
- The Catholic Church worker came out blazing.
- Beautiful, man.
- He's got his foot on the accelerator.
- And even after a rough landing on Pretzel Twist...
Right on his coccyx. - You okay?
- He still beat Nate Hansen's time
and finished with the fastest time so far.
- The veterans are coming back strong tonight.
And now we've got another dynamic duo,
half of which is up here in the booth with us.
Former world champion and Olympic gold medalist,
gymnast Shawn Johnson.
You have four medals to your name,
including the gold in the balance beam in 2008,
but you're here for another reason too, Shawn. What's that?
- My husband is running the course.
- Okay, well, did you put him up to this?
- No. - Okay.
- I tried to talk him out of it.
We have a baby on the way.
I'm like, "This is not your forte,
but I'm your number one cheerleader."
- Well, let's see how he does.
Ladies and gentlemen, the husband of this woman,
it's Andrew East!
- Oh, okay! - Wow.
- What do you give that? A ten? All tens?
- Ten for effort.
- Well, Shawn may be better at cartwheels,
but Andrew East is no slouch.
He's a former football star who made it to the NFL.
After a successful career
as a long snapper at Vanderbilt University,
Andrew spent time with six NFL teams
over the next five years.
- Competing on a big scale was something
that I just really enjoyed and wanted to continue doing.
And then I got introduced to this whole
"American Ninja Warrior,"
and I've loved being able to transition out of football
into different athletic endeavors.
- His gold medal-winning wife has been pushing him
with the same intensity that lifted her to Olympic glory.
- Better jumps. Make it harder.
- What?
- Training with a gold medal gymnast
definitely has its pros and cons.
- What are you doing?
Drop it lower.
One more. Come on.
- Zero fun. - One more.
- Her competitive edge has not softened at all.
Shawn is there to dominate, and she'll let you know it.
- So happy, guys.
- I'm hoping to go out there, hit the buzzer,
and show that there's two good athletes in the family.
- Good job, baby.
- Andrew's gonna have his family
watching back in Indiana.
And look who's on his sideline.
Fellow Vanderbilt grad Meagan Martin.
And Shawn, of course, watching up here in the booth with us.
- I love you! - Hey, babe.
- I don't think I've ever seen an Olympian nervous before.
This is so cool.
[countdown clock beeping]
Football players have not always done well,
but here we go.
- All right, well, he should do well
in the balance obstacle course.
Shawn, you knew he was gonna do well in the balance.
- I don't know.
I just don't know. That was great. That was great.
- 6'2", 225, watch on Double Down.
He's got--he's a bigger boy,
one of the bigger athletes we've had out here.
- You got this! Come on!
- Yeah, Matt, he's got that upper body strength,
representing for the former NFL players.
I'm right here with you, Andrew.
- Camping up. Now gonna go for a ride here.
Watch this grip strength. - Just hang on. Hang on.
- Oh, hold on. Hold on. Nice.
- Now, this is gonna be the challenge.
We'll see if he can fly.
- Yeah! - Great body control.
Now, with that moving bar... - Come on.
- It makes it hard to make that lache.
Nice. - Yes!
- Okay! And he got it.
- Okay. Come on. - That is impressive.
6'2", 225, as a rookie,
making a lache with the moving bar.
- All right, for the long snapper, this is a long drop.
Oh! Nice. - Good hold.
- Big swing. Yeah. Come on.
- He's going for that dismount.
- Ooh. - Got it!
- Good job. You got it. Yes.
- But now it's Split Decision.
- You want me to try this one? - Is he gonna try Block Run?
- The blocks?
- Shawn, which would you choose?
- You're either gonna go with the outside,
on Log Runner, or Block Run.
- I would do the Log Runner. - Left?
- He's listening to his wife. Gonna go Log Runner now.
- Quick feet. Leaning forward. Come on.
- Meagan, the eight-time veteran,
giving him some advice.
- You got this!
- Okay, Log Runner. Here we go. Nice.
- Yes! - Come on, he knows what's up.
- Yes! - Yeah! Whoo!
- All right, Shawn, he's halfway through.
- Oh, my God!
- You know about--uh-oh. That's all right. Here you go.
- Sorry. - Hey, babe!
- You got this!
Oh, you can do this one. Come on.
- I made it way farther than I was expecting to.
- [laughing] Yeah. - You're halfway through.
Come on! We want a touchdown.
- Oh, my goodness. Has Andrew ever surfed before?
- No.
- Well, he's going air surfing right now.
- He's never done ninja before.
- Again, this is so impressive out here.
At 225, this is gonna be a challenge.
And Shawn, you have to be precise moving this board.
- Come on. Good! Good!
- There's a lot of athleticism.
Former NFL player. - Long gap here.
- Married to a world-class gymnast.
Come on. You're representing for a whole lot.
both: Oh!
- Tackled by Air Surfer. - The board just got caught up.
But he's celebrating, and you're still clapping.
- I'm so proud. I'm so proud.
- She's so proud of you!
- Oh, that was a blast!
- Your pants almost fell off. [laughter]
- Pull up your pants!
