- Whoa, whoa.
You don't have your driver's license yet.
Hand 'em over. - All right.
- All right, scoot over.
- Conquering obstacles is never easy,
but it helps to have a mentor.
- Do you know what you want to wear on the show?
- See, I bought some of my leggings.
- Oh, awesome.
- Someone who's been there before
and can guide the way.
- * I'll be by your side *
* I'll be by your side *
- I have been training Maggie for 3 1/2 years...
Oh!
And she has gotten so much stronger,
especially in this past year.
When I'm on the obstacles I think, "Okay, like,
you really have to want this."
- I'm really grateful to have this friendship
and relationship with Jesse.
- Now turn around.
- She's taught me so much.
- * I'll be by your side * - Nice.
- Yay. - There you go.
- And sometimes over time...
- We gotta keep up. That's how it's done.
- The apprentice becomes the teacher.
- You gotta follow after me now.
- Okay. - * I'll be by your side *
- Tonight on "American Ninja Warrior"...
- 'Sup, baby?
- Students and teachers competing together.
- I got my work cut out for me.
- I'm competing with someone who was my idol
when I was a little kid.
- * I'll be by your side *
- Show them how it's done, Cal. Let's go.
If we're not bringing the youth to be better than us,
then we're really wasting our time.
- * I'll be by your side *
[cheers and applause]
- It's our final night in the historic Tacoma Dome
as we wrap up the qualifying round here
on "American Ninja Warrior."
Hello, everyone, and thanks for joining us.
I'm Matt Iseman.
- And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila. This is it, Matt,
the last chance to earn a spot in next week's semifinals.
- Well, this has been the most
topsy-turvy season in our history.
The teenagers have been absolutely dominant,
but the veterans made a comeback last week.
- And tonight we've got
a stacked field of ninja all-stars
like Jesse "Flex" Labreck.
- One of the greatest runs we've ever seen!
- Plus another top Windy City Ninja,
Michael Torres.
- Whoo!
- And we've got a new crop of talented teens,
including one of the "Ninja Junior" champions
Utah's 15-year-old Kai Beckstrand.
- Kai does it! - Oh!
- The competitors will be facing a six-obstacle course,
including one brand new obstacle.
For all the details, let's go down to Zuri Hall.
- The course tonight is gonna be a thrill ride
and that's because this fourth obstacle,
it's gonna make their heads spin.
This new one, Tilt-A-Whirl, requires precision
as you hop the bar across the rotating triangles.
Before that, on Split Decision,
it's a choice between Log Runner...
- Go, go, go, go, go!
- Which had some memorable falls last week...
- Oh, my goodness!
- Or Block Run which was the choice
for only two ninjas. - Nice!
- The run ends at the 14 1/2-foot Warped Wall,
or you can go up the 18-foot Mega Wall
for a chance at 10,000 bucks.
Guys.
- Well, we're gonna get off to a quick start
because leading it off--
one of the fastest ninjas on the planet.
The Swedish Ninja, Leif Sundberg.
And the physician assistant from Minnesota
owns the track record in this building.
[cheers and applause]
- Two years ago,
I competed in Tacoma.
- Right through it.
This big body is really cooking.
- I was the only ninja to complete
the qualifying course in under one minute.
[cheers and applause]
- And he's through. Look at this!
Oh, no!
- Oh, oh, oh, oh! Oh, my gosh!
- The first ninja to break a minute!
[upbeat music]
- I was just going at my normal pace,
and apparently I was going super fast.
* *
- Go, go, go!
- I'm a heavyweight ninja. 195 pounds.
And the more time I spend on the obstacles,
the more tired I become.
So if I can get through it quickly,
I actually save energy.
* *
Go fast, be confident,
and that's what I like to do.
Brace yourself for the Swedish Ninja.
* *
- One big change for the physician assistant...
He's a new dad.
There's his wife Victoria with their one-month-old son,
Linus, who's rocking the Swedish Ninja onesie.
- We love you. Good luck!
- Oh, look at that. Oh, yeah.
- Love you guys so much!
- He's gonna wake up and see daddy.
Daddy's about to run the course.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Calls himself the Swedish Ninja
because his family came to America from Sweden.
- But be careful on this second obstacle.
Double Down knocked out 25 ninjas last week.
- You have to crank it up, then slide down.
Leif, 6'2'', 195 pounds. Can he fly here?
- Nice. - Good job.
Pretty efficient.
He has really got his pedal to the metal.
- Come on, keep it smooth!
- Uh-oh, he's a little hung up right here.
- Well, he's struggling to get the bar out
of the cradle, but right out. - Nice.
- Now he's reached Split Decision.
Has to pick his balance obstacle.
Block Run on the right. Log Runner on the left.
And he's going to the logs.
Got some Minnesota ninjas-- Roo Yori, Hunter Guerard--
giving him advice.
- He can use his height here. Here we go.
- Oh, no! - Ooh!
- Hard impact. Gonna be...
- Uh-oh. - Tough to get back up.
- Don't go backwards! Stay on top!
- You can't-- - Stay on top!
- He could reach his legs back.
- Come on, Daddy, stay on top.
- At 6'2'', you can see the struggle here, Akbar.
- Oh, Matt, he's-- oh, he's in trouble.
He's in trouble.
He's 6'2'' so, you know, his feet can touch the water,
so he's gotta--he's trying to keep his feet up.
That's gonna stress the lower ab.
- Can't get his momentum up over.
- Ooh, oh, Leif Sundberg is in trouble.
- Come on! - Come on!
- Fight it! Fight it!
- He cannot advance
while hanging on the log to the landing platform.
He must go backwards and stand up.
Sway back. - Uh-oh!
- Okay, okay.
- And there's new hope, all right.
Has to somehow get upright.
- Come on, brother! Yeah!
- Oh, yeah. - Nice!
- Do you know how hard this is?
Most folks would have given up at this point.
This man's still fighting.
- Well, this is a challenge. Both of them will rotate.
- Oh, boy. - Oh, my.
The core strength! - Hold on.
- Yes! - Oh!
Yes! - Give him credit!
He couldn't use his hands to advance,
so he had to find a way, and he did.
- What? - Yeah!
- I wanna see that one again.
[cheers and applause]
- Look, he got beat up. Ooh!
I mean, he was using all of his energy,
and then when he finally took that foot up forward
and jumped through, I mean, a hard impact.
My goodness.
Knees going everywhere.
- A remarkable save, but he used up
a lot of time and a lot of energy.
- I'm gonna need a break after that.
- He's gassed. [chuckles]
- Remember, he's a big boy. 195 pounds.
And his strategy he talked about of going fast
to save energy? Not an option at this point.
Has to jump the bar to each triangle
and rotate it around.
He's a Salmon Ladder specialist,
comfortable with a bar in his hands,
but his whole body has to be completely exhausted.
- Come on. Nice.
- Remarkable fortitude out of the Swedish Ninja.
- This is definitely not gonna be his fastest run,
but it is his gutsiest. - Got it!
Just needs to make the dismount.
And he's going backwards.
He's going reverse, Akbar. He's going reverse.
Leif Sundberg, finding a way!
- Oh, my!
- Looks like he's been in a war, this guy.
- This is like a boxing match You good, Leif?
You all right?
- I'm good!
- It's like a boxing match, huh?
This thing beating you up. - I'm feeling it!
- You are! - You know what though?
This guy, he wouldn't have it any other way, Akbar.
Gonna try to survive the fifth obstacle Sideways.
This is just a heroic effort out of Leif.
- Sideways is so difficult on tired arms.
You gotta swing yourself up and grab those boards.
- Oh! Oh!
- Leif Sundberg knocked out!
[cheers and applause]
- What an effort.
What a save. Will it be enough?
I don't know, but still a remarkable run.
- Matt, that was fun to watch.
- That was a crazy ride on that balance obstacle.
Holy cow. [cheers and applause]
- Well, our next athlete is a force of nature.
Out of Green Bay, Wisconsin,
this is the fun-loving Megan Rowe.
And, yes, that's a real ax she's twirling around.
Ax throwing is just one of her many talents.
* *
- I got way too many hobbies. I'm a ninja, a rock climber.
I make earrings and, oh, yeah...
I throw axes.
* *
I started throwing axes in college.
I have a friend
who was in a professional lumberjack show.
Went to his house one day.
He's like, "You gotta try this."
I was like, "You want to give me an ax?"
* *
So I gave it a shot. Such a cool rush.
You feel like, "ugh, let's get it!"
* *
There is a science to ax throwing,
and it's very helpful on the ninja course,
let me tell you.
* *
You need focus, you need precision,
and you need to have an eye for what you're doing
in order to hit the target.
* *
Tonight I plan to chop down
every obstacle that comes in my way.