Andrew had some good moments on the course,
but I think Shawn had some even better ones up here.
He survived three obstacles.
And Shawn, that has to have made you proud.
- Shawn Johnson, thank you so much...
- Thank you, thank you.
- For being a part of "Ninja Warrior."
- And remember, the Summer Olympics from Tokyo
start July 23 right here on NBC.
We've got more ninja superstars coming up,
including our reigning women's champ, Meagan Martin.
- Majestic, Your Majesty.
- Plus, the wild man from Colorado, Jake Murray,
and his roommate and wingman Ethan Swanson
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Three dynamic ninjas hit the course minutes ago.
Welder Anthony Eardley knows how to get things amped up.
- Hey, hey!
- When your socks match your outfit,
that's how you know he's ready.
- The three-time veteran from Oneonta, New York,
always brings electricity to the course.
[cheers and applause]
And tonight was no different.
- Big up! Big jump! I like that!
- He even makes his exits entertaining.
- Ooh! He looked like a flipping pretzel.
- But it could still be fast enough
to earn him a spot in the semifinals.
- Whoo!
- Then it was the night's smallest competitor,
the fiery Taylor Johnson.
- Let's go!
- With her training partner Addy Herman on the sideline,
Johnson, who's only 4'11" and 104 pounds,
came up with some big moments on Double Down...
- Let's go! - Ooh, looking okay!
- And Log Runner. - Yes! Let's go!
- Oh, she's pumped! - Whoo!
- But the three-time veteran from Foxborough,
Massachusetts, was just too strong on Air Surfer.
- Whoa! Watch out! - Good job, Taylor.
- Just overshot it.
Got to be precise on these things.
- Then it was Rob Pannell,
one of the greatest lacrosse players in history.
- He's a big deal in the lacrosse world.
- Pannell won the College Player
of the Year Award and was Rookie of the Year
and MVP in Major League Lacrosse.
- He's a big dude. He knows how to attack.
- The 195-pound Pannell was light on his feet
on Shrinking Steps, but his inexperience showed
when he tried to attack Double Down.
- Oh! He had it! - [laughs]
- I'm glad I got through the first obstacle.
- We've talked a lot tonight
about having great training partners.
And that is definitely true of our next competitor.
This is New Jersey's Abby Clark.
And not only is the four-time veteran's boyfriend a ninja,
even her dog is an ace on obstacle courses.
[upbeat music]
- Stalk. Good boy.
My boyfriend Joe and I got Ace when he was eight weeks old.
There we go, buddy.
He is a Border Collie, and he does agility obstacles.
- It's the final round,
and Champ has the time to beat.
* *
In the past year, he started competing.
Ace, frame. Yes. Feet. Jump.
Every competition's different,
just like every ninja competition is different.
Some have jumps.
Some have the bigger obstacles like the tunnels,
the weave poles, and the A-frame.
Ace, frame. Jump, jump.
Ace definitely gets the same rush
that I get on the ninja course.
Jump. Back.
He gets so excited to go out and do obstacles.
He knows it's his job.
Weave.
And he loves what he does.
Jump. Good boy. - [barks]
- Ace kind of blows my mind sometimes,
'cause he is super-fast.
And Abby's pretty similar on the course.
- Yeah! - Abby Clark!
- That's what I'm talking about!
That's what I'm talking about!
- I think Ace has taught me that
no matter what happens, you just keep going.
Out. Ace. Ace.
Push.
I'm ready to crush this course like Ace.
- [barks]
[cheers and applause]
- Ace, speak. - [barks]
- Yeah.
- So of course Ace and Joe
will be barking out encouragement...
- Come on, speak. Yeah. Good boy.
- Along with Abby's parents and other family members...
- You got it, Abby!
- Plus some of her East Coast ninjas on the sideline.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Abby Clark is capable of hitting a buzzer.
She did it in qualifying back in season ten.
- Come on, Abby. - Come on, Abby.
- Goes right up onto Double Down.
She should be able to handle this.
Was an All-American gymnast at Springfield College
in Massachusetts.
[cheers and applause]
You can check her out on TikTok,
where she has over 400,000 followers.
- Nice.
- Shows a lot of her ninja training videos.
- After tonight's run, she might end up
at a million followers on TikTok.
- And looking strong here. - Ooh.
- Abby looking smooth.
And she's got it.
And Ace looks like
he's giving high five paws right there to Joe.
- Yeah. Let's go.
- Abby fell on a balance obstacle two years ago.
And she too going with Log Runner tonight.
- Always makes you wonder, on Split Decision,
did you choose the right one?
- Perfect.
- And yep, Abby Clark chose the right one.
- Let's go.
- Climbing up to take on Air Surfer.
- Speak. Speak. Good boy. - Ace is getting excited.
She's reached the fourth obstacle.
- Once an athlete, always an athlete.
Retired from gymnastics after college.
You know, she really struggled to find something,
but once she got into ninja
and she got a taste of it, she hasn't looked back.
- Good transfer there. Look at that.
Good shot of the board, how it's perfectly placed.
- Good. You got this.
- Great control out of Abby Clark.
Ooh. Watch that left side. A little forward.
And you can see her momentum trying to correct it.
- Let's go. You can overshoot. Come on.
- Ooh. Good transfers.
- Let's go, Abby! - Come on, Abby.
- You got this, Abby. - Come on. You got it.
- She's closing in on the fifth obstacle.
- Nice. - And she's got it.
- Let's go!
- Keep in mind, season 13, a lot of talented women,
but none has hit a buzzer.
We've had three women reach Pretzel Twist tonight,
but none has gotten past it.
- Yes. Good. Be ready for it to lock in.
- Yeah, get your grip. You got it.
- You can see a chorus of support on the sidelines.
Good job using that body, generating the power.
- Nice. - Holding on.
- You got it. - You got it.
- Real well done. That was great technique there, Akbar.
- Come on, Abby. You got this.
- And remember, the top five women from tonight
move on the semifinals.
Abby Clark's put herself
in a good position to be one of them already.
- But Matt, position-wise--
how is she gonna get that reach?
- Well, she may have to switch around.
- Ooh.
- She just can't quite get it locked in.
- Matt, she's getting very close.
- A little bit more, a little bit more.
- There it is. - Locked in.
Matt, now she's in a funky position.
Turn around.
- Come on, Abby. Let's go. - Watch that right hand.
- No! - That right hand.
- Oh! - Oh!
- Oh! Doesn't get a buzzer, but a great effort
from Abby Clark.
Ace and Joe, proud of that run,
and Zuri's gonna give her some good news.
- Abby, congratulations on a really great run.
You went far enough, fast enough.
You are moving on. Congratulations.
We'll see you in the semifinals, girl.
- Yeah! - Yeah! Whoo!
- She made it. She made it. Aw, yeah!
[laughs] - [barking]
- Coming up,
one ninja sees the world a little differently.
And he's gonna give you a bird's eye ride
down the course.
- Whoa!
- Plus, they're two of ninja's biggest goofballs
and biggest talents.
Ethan Swanson and Jake Murray coming up
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to the Tacoma Dome,
our home for the qualifying rounds here
on "American Ninja Warrior."
While we were away, Darius Moore
owns a demolition company in Pennsylvania,
and he was ready to destroy the course.
- Yeah! - Hammer that baby through.
- A typical day for Darius
involves tearing things down for eight hours.
Tonight, he was smooth on the first obstacle,
but the hammer came down on him on the second.
- Oh!
- Then, it was the two athletes
who have competed on every season
of "American Ninja Warrior."
First up was Brian Kretsch,
making his 13th straight appearance.
Kretsch broke his leg in season seven
and has had a mental block with balance obstacles
ever since.
So when he got past
his balance obstacle choice tonight...
- Oh, my God!
- He was nearly brought to tears.
- He's got to center himself now.
- Kretsch kept it going and made it to the fifth obstacle.
- Oh, no! - Oh, no!
But became the latest victim of Pretzel Twist.
But that should be good enough
to get him into the semifinals.
- I'm gluten-free. I don't eat pretzels.
[laughter]
- Then it was the other veteran who's been around
since the beginning, the Godfather, David Campbell.
- Go, David!
- With ninja great Jessie Graff cheering him on,
the pizza delivery driver delivered once again.
- Never doubt the old guy.
- Though he's almost 30 years older than some of our teens,
the 43-year-old didn't show it.
- David Campbell still has it in him.
- Yeah.
- Campbell survived a rough landing on Pretzel Twist.
- Oh, my goodness! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
Check this out again!
- Oh, my! - Oh, my, he felt that!
- But it wasn't enough to stop the Godfather,
who shook it off
and even tried the 18-foot Mega Wall...
- Ooh.
- Before settling for the regular wall
and becoming our fifth finisher of the night.
- I love it.
The old guys have come to play
and show them teenagers how it's done.
- When Campbell and Kretsch first competed,
our next athlete was only two years old.
This is 15-year-old Caiden Madzelan,
better known as the Troutdale Ninja.
[dramatic music]
* *
- Troutdale is a little town in northern Oregon.
Growing up in Troutdale, I was always outdoors,
and that's easy when you live in a place like this.
It's a great place to hike,
to paddleboard, to go climbing,
to go on the river.
It's amazing.
* *
Because it's a small town, there's not a lot of people
that do ninja, and it's made me known
as a little celebrity in Troutdale.
You know, everyone knows me as the Troutdale Ninja.
- From here on out, May 11th is gonna be known
as Troutdale Ninja Day in honor of Caiden.
- Oh, my goodness. Thank you. Thank you.
But growing up wasn't always easy.
My parents got divorced when I was five years old.
And for a lot of years, my dad and I didn't get along.
* *
- It was extremely hard for me,
having a tough relationship with my son.
And I felt like on lots of levels,
I was failing him and failing myself as a father.
And so it was hard for everybody.
- We were always slamming the doors on each other,
yelling at each other, screaming at each other,
and there--all the time, I would call my mom and say,
"Please come pick up me up. I don't want to be here."
- Nice.