* *
[cheers and applause]
- Matt, she's a barista,
and get this-- she doesn't drink decaf.
- She's got family,
including her parents watching back in the Midwest.
- Oh!
- And on the sideline, her boyfriend,
fellow competitor Dalton Knapp.
[countdown clock beeping]
She ran the course here in Tacoma two years ago.
Made it to the fifth obstacle as a rookie.
[cheers and applause]
- And other ninjas tell us she's even better now.
- Now at Double Down. 5'4'' and 135 pounds.
- Whoa, Matt, she cranked to the top in one move!
- Well, she was a gymnast for ten years.
Great body awareness.
Oh, and did you see that drop.
It's a challenge to widen out and keep that momentum going.
Yes! - Whoo!
Flies into the throw, but she's cool.
- There's that gymnastics background.
Now just needs to slide down once again.
- Nice, I like that. Veteran move, though, Matt.
- Wow, are you looking at the power?
That lower body--
her legs went past parallel, Akbar.
[cheers and applause] But now, Split Decision.
Gets to choose her balance obstacle,
and she's going to Log Runner.
- And this is where Leif Sundberg struggled
minutes ago, but she's gonna go through it anyway.
- Hey, Megan! Powerful!
- It's so easy to get a foot placement
just a little bit off.
Oh, a spinout, but great job...
- Nice. - Keeping her pose.
[cheers and applause]
Now, the Tilt-A-Whirl.
The top five women from tonight
advance to the semifinals.
If she gets through this, she'll have a good shot at it.
But you know she wants a buzzer.
- She can be the second woman in qualifying
to get to the buzzer.
- Well, wouldn't it be amazing?
Meagan Martin the only one thus far.
Could Megan Rowe do it her sophomore effort?
- That's it! That's it!
- Nice. - Watch that bar though.
- Yeah, I'm watching the bar. - Cambering one side.
- And on top of that, her hands
are pretty wide apart.
- The right side of that bar-- the far side
of that bar barely in the cradle, Akbar.
Ooh, that is close.
- Very close. She's gotta watch it.
- Come on. Let's go!
- Come on, Megan! - Come on.
- Yes! - Yeah!
- Got it. - Nice adjustment.
She made the adjustment in the air.
- Wow. - Great job.
Okay, okay. - Just needs the dismount.
- There it is! - Come on!
- Megan is rolling now. - Oh, she's gassed, Akbar.
Those excellent arms, do they have one big move left?
- Come on, come on, get out of there.
- Ooh!
- Oh, got it as the bar flies into the water!
- She looks back like, "Are you kidding me?"
- You see that?
[cheers and applause]
- Now gonna step up
to the fifth obstacle, Sideways.
- Hey, you got this.
- Has to go across those rotating boards.
Gotta grab onto both sides at the same time.
- There, right away! Yes!
- She's generating a lot of power with her hips
to get it up, to give her time--
- Whoo, come on! Did you see that, man?
- Great save. - Has to jump to this slider.
- That was a nice landing.
- She's doing a phenomenal job.
Giving herself a chance to get those hands in place
by that lower body power.
- Oh! - Oh!
- So close.
- Great job, Megan! - Hey, great job!
- The Ax-Throwing Ninja chopped down on Sideways,
but a fast run to the fifth obstacle.
Got a good chance of moving onto the semifinals.
- Matt, Megan came ready to cut the course down to size,
but watch her left foot on Sideways.
She kicked the structure.
That sent her tumbling
before she could reach out and grab the handle.
- It's gonna be one of our wildest nights ever.
- American Ninja Warrior is about to lift off.
Wow.
- We've got heartbreaking moments.
- I don't believe what I'm watching.
- Heart-stopping action.
- You got it. You got it!
both: No!
- And runs you have to see to believe.
- What? Oh, my goodness!
- What a save! - Did you see that save?
- We've got big stars, Bigfoot...
- One big leap for an ape!
- And a Super Bowl MVP.
- Now, listen. Don't slip.
Don't trip. Don't fall.
- We're moving... - I like this.
- And grooving. - How sweet is that?
On the final night of qualifying
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back.
While we were away,
Bowling Green, Kentucky's Nick Woodard
got the joint jumping. - He's pumped now!
- Woodard's a competitive jump roper and coach,
and he had some of our teenage competitors
watching his run.
Woodard is a world champion in double Dutch,
but he couldn't make the grab on Double Down.
- [grunts]
[buzzer blares]
[upbeat music]
- Ohio's Sophia Oster
looked more like Annie than a ninja.
Instead of athletic gear for her run,
she wore a red dress!
- It's a hard knock life on Double Down.
[cheers and applause]
- At Split Decision, she struggled
with the choice,
ultimately opting for Block Run.
- Well, Matt, she's dressed for a block party.
Of course, she's ready to do Block Run.
- Oh! - Oh, oh, my goodness!
Right in her hip bone.
- But the party ended before it even got started.
We've met some inspirational ninja families over the years,
and here comes another one.
This is Abbey Steffl,
one of the most positive people you will ever meet.
And she gets her motivation from her amazing kids.
[cheers and applause]
- You're gonna say "mark."
Then it's gonna hit, okay?
- Yeah, no problem.
Molly Steffl and Haven Steffl.
Mark.
- * I fight my way through the darkness *
[soft pop music]
* I battle hard, that's how I'm made *
- My daughter Molly
was born with a cleft lip and palate.
She's been through multiple surgeries,
and then when she was five years old,
she developed alopecia.
- All my hair came out,
and it was in five weeks,
but you can't choose what happens in life.
You can always choose how to react.
- * You gotta take it day by day *
* Keep moving forward no matter what they say *
- My son Haven is on the autistic spectrum.
He has unique challenges that he also deals with.
- You just have to embrace it.
I mean, you can't change it. There's no cure for it.
Look at what you're great at
'cause usually everybody with autism
has something that they're really, really good at.
- * If you wanna get stronger *
* *
- What "Ninja Warrior" has done for my family
is unreal to look back on.
- Here she comes!
- We are so proud of our mom
for showing us that we can do so much.
- Yes!
- Seeing my kids not get an obstacle
but not giving up, and seeing their excitement
when they get that obstacle...
Yes!
It is so inspiring to me.
And when I hit that buzzer,
I know that we did it together.
- * If you wanna get stronger *
[cheers and applause]
- Hard not to love this family.
The obstacles they overcome on the course
are so insignificant compared to the obstacles
that people face in life.
The kids are back in Minnesota with Abbey's husband Chris.
- They love to dance.
That's how they get each other fired up.
- Ready, ready? - Yeah.
- And other ninjas showing support on the sidelines.
They're grooving too.
[countdown clock beeping]
- And Abbey Steffl 40 years old,
our oldest woman tonight.
- [laughs]
- And her daughter Molly will be competing
on "Ninja Junior" this fall on Peacock.
- Go for it! - Go, Abbey, get it!
- Showing support as Mom jumps up
to take on Double Down. - There we go!
- You can see Abbey Steffl's got some upper-body strength.
She'll need it here.
Gotta get that bar out of the cradle.
- You're in, you're in! You're good!
- But Abbey Steffl, she handled it.
- Wow, and she is generating a lot of power.
- Yeah, she is. - Great job.
- She wants it. You can tell.
- You can just see how that bar moving
steals the momentum, makes it so challenging,
and now she's gotta ride it down
on this second one.
- When that slide comes, it's coming with some force.
- And she holds on. Now just needs the dismount.
- Come on!
- Whoo! - Okay, that's it.
- Yeah, look at her now! - She's stomping!
- The family's going nuts!
- But now a tough choice here at Split Decision.
Will it be Block Run or Log Runner?
She's looking to the family to help make her choice.
- Yes.
- The family gives a thumbs up to Log Runner.
- You've gotta stay on top, take big strides,
and move quickly. Here we go.
- Nice and quick. Commit to it.
Commit!
- All right, here we go. Come on.
- Come on!
- Go, go, go, go, go, go, go! - Oh, long strides, nice!
- Got through it! - Yes, yes!
- And she is pumped. - Whoo!
- Yeah, Abbey! - Shuffle, shuffle, baby.
- She's got everybody dancing.
- Come on!
- And she's so proud of herself,
and she should be, Matt.
- And she's impressive off the course as well.
She created the Carve Out Courage Foundation
where she speaks to families
who have kids facing challenges.
- And with every obstacle she conquers,
she's able to raise awareness for her causes
and spread a positive message.
- Abbey says it's the least she can do being out here
on the course is giving it her all,
and she is doing just that.
Fighting her way across Tilt-A-Whirl.
- I wanna see her take down this fourth obstacle.
- Oh, yeah. Turn the first one around.
Now, needs to hop the bar over to the second triangle.