Around the time that Caiden
was really getting interested in ninja,
I decided to build a ninja rig in the backyard,
and that was a great thing for him and I to work on together.
And he still trains on that to this day.
Crazy how much it's gotten used.
- Yeah, all the things I've broken.
- All the things you've broken, but you've added on to it.
It makes me emotional to look back on where
Caiden and I were in our relationship
and where we've come
and to think of how much I have to thank
"American Ninja Warrior" for that.
I'm proud of you.
I love you. - Love you, too.
There's no other way to say it.
"Ninja Warrior" saved me and my dad's friendship.
And I'm really grateful and thankful for it.
- And Dad is on the sideline.
- Dad looks a little anxious. - Wow.
- I think it's harder for the parents, isn't it?
- Yeah, it is.
- And there's Mom back in Oregon,
watching with other friends and family.
- Let's go Caiden. Come on, bud.
- Let's go, Caiden! [countdown clock beeping]
- Well, Akbar, the story of the season
has been the youth invasion, the teen titans.
- And Matt, here's one that's been eating the fridge.
He's a big 15-year-old. 6'1".
And he can use that length on this course.
He trains one to two hours every day, with no rest days.
He's got the energy. He's got the youth.
- Oh! - You see how he just came in?
- Seamless, one move.
- It looked like Double Dipper in Vegas.
- Oh, my!
And now it's Split Decision, and like everyone tonight,
he's going with Log Runner over Block Run.
- He's got those long legs.
- Well, he had hearing issues growing up.
Had problems with speed and balance.
But none there. - Yeah, Caiden!
- Yeah, Matt, in fact, the doctors told him
that he probably wouldn't be an athlete.
Uh, wrong. - 100% wrong.
He not only does ninja,
he's on his high school cross-country and track team
and is a straight-A student.
- We first saw him on "Ninja Junior."
He made it to the Sweet 16,
but he was a little smaller then.
- He's got a big jump here on Air Surfer.
Gets it.
Just needs the dismount.
- Oh, my goodness! - Yes!
- And you can see how proud Dad is.
Ninja brought father and son together.
These two now best friends. And look at Caiden out here,
making big swings on Pretzel Twist.
- There's a lot of kickback there.
- Trying to be our second teen finisher tonight,
and moving quickly through the pretzels.
- Watch out, now. Whoa.
- And in a single move,
going over, Caiden gave us a look.
- Matt, look how confident he is.
- He's smiling right now, Akbar.
Oh, my!
- I'm gonna write him up,
running through the halls this fast.
- Caiden Madzelan. - Look at Dad.
You think he's not hyped?
Yeah, $10,000, buddy! - You going for it?
What you gonna do with that money?
- He is announcing his presence with authority.
It is almost unfair watching these youngsters
destroy this course.
No one has yet made it up the Mega Wall tonight.
Can 15-year-old Caiden be the first?
- 18 feet. This is it. 15 years old.
- Good run.
- Ooh. Okay.
- Got his fingers up so close!
- That's all right. Finish this one.
- Well, he had some height, Matt. He was super close.
- That was the only flaw.
- Get that buzzer. - Look at that.
[buzzer blares]
- Yeah! Whoo!
[cheers and applause]
- Caiden Madzelan. Wow! Wow!
- That's it!
- You must have excelled in PE, didn't you?
- A+. - A+. [laughs]
Well, you get an A++ on "Ninja Warrior," man.
That was outstanding.
- Thank you, man.
- Caiden, you just got your first buzzer.
What's it like doing it with your dad here?
- I'm so thankful for him to be on the sideline, and, you know,
after all that we've been through when I was younger,
it's truly special for him to be here right now.
- Why don't you hit that buzzer one more time?
I have a feeling you're gonna be doing it a lot.
[cheers and applause]
- Check out the close calls while we were away.
Arizona college student Tage Herrington
had his 12 siblings cheering him on.
And the baby-faced 20-year-old
gave them something to get excited about,
as Ninja Blue blazed through the course...
- Nice hang time! [cheers and applause]
He's looking at the Mega Wall, I think.
- And tried to become the first tonight
to conquer the 18-foot wall.
both: Oh! - He almost had it!
- He got a hand on top, but couldn't finish
and settled for the regular wall,
becoming our seventh finisher tonight.
- Oh, man. That's pretty dope, man.
- New Jersey car mechanic Brandon Richards
barely survived a near collision on Double Down.
- Whoa! Whoo!
All right, take a look again.
He got his legs up pretty high.
Man, if he wasn't flexible, he would have been done.
- The 21-year-old rookie kept running.
- Nice.
- But his night came to a screeching halt on Air Surfer.
both: Oh!
- That's not the way it was supposed to go!
- Then it was New York City attorney Adam Nasser,
who had to fight to stay alive on the first obstacle...
- Oh, oh, oh, oh. No, no, no, no, no, no.
- And again on the third. both: Oh!
- Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, oh, oh, oh.
- The 28-year-old rookie rolled around Log Runner
for more than a minute.
- Matt, he is in ninja prison right now.
- But the lawyer refused to be dismissed...