- Right here. There it is.
- Jump! - Nice.
- Great job. Great flight.
- Okay, all right. - Yes!
- 5'6'' 142, but, Akbar, that grip,
looks like it might be giving out.
Trying to spin it around.
- Remember, she's put a lot of work
into that upper-body strength.
Now, the part that's gonna be difficult
is coming in at an angle.
- Yeah, there it is, and she went
with a switch grip, which I appreciate 'cause--
- Don't want her to peel out. - You don't want to peel out.
When you lock it in, you gotta slam it in.
- She's a fighter. - Great job.
- And she absorbed all of that.
Now she's got to turn it around.
- But look at that bar. It is so close to the edge.
- She's got that switch grip so she doesn't peel out.
- But that right side about to fall out of the cradle.
[cheers and applause]
- Right here, right here! - No, go--
- Oh! - Oh!
- No! - Oh, came so close
to finishing the fourth obstacle.
- This 40-year-old mom
is just an absolute beast on the course.
That run was fun for the whole family,
and Abbey nearly made it through Tilt-A-Whirl,
but as she adjusted her hands, look at this--
the fingers peeled right off.
- And right now she's with Zuri.
* *
- Abbey, oh my goodness.
You got Molly and Haven cheering you on
and your husband.
What does it mean for your family
to be able to watch you go this far in the course?
- It means everything to me.
We have been on such a journey,
and "American Ninja Warrior"
has changed our family's life.
- And you are teaching us all to carve out courage.
What would you say to the folks at home watching?
- Don't give up.
When you are in your hardest time,
that's when you have to reach and keep on going.
If that means applying to be
on "American Ninja Warrior," go do it.
- Go do it. Well, you did it.
And we will see if you keep going soon enough.
What an amazing run. Congrats, Abbey.
- Thank you so much. - Nice job, Abbey!
- Abbey! Whoo!
- You never know who's gonna show up
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- He get extensions on those?
- How about country music legend,
Crystal Gayle?
And Olympians Brandi Chastain...
- Yes, go team!
- Danell Leyva, and Summer Sanders.
- Yes!
- They're all coming up on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to the Tacoma Dome,
where one obstacle is making a big splash.
Indianapolis architect Kourtney Timmons
was hoping to build a perfect run,
but on the second obstacle, Double Down,
his ninja dream came crashing down.
- No! Oh, my goodness!
Cannonball!
- Michigan attorney Arielle Hall
is a former competitive bodybuilder.
- Okay, I see you.
- And she was flexing at the start.
- Let's go! Whoo!
- And though she had boundless energy...
- Yes!
- She became another victim of the second obstacle.
Oh, no!
- Whoo!
- Tatsumi Yanaba powered up for his run
with the peanut butter he developed
while in the Peace Corps. He even brought some for us.
- Oh, it's good.
- But while the peanut butter was smooth...
- Double Down on the peanut butter.
- Oh. - Oh!
- Yanaba's run wasn't.
- Peanut butter belly flop.
- Well, our next athlete is one of the greats.
Zuri, get him going.
- Guys, I am catching you on the flip side
because up next is ninja legend Flip Rodriguez.
The 11-time veteran has gone from brash youngster
to one of "Ninja"'s most influential figures
on and off the course, and one of those he's inspired
is competing with him here tonight.
- Yes, sir!
- Me and Ninja Cal have history.
I have known Cal
since he was, like, this tall.
- He was one of my favorite competitors
growing up watching the show.
Back when he wore, like, his mask,
I always thought that he was the coolest dude ever.
I really looked up to him. He was like my idol.
- Don't count out 12-year-old Cal Plohoros
'cause this kid is a beast.
Having Flip Rodriguez
in your corner certainly helps.
- You know, along the way, me and Ninja Cal
have become friends, training buddies
to where we push each other really hard.
I got my work cut out for me. - We're kind of competitive.
Like, we would be going back and forth.
Like, you want that fastest time,
but, like, I'm getting it.
- I'm too fast.
I'm too fast. I'm too fast.
- Flip talks a lot. He talks a lot of smack.
And I don't talk as much back,
but I remind him.
- I just lost to Ninja Cal, bro.
I just lost to Ninja Cal. How?
Now, we're gonna be on the big dog course,
so I have to go against him.
So will there be trash-talking?
Maybe, but more support over anything else.
Us veterans have to either step up,
or we're gonna have to retire
'cause these kids are coming for us.
- Well, Ninja Cal will be taking notes
because he's running next.
Flip's girlfriend Jamie also cheering Flip on.
She'll run later.
- Come on, Flip! [countdown clock beeping]
- Well, Akbar, we've talked about the youth invasion.
I remember when this guy was a 21-year-old
brash rookie behind a mask, and how much he has grown up,
and what an inspiration he has become.
Wore the mask because of abuse
he suffered as a child.
Now, he's a spokesperson for other victims.
- He's just such a positive guy
and a positive role model for a lot
of these young ninjas who we've seen compete
including Ninja Cal.
- Good move, yeah!
- And the long-time veteran making a quick choice
at Split Decision. - Easy, let's go.
- Let's do it. Yes, sir, come on, bro.
[cheers and applause]
- Oh, there he goes.
Moving right through on the fourth obstacle
to Tilt-A-Whirl. - And he's moving quick.
- The top 30 from tonight will move on to the semifinals
which start next week in L.A.
It may very well come down to who gets
to that fourth or fifth obstacle the fastest.
- Come on, you got it. [cheers and applause]
- Nice.
- Made it to the national finals
nine times in his storied career.
Look at that maturity.
Correcting the bar. Smart move.
- Flip used to be a speed demon
when he was younger, but now he's much more careful.
He wants a buzzer.
- Makes it to the last cradle.
Flip works as a stunt man on big Hollywood movies.
He knows how to fly through the air.
- Yes, sir, come on, bro. - Now just needs the dismount.
- Come on.
Nice. - There we go, easy, easy.
- But now it's Sideways.
- And you see Flip,
just a methodical approach here.
He knows this obstacle could likely be the separator.
- Oh, and look at this--
hopping through with great technique.
- Easy to make a mistake on this obstacle
and no recovering if you do.
- You know getting sideways
from that head-on position is--
- Oh! - Oh, no!
[buzzer blares]
- Flip Rodriguez shockingly comes up short on Sideways,
but his fast time could still get him into the top 30.
- Fast pace. You'll probably move on.
- Well, take a look.
Flip probably should have taken
one more swing to get a little higher.
He didn't get up enough.
His hands barely got around both sides,
and he couldn't hang on.
[cheers and applause]
- So now it's his little buddy Cal's turn.
Only 15 years old! Just finished
his freshman year in high school
in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.
Ninja Cal will have his mom on the sideline,
and watching from back home, lots of friends and family,
including his dad and sisters. - Let's go!
- You got it, Cal! Let's go!
Beast! - What's up?
- And Flip's hopped out.
He's ready to support his protégé.
- Show them how it's done, Cal! Let's go!
Let's get to L.A., baby! Let's get to L.A.!
- Matt, this kid is all about Ninja.
I remember him coming out to watch this competition
in Philly five years ago.
- That's right, and he's been training since he was nine.
We saw him compete on "ANW Junior" twice.
Made it to the elite eight both times.
Only 5'4'', but packs a big punch.
- Oh. - Oh, whoa!
How did he make that catch?
Well, he only weighs 125 pounds.
He can fly. And a big dismount.
He was like a kid,
and watch the balance obstacle.
He is flying. - Oh, my goodness.
- Oh, my! - You know kids.
They fall hard and pop right back up--nothing.
- Ninja Cal bounding into Tilt-A-Whirl!
- What?
- Let's get to L.A., baby! Let's get to L.A.!
- Cal Plohoros is dominating this course,
and he is looking in control,
hoping to be our first finisher tonight.
- Yeah, buddy.
- Well, he wants to be a stuntman
like Flip, and if he keeps this up,
he's gonna be in Hollywood for the semifinals.
[cheers and applause]
Is he going for a reverse dismount?
- Yep, he is. - He is.
- He can do that, look. - This kid's amazing!
- That's what I'm talking about!
- Now breathe! - Take a breath!
[laughter]
- But no one has gotten past Sideways tonight.
Oh, my goodness. - Nice.
Ooh! - You got this.
- Ninja Cal is flying.
- Up and in. Yes, come on!
- Uh-oh, uh-oh. - Fingertips saved it.
- Wow. - You need a big pop here.
Big pop. Come on, big pop!
- Flip giving advice. This is where he fell.
- Nice! - But not Ninja Cal.
- He is competing on the big show.
He ain't a little kid anymore. - Just 15 years old.
Oh, he's hanging on.
- Oh, he's going up real quick.
- Could be our first finisher.