- Go Superman. Go Superman.
- And finally got through. - Yeah!
- And then made it to the fifth obstacle...
- Oh!
- Before his run finally ended.
- Matt, he burned energy and he burned out.
- Our next ninja is gonna take you on a ride
like you've never experienced before.
This is Quinn Nguyen. He's a college student
at Rochester Institute of Technology,
but also a first-person drone pilot.
He's gonna show us the course like you've never seen before.
[upbeat music]
- Oh, I like this. This is fire. Wow!
- And the drone's choosing Block Run.
- Just cruising through Air Surfer.
Boy, this course looks easy when you fly through it.
And he's eyeing the Mega Wall. Why not?
- Well, hello.
- Okay! I see you!
- And that's just a taste
of what this 20-year-old can do with his drone.
- It's time to fly.
* *
I fly FPV drones-- first-person view drones.
Basically, you wear headset goggles,
and you see what the drone's seeing.
It gives you that adrenaline rush.
You're, like, basically a bird,
and there's nothing stopping you from doing anything.
* *
The biggest one can go up to 60, 70 miles per hour,
maybe more. I haven't exactly clocked it.
[chuckles]
I'm gonna fly my drone through the course,
and then I'm gonna fly through the course.
- That's some cool stuff right there.
- Well, Nguyen will have some family watching,
along with some college classmates at RIT.
[countdown clock beeping]
- It's one thing to photograph a course,
but getting through it is a lot tougher.
[cheers and applause]
- Made it through Shrinking Steps.
Now needs to soar through Double Down.
- Fly. Fly. - Oh, my.
- Oh, watch out.
That's a steep drop right there, Matt.
It's like a roller coaster at Universal Studios.
- He's using a lot of mass,
but that is taxing on the grip.
- Ooh! Wow! You see the whiplash.
- He didn't even crank it up.
He just moved it through, Akbar.
That was power.
- He flew his drone across Block Run,
but it looks like he's gonna choose Log Runner.
- Let's go! [cheers and applause]
- Only 5'4".
- Whoa, nice.
- Quinn Nguyen, and he is pumped.
- Let's go!
- Yeah, Quinn! - Quinn!
- And here he is on the fourth obstacle,
Air Surfer.
- Yeah, Quinn Nguyen, he's moving.
He's hustling through. All right, big drop.
- You can see him--I like it-- a little more measured
approach here, Akbar.
- You know, at 20 years old, he's fearless.
You can see that drop meant nothing to him.
He was able to absorb all of that weight.
And if he can do that one more time,
he should be in the clear.
- Listen, he flies a drone with goggles.
You have to have a good visual mind, 3D understanding.
Clearly, it's serving him well here on Air Surfer.
- Well, he literally did visualize
how this run would go.
- Let's go, Quinn! Let's go!
- Let's go! I want that Mega Wall!
- "I want that Mega Wall!" 5'4", 145 pounds.
He's calling out the Mega Wall.
You better eat some pretzels right now.
- He is up.
He twisted the handle off, Akbar.
That kind of muscle-- once again,
he's continuing to rely on just power here.
- All right. He's supposed to dip the pretzel.
- This is gonna be a violent kickback.
- Oh, goodness! - There it was.
- Whiplash and flipping everywhere!
Did a cartwheel into the pool!
- But he's happy.
That run's gonna get him into the semifinals.
- Well, just like his drone,
Nguyen flew through the first four obstacles.
While the drone flew through Pretzel Twist,
Nguyen crashed and went out with some flair.
[cheers and applause]
- I got to get one of those.
- I for sure would crash that.
- Well, that drone should keep flying,
because our next athlete is definitely gonna soar.
[cheers and applause]
This is the Swan, Ethan Swanson.
The eight-time veteran always brings the energy.
He gets his fans fired up
by getting the swan wings flapping.
He's got his family members watching from back in Illinois
along with Flex Lebreck and his Chicago area ninjas.
But Ethan's actually moved from Chicago,
now living in Colorado with Jake Murray.
- Boy, that's gotta be a fun house with those two.
- And Jake's gonna be down on the sideline,
leading the cheers. - Come on, brother!
[countdown clock beeping]
[cheers and applause]
- You know Ethan's gonna fly through this course.
- And he will take his chances on the course.
He is a daredevil.
Also likes to do backflips.
He's done one for 967 straight days.
Says he'll do one tonight if he hits the buzzer.
[cheers and applause]
Which way will he go at Split Decision?
- And he's going Block Run.
- You've done it before, dude. You've done it before.
- Leave it to the daredevil to take a risk.
Swanson the first to try Block Run.
- Whoo-hoo-hoo! He made that look easy.
I bet all the ninjas that fell on Log Runner are thinking,
"Why didn't I just do that?"
- And his roommate Jake Murray
cheering him on on the sidelines.
These two have put in a lot of training together lately.
- Nice. - Looking sharp.
- Yeah, it's hard to rush through this one,
because if you rush through--
if you rush through on this one,
that could put in in trouble.
- 100%, Akbar, and I like it.
Go fast when you can.
Be methodical when you have to.