[cheers and applause]
- Uh-oh, uh-oh. - Oh, stumble!
- A little bit of pressure, but that's all right.
- Come on, Cal. Come on.
- He's gonna regroup.
Hey, Cal, How are you doing, man?
- What's up, buddy? He's so calm.
He's about to get his very first buzzer.
- Hey, there he is.
Ninja Cal our first finisher tonight.
- What's up?
- [laughs]
[cheers and applause]
- Let's go!
[cheers and applause]
[upbeat music]
[cheers and applause]
- You got to compete with your mentor,
Flip Rodriguez.
As amazing as Flip is, he couldn't get a buzzer,
and you did, my man.
- I know. I beat him.
Yeah, you were talking a lot, huh?
[laughter]
What's up now? What's up now?
- Hey, hey.
[cheers and applause]
- This kid could be a stuntman because he's fearless.
Look at this backwards dismount.
And then he's the first to make it to the buzzer tonight.
We're gonna see him in the semifinals.
- We had some special guests drop in while we were away.
Ohio's Nate Tackett is cousins
with country music legend Crystal Gayle
who was watching his run.
- Love you, Nate.
- The former all-state running back
showed good footwork on Block Run.
- You can do it, Nate.
- But on Tilt-A-Whirl,
he made Crystal's brown eyes blue.
- Oh! [buzzer blares]
- The Summer Olympics start July 23rd
right here on NBC,
and "Ninja" veteran Taylor Amann
had a two-time gold medalist cheering for her.
It is swimming legend Summer Sanders.
Summer, how are you doing?
- I'm nervous.
I get so excited for this competition.
- And Amann gave her something to get excited about...
- Yes! - Yes!
- Whoo! - Whoo!
- As the former Wisconsin pole vaulter flew all the way
to the fifth obstacle...
- Come on. No!
- Before her run came to an end.
But it should get her into the women's top five.
- Amazing. You are amazing.
[upbeat music]
- Well, up next is one of Taylor Amann's friends,
another Wisconsinite.
This is college student Nathan Green,
and you can see he's making
a buzzcut gesture with his hands.
That's because he's got a wager going
with this twin brother Marquez,
and someone's gonna lose some hair.
- Come on, Nathan!
- So we have a little bet going on.
- I got you. - I know.
I'll get it next time though.
- Whoever performs worse on the course
has to get their head shaved...
- By our friend, Taylor.
* *
And I'm kind of scared 'cause she asked us,
"How do I cut hair?"
* *
Last time we competed,
I somehow hit a city qualifying buzzer.
- Yes! - Got it, yes!
[buzzer blares]
- Yeah, and I got taken out on obstacle two.
* *
- Ooh. Oh, my goodness!
- So definitely ready to come back and do better.
* *
By the end of the night, it's not gonna be hard
to tell us apart.
- Yeah, his hair's gonna be really short.
[both chuckle]
* *
- You got it, Nathan! - I'm coming for you.
- I'm not shaving my head!
- Well, Marquez says he's not shaving,
and here's why he's so confident.
Minutes ago, he hit the course
and did pretty well.
- Yes, come on! - Nice, whoo!
- Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.
Marquez says he's going with the Log Runner.
- Yes!
- The older of the two brothers
by 30 minutes,
Marquez made it to the fifth obstacle...
Oh! Before his run ended.
- Let's go, Nathan!
- So Marquez has changed shirts
and waits on the sidelines with Taylor Amann
who's ready to clip the loser.
They've got friends and family watching,
including their siblings back in Wisconsin.
- Let's go! - Whoo!
[countdown clock beeping]
- And here we go. Nathan Green on the course.
His hairdo at stake, Akbar.
- You know, I've got five brothers.
I know how it is talking trash
with your brothers. This is good.
- Come on.
- This is a tight-knit family who bonded together
after the death of their mom
from breast cancer a few years ago.
- Hang on tight! - Hang on tight, Nathan.
- Well, these guys, college students
at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
- All right he's got to make sure he anticipates.
Oh, okay, good. - You got this.
- Remember he fell on the second obstacle
two years ago.
He really wants to get past this.
- Easy. Easy.
- Marquez constantly reminds him
I went further than you in "Ninja."
- Wow. - Just needs the dismount.
- Yeah!
- Gets through the second obstacle tonight,
but what's he gonna do at Split Decision?
Like Marquez, going with Log Runner.
- Gotta breathe. - All right, get it, Nathan.
- Look at this. Marquez can't even watch!
- Go, go, go! - Good job there.
- And he's ecstatic.
- All right, he can't get too excited now--it's not over.
- You wanna keep that hair? Let's go.
- Marquez... I'm coming.
- Mixed emotions for Marquez.
Wants his brother to do well,
but also wants to keep his hair.
- Come on, come on, come on.
- I think deep down, the brother
means more than the hair. - You gotta turn it, let's go.
- There you go. You see him kind of move.
- He's air walking. There, that's it.
And a challenge too to keep an eye on that bar.
The bar will slide.
Easy to slide it right off and end up wet.
- So when he generates
a little bit of that swing, he's gotta make sure
it's not enough to take the bar off the hooks.
- Okay, right here. - Nice.
- Yes! - Plops it in.
- Come on! - Yes, keep going!
- You can see he's being very careful, very gentle.
It's easy to make a mistake. - Look at him.
He's trying to reposition that bar, Akbar,
make sure it's in a safe space,
doesn't inadvertently pull a side off.
- You've got it, Nathan. Come on.
- Spending a lot of time here.
Got it. - Yes, that's it!
- Oh! - Oh, my God.
- All right. Easy turnaround.
- Get off of there. Get off of there.
- He's seen others fall here, so he's being cautious.
- He wants to win this bet, but he's cheering
his brother on, nice. - Going for the dismount.
- Come on, nice. - Made it!
- Yes!
[cheers and applause]
- Well, beyond the haircut, Nathan would like
to get his first buzzer
after falling on the second obstacle
two years ago.
Saving his hair? Just a bonus.
- Come on, Nathan. Let's go.
- Wow, look at those beautiful curls.
Okay, look at that. All right.
- Watch that lead hand. Under and over and up.
- Yes. - Great job.
- Come on. - Tough transfer here.
You gotta get that body 90 degrees.
- Come on, come on, come on. - His hands on that handle.
- Nice--the handle! Oh!
- What a save! - Did you see that save?
- I saw the hairs jumping off his head,
but he saved 'em. - Oh, my, that right hand.
- Does he have anything left for this transfer, Akbar?
- Come on, Nathan.
- Oh! - Oh!
- And he falls on the same obstacle
at the same spot as his brother.
- Who am I buzzing? - I don't know.
- Oh, and it's a tie. - We really are twins.
- These twins do everything the same--
even fell at the exact same place on the course.
It's gonna come down to who got there fastest.
The slower one's getting buzzed.
[soft dramatic music]
- You guys made it to the same obstacle...
- Yep. - Mm-hmm.
- But the twin who got there faster?
- Marquez.
- Yes! - Older brother rules again!
The older brother wins.
Nathan, it's time to get a buzzcut.
- Hey, Marquez, are you gonna give him
the same cut that I have? - I don't know.
[laughter]
- You don't like my haircut? - I love it.
- No, he's insulting his hair! - I love it.
[laughter]
- Yes, nice job, Nathan!
- They don't like my do, dog.
- If you like cats, then you'll love this ninja.
- Never expected a cat could be this good
of a training partner.
- We're going cat crazy
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back to the Tacoma Dome...
[upbeat music]
Which has been more like a barbershop
the last few minutes.
* *
- Oh, my-- [chuckles]
As we told you, the Green brothers had a bet.
Whoever had the shortest run has to get buzzed.
Nathan lost the bet, so their good friend
and rookie barber Taylor Amann went to work,
and it ain't pretty.
- Nice job.
- Oh, don't let him see a mirror.
That is not a good haircut.
- Well, while we were away,
we had some hair-raising action.
Miles Avery is a four-time Olympic gymnastics coach,
and he had one of his best gymnasts,
silver medal winner Danell Leyva, cheering for him.
Avery is the night's oldest competitor at 62,
and he rambled through the first obstacle
and looked good on the second.
- Nice. - All right, Miles.
- But the gymnast couldn't stick the dismount.
- Oh, my goodness! His back and his neck!
Look at this one.
Wow, I think he landed it, though, Matt.
- Whew!
- Then it was a rookie with a familiar name.
Iowa's Nick Hanson. - Let's go, baby.
- Not to be confused with Alaska's Nick Hanson,
the seven-time veteran who was watching from home.
- "Will the real Nick Hanson please stand up?"
- And just like the Eskimo Ninja--
[cheers and applause]
- Perfect. Perfect.
- This Nick Hanson proved he's got some ninja skills.
- Yes, yes, yes.
- Making it all the way to the fifth obstacle
in his rookie debut.
- Oh! Man.
- You crushed it, man.
You crushed it. That was awesome.
- Well, up next is one of Nick Hanson's
training partners from back in Iowa.
This is the very eccentric cat-loving, scooter riding
Jackson Twait.
- Oh, he's got some new wheels.
- And his scooter isn't the only new thing
he's picked up.
[bright music]
- Last year, my cat Hades actually went missing.
I put some flyers out, gotten some calls about cats
that look like him, but we never got him back.
* *
But, recently, I went out
to a local cat café, and now I have Hash Brown.
- [meows]
* *
He's the best. I love him.
He wakes me up at 4:00 a.m.
every morning to make sure I'm getting my pull-ups in.
[clock beeping]
Then wakes me up again at 5:00
to make sure I'm doing some more pull-ups.
[groans] Oh, fine.
I'll go do pull-ups.
[clock beeps]
And at 6:00, he wants me to feed him.
[whistles] Hash Brown.
Never expected a cat could be
this good of a training partner.
I think it's really gonna pay off this season.
There you are.
* *
Tonight I am definitely looking for a purr-fect run.
* *
[cats meowing]
- He's definitely unique, Matt.
- Oh! - Oh!
- He's got some of his crazy Iowa training partners
on the sideline holding up a giant cat head.
They're also fired up back in his home state.
He's got lots of family and friends and, of course,
Hash Brown the cat.
- I think we interrupted his nap.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Come on, Jackson!
- This is a kid who likes to have fun, but, Akbar,
he is good. - I love cat daddy.
- Season 11, exploded onto the scene.
Cincinnati qualifying, finished second.
Last year at qualifying, finished third.
- He likes to have fun, though, Matt.
He's a fun guy to watch.
- Nice and smooth, dude! Bring that thing up!
- Yeah! - Whoa.
- Good transfer. - That was fun.
- Now he's got this new group
of young ninjas from Iowa. They're wild as he is.
And he's going right over to Log Runner.
[cheers and applause]
Bounds across the logs. He is flying!
[cheers and applause]
And right into Tilt-A-Whirl!
- Oh, he's going for speed. - Ten seconds an obstacle.
- Ooh, he almost hit his head.
- Well, he is purring along here, Akbar.
The teenager Cal Plohoros is our only finisher so far.
Jackson Twait looking like he could be our second.
Good transfer out of the cat daddy.
- He's trying to get to the land of milk and honey.
The buzzer.
- I'm not sure if it's Jackson's run
or you mentioning milk,
but Hash Brown's paying attention.
- All those pull-ups Hash Brown has Jackson doing
at 4:00 in the morning are paying off.
- Come on, right here!
- Jackson Twait.
- Okay, Jackson Twait, I see you!
- And look at him going right into Sideways,
taking no time between each one.
He's got a chance to beat Plohoros for the fastest time.
- And he's not even breathing hard!
He's making it look easy!
Is he smiling? Really, you smiling?
- Oh, there he goes. Line grab down around.
Great job. One more.
- I don't think he's tired. - Got it!
Hey, will he go for the 10k?
[cheers and applause] He can get the fastest time,
but, no, he's going for the Mega Wall.
[cheers and applause]
This cat daddy has been flying,
but he's gonna give up the fastest time to go for 10k.
- Come on.
- Cat Daddy looking to be the first
up the Mega Wall tonight. - Let's go!
Let's go!
- Oh! - Oh!
- Jackson Twait!
[cheers and applause]
[upbeat music]
- Whoo!
[cheers and applause]
- Meow! Meow!
- Whoo!
- The cat daddy just scored $10,000.
- What? - Can you believe it?
- What just happened?
- Dinner's on me tonight, boys!
[cheers and applause]
- Hash Brown's licking the paws,
licking the arm.
- He's gonna get a lot of treats from that 10k.
* *
- He already had his fans going nuts,
but when he made that one-handed grab
on the 18-foot Mega Wall,
Team Twait was out of control.
The cat daddy is now $10,000 richer.
[cheers and applause]
Oh, they're going nuts. They're going nuts.
It's total pandemonium down there.
* *
- Whoo! - Fan favorites are coming up,
including "Flex" Labreck
and her mini-me, plus what made Akbar say--
- Man, this is horrible.
- When "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back to "American Ninja Warrior"
where we're midway through our fifth and final night
of qualifying, and, Akbar,
this night's all about mentors.
- Yeah, that's right, and we had another example
of that minutes ago as Captain NBC,
11-time veteran Jamie Rahn, threw off the cape
to show the way for his prize pupil,
18-year-old Sam Folsom.
And Rahn ran wild flying over Log Runner.
- Ooh. Hard fall.
- The superhero from St. Louis took a shot at the Mega Wall.
- Come on! - Oh, wanted that one.
- But settled for the regular wall
and got the 20th buzzer of his storied career.
- Jamie Rahn. - Whoo!
- Ten buzzers.
- Then his student Sam Folsom followed his leader
and ran the course just as Rahn did.
- Yeah! - He too chose Log Runner.
- Oh, my. - Beautiful.
- And the high school senior
also took a shot at the Mega Wall.
He's going for the 10k! - Oh, oh!
- But just like Captain NBC,
he had no trouble with the smaller wall
and got his first buzzer ever,
just 19 behind his mentor.
- "Ninja Warrior" semifinalists--what a stud.
And we've got the first half
of another dynamic duo up next.
This is 16-year-old Maggie Owen,
a high school junior from the Chicago area.
And she's a protégée of one of the greats,
Jesse "Flex" Labreck. - You got this!
And these two have a connection
that goes way beyond "Ninja."
[cheers and applause]
* *
- Do it. Do it.
Yes, right through.
I have been training Maggie for 3 1/2 years.
* *
Nice. - Yay.
- She's just my little buddy. She's my little mini-me.
* *
[yelps]
- Before I really knew her well,
I would go and cheer her on, and I'd make signs for her
and just absolutely, like, lose my mind
when I would go and watch her compete.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- And it's so easy. So easy.
- I met Maggie when we were opening the gym in Naperville.
* *
Her family only lives ten minutes down the road,
and so they heard about the gym.
* *
Oh!
Yeah! Oh!
- Every time that I would go to the gym after that,
I would get butterflies just out of excitement
of getting to meet her again.
* *
- She's been there since day one,
so I've been training her. She's been on our elite team.
Yeah! Good job.
And now she's more of, like, my training partner.
* *
- What started off as me just going to the gym
and wanting to learn ninja
turned into a really amazing friendship.
Whoa!
- Hold my hand!
[both chuckle]
- If I'm going to the store, if I'm going shopping,
you know, I just give her a call,
and she always is down to come with me.
Do you know what you want to wear on the show?
- So I brought some of my leggings.
- Oh, awesome. - You can help pick them out.
- I always buy her coffee and fast food.
[laughs]
I'm not always the best example,
but we put in a lot of hard work at the gym.
[laughter]
- Even though I don't have a sister,
Jesse definitely feels like she's the sister I never had.
* *
- Maggie's got a lot of support for this run.
Besides Flex, Maggie's mom
is on the sideline,
and watching from back in Illinois
are her dad and twin brother.
- Everybody wants to see this run.
- Including Flex's fiancé Chris DiGangi.
He's also good friends with Maggie.
- Come on, Maggie!
[countdown clock beeping]
- Matt, she's just 5 feet tall and 100 pounds,
our lightest competitor tonight.
- Yes, you're an animal! - Come on, Maggie!
- Maggie's another one of our teens who got her start
on "Ninja Junior" and, of course,
she was even smaller back then.
- She is ready. - Small but mighty, Akbar.
If you train with "Flex" and Chris DiGangi,
at Ultimate Ninjas, you're coming in prepared.
- You're all right, you got it!
- Okay! - Come up!
- Yes, come on!
- Good job holding on.
You can just see the force--
- Look at that. Look how--
I mean, she's ready. - Oh, my goodness.
- Oh, she's got that attitude. She's got attitude.
And not that attitude. - Pint-sized powerhouse.
How cool is it-- 16 years old,
but she's competing on the big stage now.
[cheers and applause]
Is she looking at Block Run here, Akbar?
- Yeah, she wants Block Run. - This is surprising.
Only two other athletes have chosen this route tonight.
- Breathe! - Quick feet, quick feet!
- Breathe and attack it.
- Breathe, you heard Jesse. Breathe.
- Come on. - Come on!
- Straight line. Straight line!
[cheers and applause]
- Whoo!
- I was questioning her move on Block Run,
but those blocks didn't even move!
Oh, man.
Maggie Owen at 16 years old
now staring down the fourth obstacle.