Stay alive.
And now, Ethan Swanson staring down Pretzel Twist.
And he's got a shot at the fastest time
held by Sean Bryan.
- His buddy Jake may have something to say
about the fastest time.
- Well, it's easy to get hung up and eat a lot of time
here on Pretzel Twist. Now, the challenge is,
Akbar, this is the first time you get your hands on it.
You watched some ninjas do it. You've talked to them.
But seeing how your hands feel comfortable
and understanding how much power you need to generate
to get that pendulum locked in--
- Yeah, and Matt, you can see him right now...
- Wow! - Going--reversing here.
Now, it's very important to make sure
you secure the grab before you take it off the hook,
because that backswing-- - Perfect.
- And you see the way he controlled it
so it wasn't a heavy backswing?
- Just enough to lock it in. - Nice.
- Ethan Swanson, textbook form here.
- He's got a chance to get the fastest time.
And right on the dismount.
- Will he go for the Mega Wall?
- Yeah! Let's go!
- He's going for it. He's going for the fast time.
- Wow, not even looking at the Mega Wall.
- He's not going for the money. He wants that speed.
- Ethan Swanson, get that buzzer.
- Hey. Hey.
[cheers and applause]
[upbeat music]
* *
- [screams]
[cheers and applause]
- Ends up a couple seconds behind Sean Bryan,
but still, what a run.
Hey, Ethan, I think there's the business
of making it 968 days in a row.
- Uh-oh. Watch yourself. Make sure you got clearance.
Here we go.
- Oh! - That's a good landing.
- Ethan Swanson! The Swan is back.
- I'll take it.
- No one had tried Block Run all night,
but Ethan Swanson did it with ease.
Ends up with the second-fastest time
of the night so far
and got those swan wings flapping.
* *
- And the big names keep on coming.
Our reigning woman's champion Meagan Martin is up next
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Minutes ago, 19-year-old Matt Bradley
had a birthday shout-out
for his mom back home in Philadelphia.
- Happy birthday, Mom.
- The high school senior is heading
to Penn State in the fall.
And he went to school on this qualifying course.
- You get the feeling, in his rookie year,
he wants to hit that buzzer.
[cheers and applause]
- And he did just that,
becoming our ninth finisher of the night.
[upbeat music]
- Hey, Matt,
that's a nice birthday present for Mom, isn't it?
- I wouldn't be where I am today without her.
- Aww, that's amazing.
- With all the success,
four-time ninja veteran Austin Gray
seemed like a shoo-in for a buzzer.
- Austin Gray ain't playing around.
- The 24-year-old from Colorado
was last year's overall runner-up.
And he was cruising again tonight...
- I've got a sneaking suspicion
that he is trying to get the fastest time.
- Until one mistake on Pretzel Twist.
- Oh! all: Oh.
- It was still good enough to make the top 30,
but it was a surprise.
- Sha-na-na.
- Massachusetts schoolteacher Allyssa Beird
was also looking to ace the qualifying course.
- Nice! Ooh.
Wasn't that a beautiful dismount?
- Nice. Nice.
- The six-time veteran has advanced beyond qualifying
every season she's competed. And she followed
Ethan Swanson's path at Split Decision.
- Allyssa Beird going Block Run.
I like this choice.
Only the second person all night to try it.
I love the veterans being fearless.
- Yeah!
- But the teacher couldn't solve Pretzel Twist.
- No! - Oh!
- Allyssa Beird has to be salty about Pretzel Twist.
- And her slower pace put her on the bubble
in fifth place among the women.
And the final woman of the night is up next.
Zuri, get her started.
- Make way for the champ.
Our next athlete won the first ever women's championship.
It's Meagan Martin.
And whoa, a little stumble.
But you can't stop this girl.
Not only is she a ninja, a model,
and a rock climber, in a few weeks,
she'll be a part of NBC's Olympic broadcast team.
- To be the best, you gotta beat the best.
And these are two of the best.
- This year has been absolutely huge for me.
- Another power move by Meagan!
- Meagan jumps ahead!
- Oh, my goodness! - Meagan pulls ahead
and does it at the buzzer!
- Come from behind!
- I won the women's championship,
which was amazing.
- Meagan Martin takes the title!
- And I've been extremely busy as a broadcast commentator
for multiple USA climbing events.
- Alongside former U.S. national team member
Meagan Martin.
- And if that wasn't enough, I was fortunate enough
to be hired by NBC
to be the climbing analyst for the Tokyo Olympics.
[cheers and applause]
I've never wanted a job more,
other than the "Ninja Warrior" sideline job.
But--just kidding. Let me start over.
[laughing] Sorry.
- I hope Zuri didn't hear that.
But you know what? We love them both.
- Everybody loves Meagan,
including, of course, her parents,
watching from Michigan. - Let's go!
- And on the sideline, training partner Adam Rayl
and fellow Vanderbilt alum Andrew East.
[countdown clock beeping]
Well, she is busy.
Just flew in from doing TV work at a climbing event.
And she's worried she may be a little off.
- Come on, now. Come on. Come on.