I was listening to bootleg cassettes
of Van Halen when I was 16.
And confidently goes flying up onto Tilt-A-Whirl.
If she gets through this, she'll have a good shot
at landing in the women's top five
and moving on to the semifinals.
- You gotta want this! - Come on, Maggie.
- You gotta want it, Maggie!
- Well, she's got everybody on her side.
- At 5 feet tall, too, Akbar, these are big laches.
- Wow. - Nice.
- Okay, you're okay! - Let's go!
- But she's having a little trouble
spinning it around.
She's got her hair all up in her face.
- Finally gets it turned around.
- All right, now, this is not her smoothest obstacle.
She's spending a little bit of time here,
but I'm gonna say, because she's young,
because she's light,
she should be able to handle herself.
- Gotta fly. Lock it in.
- Nice! - Great job!
- Whew. - You can see her slid--
- Oh! - No!
- Oh, man, that left side!
- She made the leap, but the bar just slid out.
Still, a great debut by 16-year-old Maggie Owen.
- Watch this.
She flies across with the bar safely,
but look at that left side. It's just barely hanging on.
And when she made the slightest move,
it slid right out. - Let's go down to Zuri.
- Congratulations. Only 16 years old.
How did it feel to hit the course
with your mentor "Flex" Labreck cheering you on?
- It was so much fun.
I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to do that.
- Yeah. - And that was so awesome.
I loved every minute of that.
[cheers and applause]
- Dude, you crushed it.
- "Flex," how proud are you of Maggie?
- I mean, I trained with her.
I know how confident she is on the obstacles.
She beats me all the time in practice,
and so she was crushing it.
- Wow, well, for a rookie run, that was beyond impressive.
Congratulations.
We'll see soon if you went far enough fast enough.
- Thank you. - Good work.
- Thank you. - Fantastic.
- More eye-popping, can't miss moments
are coming up.
- Oh, my goodness!
- Plus a former NFL QB teams up
with Super Bowl MVP Russell Wilson.
- Have a blast. Have fun.
I wish I could be there.
- And one of the wildest runs in "Ninja" history.
- What?
This is literally a blind dismount!
- When "America Ninja Warrior" returns.
- It's been a wild past few minutes
here in the Tacoma Dome.
Jake Heaps is a former NFL quarterback
who played for many teams
including the Seattle Seahawks.
- I love to see my former NFL guys out there.
- These days, Heaps is a QB coach
for Super Bowl champ Russell Wilson
who offered Heap some advice.
- Now, listen. Don't slip.
Don't trip. Don't fall.
- And Heaps needed that advice
to get through the first obstacle.
- Whoa, hold on now. Nice.
Ooh! - Yeah!
High five!
- But at 215 pounds,
the former QB couldn't make the completion on Double Down.
- Whoa! And he's sacked!
- Oh, no! - The quarterback is sacked!
- Man, that was a lot of fun.
- Then it was one of our teenagers,
Pennsylvania's Avery Glantz
whose room doesn't look
like your typical teenage girl's.
She's got ninja obstacles all over her ceiling
so she can train all the time.
- You gotta love her room, Matt.
Incredible.
- And the hard work showed
as she flew across Double Down.
- Nice. - Whoa, nice transfer.
- Like that!
- But at Split Decision, she made the wrong decision.
- Oh, no! - She was so close.
- I will be back next year.
- Then it was one of the wildest runs of the year
as Louis Apalucci came dressed not only in a vest,
but in a cape like his hero
Captain NBC Jamie Rahn.
The New Jersey math teacher was flying through the course,
but things got interesting on the second obstacle.
The cape's over his head! - He's blinded by the--what?
- Oh, my goodness! - Oh, my God!
I've never seen it.
This is literally a blind dismount.
- Oh, no! - Oh, my goodness, oh.
Oh, my goodness.
- No cape look! - Oh, man!
- In all of our years doing this,
we have never seen this one before.
My goodness!
- Well, our next ninja will keep the fun going.
Hopping up to the start line now,
a very energetic rookie, Chris Behrends.
- Hold up, is he doing the wave with the sidelines?
- Yeah, and they're throwing it back to him.
As you can tell, these guys like to have fun.
Even though Behrends is 20 years old,
he and his buddy Levi Enright
call themselves the Ninja Teens.
[both screaming]
[laughter]
- My name's Chris Behrends. - And I'm Levi Enright.
[together] And we're the Ninja Teens!
- Gotta go!
- But not teens.
- We're not really teens anymore.
We're both 20.
- We didn't realize that there was gonna be teens
competing this year,
so looking back at it now,
it's gonna be kind of confusing,
but we're sticking with the name.
[singing together] * Ninja Teens *
* Gotta beat that wall *
- * So true *
[upbeat music]
- We have been friends since my sixth-grade summer.
I'm kind of the good-looking guy.
- That's not what your cousin said.
- Yeah. - [chuckles]
We weren't really friends-friends,
but then I started dating his cousin and...
- Everyone's like, "ooh."
- Just started laughing and stuff like that.
Hey, how's it going, Bailey? I missed you.
- I missed you too.
- His grandma loves me way more too.
- No. - [chuckles]
[both screaming]
* *
- Gonna throw this in!
Perfect! - Ooh!
- We push each other
literally every little thing we do
especially when it comes to the ninja gym.
- Go, go, go, go, nice. All the way up.
There's only one thing that's gonna happen.
- Come on, you got this.
- Noggin buzzers. - Noggin buzzers.
- Noggin buzzers for supper, dude!
* *
- You got this, dude!
- His buddy Levi will run next.
Also on the sidelines, two other Iowa ninjas,
Jackson Twait who conquered the Mega Wall earlier,
and Nick Hanson who also had a strong run.
Lots of support back home, including his cousins,
the Behrends' family who've competed
on "American Ninja Warrior" and "Ninja Junior."
- You got this! [countdown clock beeping]
- Chris from Clarksville, Iowa,
town so small when he actually was a teen,
his high school graduating class
only 18 other kids.
Iowa becoming a ninja hotbed.
Behrends' just one
of the young talents here tonight.
- Yep. - There you go.
- Trained with the Cat Daddy Ninja
Jackson Twait. - You got this.
- Shoot, if he can do half as well as Jackson Twait,
he'll be all right.
- Great job by the rookie.
- That's textbook right there. - That was real smooth.
But the ride's not over yet.
- All right, watch that big drop, though, Matt.
Take that momentum. Just ride with it.
Nice. - Smooth, Akbar!
- Yeah, let's go, buddy, come on!
- Split Decision. Which way is he gonna go?
- Uh? - Uh?
What? - Huh?
- He wants Log Runner. All right.
- Balance obstacles always a challenge.
- Let's go! - Come on!
- Just like the pails! Just like the pails!
Let's go! - Light feet now.
- Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, nice.
- Let's go! - Let's go!
- Way to go! - Let's go!
- Look at them.
They are bro-ing out over there.
- Whoo! - Yeah!
- Gonna try to ride that momentum
into Tilt-a-Whirl. - Pop it up.
- There we go. - Yep.
- It's a lower-body thing. It's a finesse thing.
That bar will slide out on you.
- Gets it locked in.
Behrends a college student
at the University of Northern Iowa.
- Nice! - Yes!
Let's go! Come on!
Come on, Chris! - Rotating around.
Good power, great body awareness.
Gotta fly that bar over to the third cradle.
- Come on, Chris. - Let's go.
- Yeah! - Whoa.
- Good transfer, and Chris Behrends,
he's flowing. Look at this rookie run.
- One more to go, homey.
- Yes! - Yeah!
[cheers and applause]
- Yes! Let's go!
- We've already had one of these young Iowans,
Jackson Twait, get a buzzer.
Behrends trying to be the second
but has to survive Sideways.
- "Bro-bulous." - No hesitation.
- Let's go! - Nice.
- The efficiency! - Okay!
- Amazing!
He said he wants a noggin buzzer.
He's a few moves away from going for it.
Great job there. - Gotta hold there.
He's gotta watch that right hand, though, Matt.
- Well, these transfers are tough
'cause you have to go so far down and around.
- I know, and the quicker you go--
- Oh, my! - Nice.
- His first time on the course,
and he's gonna get a buzzer.
Chris Behrends! Let's go!
- Noggin!
Let's go! Come on, baby!
[cheers and applause]
Baby, let's go!
Whoo!
[cheers and applause]
- Iowa is on fire tonight.
* *
Rookie Chris Behrends gets his first buzzer,
and he looks like he can hardly believe it.
- Whoo!
- We've had more amazing moments here
in the Tacoma Dome. - Whoo!
- Minutes ago, the other Ninja Teen
Levi Enright tried to match the success of his bro.
- Let's go, Levi. - Let's go, baby.
- The 20-year-old looked bro-tastic early on.
- Let's go! Come on!
- Go, baby, let's go!
- At Split Decision, he went with Log Runner,
which was not a good decision.
- Oh!
Yeah, bad bro form.
- Then it was Tyler Yamauchi,
the 5'1'' former gymnast known as the Muscle Ball.
- Nice, ooh!
He looked like a little Muscle Ball
rolling out of there.
- Yamauchi was one of the few to brave Block Run.
- He knows what's up!
- And the six-time veteran
had one of his best runs in years.
- The Muscle Ball wants it badly.
- The 35-year-old
nearly edged out 15-year-old Cal Plohoros
for the fastest time of the night.
- Yamauchi keeping it gucci!
Oh, my goodness. That was impressive.
- Then it was nine-time veteran
Chris DiGangi. - Let's go, babe!
- With his fiancée Jesse "Flex" Labreck
and other friends cheering him on,
DiGangi was trying to get past qualifying
for the sixth straight year. - Perfect, babe, perfect!
- He flipped a coin at Split Decision
and chose Block Run even though
only four other ninjas all night had picked it.
- Come on! - Please, please, please.
Please go, go, go. No!
- No!
- Oh, no.
- I didn't see that coming.
- Ah, I chose wrong.
[soft dramatic music]
- Our next athlete has inspired many
over the years.
This is Kyle Schulze known as the Deaf Ninja.
- He's making the sign for "ninja."
Kyle's hearing impaired,
but he's never let that stop him from competing.
However, there's one ninja goal
that's remained out of reach.
- You probably know me
as the deaf ninja from "American Ninja Warrior."
As someone that happens to be deaf,
I've been knocked down over and over by the society,
by bullies my whole life.
- This is a guy who, growing up, really struggled
dealing with his hearing impairment.
Now, he embraces it.
- "Ninja Warrior" has helped me
develop that happiness.
[upbeat music]
- You have made it this far now.
You done made it-- - Oh!
[buzzer blares]
- But I still have not got to that buzzer that proves
you beat the "American Ninja Warrior" course.
- Oh, boy, he's getting so close!
He is getting close.
Oh, no! - No!
- Feels like it's a curse because every year
I'm so close to getting that buzzer
that I'm just like-- I'm itching for it.
I'm like "ugh."
- * I can't stop no matter what *
* Keep on fighting never giving up *
- No! - No, no, no, no, no!
- If I finally get that buzzer,
no words will explain my emotions
because I will finally be able to redeem myself
and realize my potential.
- Facing forward. Gotta go sideways.
Oh! - Oh, no!
- Once again out on the fifth obstacle
and still no buzzer for the Deaf Ninja.
- I feel like this year I'm gonna finally get one.
- * I can't stop no matter what *
* Keep on fighting never giving up *
* *
[cheers and applause]
- Kyle's gonna have his family and friends watching
along with one very special guest.
- Oh!
- I'm so excited to watch Kyle beat all the obstacles,
climb the Warped Wall, and hit the buzzer.
Go, Kyle! - Oh, that's cool.
- And look at that. - That's cool.
- The great Jessie Graff
has been learning sign language from Kyle.
She's injured this year, but wanted to be here
to support him.
[countdown clock beeping]
Kyle's currently getting his Master's degree
in Mechanical Engineering
at Rochester Institute of Technology.
- Whoo!
- And, Matt, I know how badly he wants a buzzer,
but it may be difficult because he's not 100% healthy.
- That's right, he separated his shoulder
in a snowboarding accident earlier this year,
and this obstacle, Double Down,
is really gonna be a test for him.
- Oh, and the force just sliding down the track,
he had to feel that Now has to swing across.
- Matt, you can literally see it on his face!
He's grimacing already as he tries to crank it up.
- Two of the ninjas he competed with last year,
Jimmy Choi and Michael Torres, talking him through it.
- He's dreading this slide down.
He's gonna feel that in his shoulders
and the clavicle area.
- Whoa, we could feel that up here.
The impact when he came sliding down
had to hurt his shoulder.
But he is pumped. - He's so pumped.
Uh-oh. See, oh, boy.
That's exactly what we were just talking about.
He's gotta ease up on the celebration.
- And Jessie's reminding Kyle to breathe.
She's not competing this year
because of her own shoulder injury.
- And, Matt, he's looking at Block Run,
and you don't have to know sign language
to know he doesn't like it. He's gonna go Log Runner.
- Go fast. Go fast!
Come on.
- Two years ago, a balance obstacle
ended his run in Cincinnati.
[cheers and applause]
- Oh, my goodness, right in the clavicle again.
- And he's swimming forward.
- Oh, boy, he is taking a beating.
- Let's go. - Oh.
- [chuckles] - He's relieved.
- Yeah, he's-- "I'm glad I'm outta there."
- He's straining his neck
trying to get ready for Tilt-A-Whirl.
- Keep them Ls. - You got this, Kyle!
And this is gonna be a test, flying across with that bar.
Gotta think that grip is being taxed,
and that shoulder is being tested.
- Well, Matt, if he keeps his Ls,
it allows him to keep the emphasis on his bicep
and his back muscle.
He's gotta be careful not coming down to a straight arm.
- Doing a great job with the switch grip,
keeping that bar safely centered.
That right side a little over.
Gonna have to extend with that right arm.
- He's starting to get a little weak, though, Matt.
You can see he's gotta get out of there.
- Well, this is a big separation here, Akbar.
Getting to that fifth obstacle.
- When his arms are straight like that,
it's adding a lot of pressure.
You can see him grimacing. It's a lot of pain.
[cheers and applause]
- Oh, and that shoulder's hurting.
But here he is.
He's reached the fifth obstacle once again.
Last year, this was the obstacle
that took him out, Sideways.
And with that shoulder hurting him,
this is gonna be a huge ask.
- He's never made it past the fifth obstacle
in qualifying.
- And you can just see it. He wants it so bad.
He's feeling the pain.
If you're watching this, how can you
not be inspired by the courage
of this young man pushing through the pain?
- He's built tough.
- This is impressive, Akbar. - Keep it in tight, homey.
Keep it in tight.
- Oh, this is remarkable!
- Matt, as long as he doesn't extend,
he should be able to-- you see the extension?
- [screams]
- Oh, he's screaming in pain. This is amazing.
- Oh, man, oh. - This is gonna be tough.
Oh, come on. Are you kidding me?
- Oh, my goodness. - Drop down, dude.
- Oh, my goodness. Are you kidding me?
- Oh, my God,
I wanna throw in the towel for him, man.
I don't know how he's doing this.
That shoulder is killing him.
[cheers and applause]
Oh, my goodness. He's going for it.
- Oh, my goodness! - How is he holding on?
- Oh, my goodness. - How is he holding on?
- The human body is just not supposed
to take this much pain.
No! - Oh!
[soft dramatic music]
- One of the most courageous runs
we've seen in "American Ninja Warrior."
- Matt, that is moxie and that is grit.
- I am blown away by what we just saw,
the courage and strength out of Kyle Schulze.
You can see he's disappointed,
but he should be proud.
- Whoo!
- You could feel his pain
as he battled through obstacles
and took the hits.
And on the fifth obstacle, came so close to finishing,
but that shoulder finally gave out.
- Let's go down to Zuri for the latest.
- Kyle, are you okay?
- Ugh, I'm just--yeah.
- Pain, yeah.
You fought so hard here.
How were you feeling by the time
you got to this point in the course?
- Didn't wanna give up. - Yeah.
- I-I've gone through so much of my life,
people told me, "No, you can't do this.
Can't do that."
I didn't want anything--
the words tell me I can't do something.
And I just wanted to finish it
'cause I know I could finish it.
I need that buzzer. I still need that buzzer.
[cheers and applause]
- Well, we'll see if you went far enough fast enough.
[people screaming]
- They're the ultimate ninja family.
- Yo, you gotta keep up.
- Now, this mohawk dad and his mohawk son
try to make "Ninja" history
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back to the final night
of qualifying here on "American Ninja Warrior."
Moments ago, it was the entrance
for Ming Zhang, the Muscle Mama.
- Muscle Mama is gonna crush the course today.
Let's go!
- Zhang's a powerlifter who was named
the fittest woman in China three years ago.
- Yeah, Matt, she is so strong.
- Now a new mom living in Cincinnati,
the little dynamo made it to the second obstacle.
- Yeah, Mama!
- That's it. Oh!
- But coming up short didn't dampen her enthusiasm.
- It's winning spirit. I did it.
- World champion boomerang thrower
Logan Broadbent was up to his old tricks.
- Look at this. Whoo!
- The Cleveland native's amazing boomerang videos
have millions of views on YouTube,
and he put on a show
for his legion of fans tonight.