- Still models for Athleta Sportwear
in addition to all her other work.
But right now,
having to work to get through Double Down.
- And Matt, if you think about it, too,
the way this course is playing tonight,
it falls right within her strengths.
- Well, we haven't had a woman hit the buzzer this year.
Meagan would love to be the first.
- Nice.
- Of course, Meagan, the third woman ever in history
to hit a buzzer. That was seven years ago.
- She is one of the icons of this sport.
- Yes. - Yes!
- There it is. There's the smile.
[cheers and applause]
And like so many before her, she's ignoring Block Run.
- A lot of these athletes
are just walking straight over to Log Runner.
- Here we go, Meagan. - Confidence, Meagan.
- Come on. You got it. You got it. You got it. Yeah!
- Ah, there we go. A little stumble.
She's pumped. - She got it.
[cheers and applause]
- Just methodically destroying this course.
Just so relaxed.
But Akbar, we have seen a lot of mistakes
here on Air Surfer.
- There you go. Come on, now.
- Look at the upper body. Look at her biceps.
Look at the triceps, back muscles,
brachioradialis.
Here we go. Right on the edge, and then
she's got to come in hot, come in tight, though.
You want to come in compact to be able to absorb--oh!
Oh, man. - Wow.
- That almost got scary.
- Barely got that right side on, Akbar.
- Yes, she did. Wow.
Great recovery by Meagan Martin, the queen.
She's got the crown for a reason.
- Go, Meg! - Come on, Meagan!
[cheers and applause]
- Long move here. Gotta test that grip.
- All right, come on, Your Highness.
- Ooh! - Ooh, barely got it on.
- Majestic, Your Majesty.
- Wow. That had a lot of height,
but barely had the distance, Akbar.
She's been flirting with disaster.
She may be going for the dismount.
There it is. [cheers and applause]
So she's made it to the fifth obstacle,
but she used up a lot of time.
The top five women move on,
and her time is behind that of Allyssa Beird,
who's currently in fifth, so to move on,
Meagan must get through Pretzel Twist
or her season is over.
- We haven't seen a woman get past Pretzel Twist.
Tonight, it's gonna be Meagan Martin.
There we go.
- Well, Meagan hit four buzzers
to win the women's championship,
but she hasn't hit a buzzer in the regular season
in five years.
Good job locking it in. - Yeah.
- And great job controlling it.
- Well, this is where her rock climbing skills
come into play.
She survives in this area.
- Absolutely. - She lives in this area.
- Meagan Martin, what a performance.
She just keeps getting better, Akbar.
Got to get it locked in. There it is.
One more move.
- And Matt, you see her eyeballing the other pretzel.
- It's gonna be a long reach, though. 5'4".
- She's got that vice grip. Look at her. She ain't playing.
- Oh! [cheers and applause]
- She might be the first to do this in all of season 13.
Just needs the dismount!
- I told you, dog. - Fly, Meagan!
- I told you she was gonna do it!
Get out of there!
- Fly, Meagan!
- Get out of there!
- Yes! - Nice! Nice!
And she stuck the landing. - The queen delivers.
The first woman to get past the fifth obstacle this season.
- She ain't playing around. - Yes!
- Yes, Meagan. Good job.
- Well, with that, she has just pushed Alyssa Beird
off the leaderboard. The women here are so dynamic.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- It was season six when Meagan was just the third woman ever
to get up the Warped Wall.
Now, 14 1/2 feet away from being the first woman
to get a buzzer all season long.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
Beat that wall!
- Here we go. Look at that. Nice form too. Yes!
- Yes! - Meagan Martin has done it!
[upbeat music]
* *
- The first buzzer of the season
for a woman in season 13!
- Let's go! Let's go!
- How does that feel?
- So good. I'm so happy.
- Meagan, what's making you cry?
- Yeah.
- I've just been really busy,
so I had to come from work to here,
and I didn't know if I could do it.
- You did it. You go, girl. You go. Well done.
The Queen of Ninja, Meagan Martin.
Hit that buzzer one more time, Queen.
[cheers and applause]
- Yes!
* *
- No woman had made it past Pretzel Twist,
but Meagan Martin had to do it to keep her season alive,
and she did it.
Then sprinted to the buzzer,
our first woman finisher all season.
[buzzer blares]
Well, who could top that run? Jake Murray's gonna try.
We'll see him next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Well, what a night it's been for the ladies here.
Moments ago, Meagan Martin became the first woman
to hit a buzzer this season.
[buzzer blares]
And for the second time in three weeks
and only the second time in history,
we're now guaranteed to have five women in the top 30.
Besides Meagan, we've had impressive runs
by the Massachusetts teenager Addy Herman.
New Jersey's Abby Clark
also reached the fifth obstacle,
as did three-time veteran Casey Rothschild
and energetic ninja rookie Rachel Degutz.
- Okay, boss lady!
- Well, it's been a frenzied
last few minutes out on the course.
- Whoo!
- First up was the man,
the myth, the legend, Chad Flexington.
- Whoo!
- Flexington's the alter ego of Idaho father of three
and contractor Ben Udy.
But when he steps on the course,
he's all Chad, all American.
- Whoo! - Whoo!
- Flexington was so confident he'd conquer the Mega Wall,
he provided his own check.
- He wrote himself a check?
- And he looked like he might get to cash it in.
He made it to the fifth obstacle...
- No!
- Before Pretzel Twist ended his night.
Still, he's moving on to the semifinals.
- [screams] There it is.
- Rhode Island's Luke Dillon
looked impressive in his ninja debut.
- Dillon putting on a clinic so far.
- The 19-year-old college student
used his gymnastics background
to power through the first five obstacles.
- Ah-da-da-da-da-da-da. Okay.
- And he became our 11th finisher of the night.
- Luke, man, great job.
- Another 19-year-old rookie, Jonah Muñoz...
- Whoo! all: Whoo!
- Likes to get everyone yelling "Whoo!"
after each obstacle. - [laughing] Whoo!
- And his run provided plenty to "Whoo!" about.
- Whoo! - With his roommates,
fellow ninjas Nate Hansen and Austin Gray
leading the "Whoos"... - Whoo!
- Muñoz marched all the way
to the buzzer and became our 12th finisher.
- That was a big one right there.
- So now it's our final runner of the night,
Colorado's Jake Murray.
And you know it's gonna be entertaining.
- Uh-oh.
- The Wildman being extra careful on that little step.
- [laughs]
- Never a dull moment with Jake.
The seven-time veteran almost always
puts up the fastest time of the night,
and we expect another go-for-broke run tonight.
Jake has a ton of support, including his mom, dad,
and nephew from their home in South Dakota,
along with good friend and roommate Ethan Swanson.
- Yeah, Jake!
[countdown clock beeping]
- Last year was stellar, the fastest in qualifying,
the fastest in semifinals, the fastest in finals.
- Okay, Matt, I get it. He's fast.
- [laughs]
[cheers and applause]
- Whoa! He did that in one move.
- Jake does go fast, but what we've really seen
in the past years, he's matured.
He does fast, but in control.
And that's been the difference.
- Nicely done! Nicely done!
- This dude might win the whole thing this year, Matt.
- Nicely done, nicely done!
- He's not taking any breaks between obstacles.
Sean Bryan has the fastest time,
but it looks like Jake Murray's gonna try to beat it.
- He's probably thought of every move on this course.
He's not being reckless.
- But everybody is susceptible to mistakes.
It was two years ago in the city finals here in Tacoma
he missed on that fifth obstacle, the Lighting Bolt.
Just got careless.
- And Matt, you see he choked it down
just a little bit here,
because you don't want to be careless here.
And you see that?
You see how he had a little bit of hangtime right there?
- Absolutely.
[cheers and applause] - Nice, nice!
- Right through. - All right, he's at a minute
and he's staring at the fifth obstacle.
This is a good position to be in.
He's got about 50 seconds left if he wants to beat Sean Bryan.
Jake's gonna have to be efficient on Pretzel Twist.
Easy to get hung up on this obstacle.
- Good. Good strength. - Stay smooth.
- Going for the second pretzel, where it's so hard
not to just overshoot to get that pendulum locked in,
and then get peeled back off.
But Jake using just enough force,
but an extra swing here.
- I like it.
Matt, and what I love about this, too,
he's super-efficient.
- Ooh. Wow. That was a gamble, Akbar.
[cheers and applause]
Now just needs the dismount.
- Get off it, Jake. Come on now. Get off it!
- And he's gonna get the fastest time of the night.
[cheers and applause]
[buzzer blares]
- Whoo-hoo-hoo!
[upbeat music]
- Yeah!
- Beats Sean Bryan and his roommate Ethan Swanson.
- You did it!
- And you're so fun to be around.
You got a good roommate, though.
How you gonna do that to your roommate?
How you just gonna beat his time like that?
- I'll make it up to him. - [chuckles]
- Oh, look at this. - [laughs] Be careful!
What is this? - What is this?
- What?
- He's carrying him. Now he's carrying him.
These guys are so silly.
Well, we've talked all night about teammates.
These two got to be the fastest, funniest duo.
And a big comeback for the veterans this week,
dominating the leaderboard.
The teenagers haven't stolen the show just yet.
Check out the others going to the semifinals
during Akbar's Gbajabia-moments.
- All right, number three, yoga teacher and contortionist
Aubry Marie showed the flexibility
that has made her a social media sensation.
- And that's why she has
almost 300,000 followers on Instagram.
- But the extra stretching didn't help at Double Down.
both: Ooh!
- Number two, big shout-out to Muscles Mendez.
His mom made us authentic Salvadoran pupusas.
- This is really good.
- And they were awesome.
- I feel my muscles growing already.
- And on the course,
Muscles made it to the fourth obstacle.
My goodness!
And number one, music teacher John Huey
led his entire middle school orchestra
in a start line sendoff.
But unfortunately,
Mr. Huey stopped soon after the music did.
Oh!
- That's it for tonight.
Next week, the final round of qualifying.
For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall, I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you next week on "American Ninja Warrior."