- Oh, excuse me.
- Yeah, whoo!
[cheers and applause]
[together] Let's go, Logan!
- The five-time "Ninja" veteran
looked like he was on his way to his very first buzzer.
- Yeah, let's go, Logan.
- Until Sideways changed those plans.
- Oh, no! - No!
- So fun, man. So fun.
- Then it was Utah's 42-year-old Brian Beckstrand
running with a mohawk to match his 15-year-old son.
- He's so excited for Dad. Look at Dad go.
- The firefighter and father of five
last competed five years ago. - Yeah!
- But he didn't look rusty at all...
Yes!
As he added his name to our growing list of finishers.
[buzzer blares]
[cheers and applause]
- Beckstrands, baby! We here!
Beckstrands!
- So now it's Kai's turn.
The high school sophomore's going to try to match his dad
and get a second buzzer for the Beckstrand family.
[upbeat music]
- My whole family loves ninja.
[people screaming]
Both of my parents have competed
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- All right, just go for it. - What?
- Oh, a hard impact. Look at that reaction.
[people chanting] He's gonna get a buzzer.
- I competed on season one and two
of "American Ninja Warrior Junior."
- Kai Beckstrand
just did the fastest time yet this season!
- And I ended up winning season one.
- Kai Beckstrand, you're the champion!
- One of the reasons that Kai's
so good at this sport
is that he started at such a young age.
- Get it, Kai. - Keep going.
- All good. - Careful.
- When I first started training,
I was about seven and a half years old.
* *
- I engineered and built upwards of 40 plus
obstacles in the backyard.
* *
And so we try to train as much as we can together.
- Yeah. - Kai grew up doing it.
He was comfortable with everything,
and as he grew and got stronger,
he got better and better.
So he's just a natural at it.
* *
- Being able to compete with my dad,
it really motivates me to,
like, push him, have him push me.
- Yo, you gotta keep up. That's how it's done.
- And hopefully, we can both make it to Vegas.
* *
- The plan for tonight, if I beat you on the course,
we might have to talk about
some more chores and duties around the house.
- It's a good thing I don't have to worry about that.
[both chuckle]
- That's good.
* *
- Well, if Kai wants bragging rights in this family,
not only does he have to hit a buzzer,
he's gotta do it faster than his dad Brian's time
of 3 minutes, 23 seconds.
Dad's gonna be on the sideline
along with mom Holly, lots of family and friends
watching back in Utah,
including two-time "Ninja" veteran
Mady Howard there on the left.
- Let's go, Kai. [countdown clock beeping]
- Well, here we go.
You know, we knew the teen invasion
was gonna be powerful,
but these kids have lived up to the hype in qualifying.
He's grown six inches in the past year,
and you can see dude is filling out.
Had great success on "Ninja Junior."
He won the 11-12 age division in season one.
Season two, reached the final four.
Lost to Kaden Lebsack,
another teen we saw a few weeks ago.
- Let's go! Get it!
- He's going with the Log Runner like his dad.
- Stay on top! - Look forward, go!
- Wow! - Nice.
[cheers and applause]
- Now heading right into Tilt-A-Whirl.
He's making this course look like child's play.
- We've seen tonight how important it is
to have a great mentor.
And how cool is it that Kai Beckstrand
has been able to learn from his own dad?
- Look at this.
Real confident with the bar in his hands.
He seems to be going for a ride.
He's enjoying this, Akbar. Looking really comfortable.
And I think the student may become the master tonight.
He's on pace to crush his dad's time.
We've never had a father-son duo
both hit buzzers.
- He can beat not only his dad's time,
but the top time of the night.
- That was set by another teenager,
Cal Plohoros earlier.
- Matt, Kai could finish this course
in half the time it took his dad.
- But first has to survive Sideways.
This is gonna be a test. - Ooh!
- My goodness. Fast movement.
Good grips.
Think he's going for the top time, Akbar.
These transfers are so hard.
You got to kick your body over up.
Nice. - Nice.
- Make that blind grab. - Oh, wow.
- He's got plenty of time. Look at the clock.
He's gonna blow away Ninja Cal's time.
- Kai Beckstrand, he is a ninja savant.
- Oh, my goodness. - He is a ninja savant.
- Kai Beckstrand
with the fastest time of the night!
* *
- Yeah! Whoo!
[cheers and applause]
- Wow!
* *
You just set the fastest time.
How's that feel, buddy?
- It feels amazing. Just even to be here,
but to get the fastest time, that's insane.
[cheers and applause]
- Is your dad down there?
You and your son just made history!
The first father and son
to hit a buzzer on "American Ninja Warrior."
Why don't you go celebrate with him, buddy?
- Get up that wall!
- You think you can get up there, old man?
Get up there one more time?
- Of course he can. - There it is.
- All right, I like that. - Whoo!
* *
- The first father-son buzzer, guys.
Hit that buzzer together. - Yo, hit that buzzer again!
[buzzer blares]
- That's pretty cool.
* *
- Up next, Ninja legend "Flex" Labreck's
got a soccer legend kicking it up a notch for her.
Brandi Chastain, are you ready?
- Oh, yeah! Let's go, baby!
Come on, Jesse!
- That's coming up when we come back
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- It's been a wild last few minutes
here in Tacoma.
New Jersey's Ava Colasanti
just celebrated her 16th birthday
and got a big send-off
before coming to Tacoma,
and tonight with her dad on the sideline,
the straight-A student
sprinted through the early obstacles.
- She's done her homework for "Ninja Warrior" for sure.
- Yeah. Let's go!
- The rookie made it all the way to Tilt-A-Whirl
and though she fell... - Oh!
- Her fast time assured her
a spot in the women's top five.
- She's a savage.
- Joe Brown calls himself
the High-flying Ninja for obvious reasons.
- This dude's got major boosties.
- Let's go!
- The former football and track star
can jump six feet in the air and loves to show off
his skills flying over anyone and anything he can.
- Wow.
- And on the course, jumping Joe put on a show.
- There you go. Okay!
- Beat that course!
- With his Chicago training partners
yelling support, the rookie made it
all the Warped Wall.
- Mean Joe Brown!
- And tried his major boosties on the Mega Wall.
- Ah!
- He settled for the regular wall
and got his very first buzzer.
- Yeah!
[buzzer blares]
Let's go!
- You're not going to L.A. without me!
- Coming to Hollywood!
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida's Jamie Ross
was back for her third run at a qualifying course.
- Be confident. You got it!
- With her boyfriend "Ninja" great,
Flip Rodriguez showing support...
- Yes, yes!
- Ross made it to the fifth obstacle,
the same as Flip. - Stay focused!
- Oh! - Oh!
She didn't get enough height.
- But that guarantees
she'll be in the women's top five
and move on to the semifinals.
- Hey, way to go. Way to go!
- Guys, we are working on flex time right now
because Jesse "Flex" Labreck is back for her sixth season.
The former track star's
one of the most consistent athletes
we've ever seen and has hit more buzzers
than any other woman in "Ninja" history.
And as we talked about earlier,
she's become a mentor for younger ninjas,
especially her mini-me Maggie Owen.
- Maggie will be on the sideline
with Flex's fiancé Chris DiGangi
who had a shocking fall earlier on Block Run.
- Let's go, Jesse!
- And in addition to family and friends watching,
Jesse's got a very special guest.
Brandi Chastain, Akbar!
- Yeah, Olympic gold medalist. - '99 World Cup soccer star.
- You remember when she-- - Scored the penalty kick.
- Took off the shirt and was celebrating.
What an epic moment.
- And of course the Summer Olympics
now just a few weeks away here on NBC.
[countdown clock beeping]
Flex Labreck has been a real "Ninja" trailblazer.
Became just the third woman in history
to complete an extended course
in Cincinnati and then, last season,
did it again. Knows no limits.
- She is consistent.
- Only one woman has hit a buzzer this year.
Meagan Martin did it last week.
"Flex" gonna try to be the second tonight.
Gotta survive it here.
She's taking an extra swing. - Come on, Jesse!
- Surprised she didn't ride that momentum down.
But that's all right. She's got it.
- Well, "Flex" is such a competition beast.
You see how nervous she gets on the sidelines?
But on the course, stone killer.
- That drop is wicked.
- Now just has to stick the dismount.
- Come on, baby! - It's Split Decision.
And she's not even looking over at Block Run.
- Yeah, she walked right over to Log Runner.
She's like, "Chris went out on Block Run.
I'm going over to Log Runner."
- Let's go, Jesse! Come on.
- All right, high knees. Pick up your feet.
- Oh, no! - Whoa.
- Survives it. - Ooh.
- And you know, a big sigh of relief.
- But now it's Tilt-A-Whirl.
This is where Jesse's protégée Maggie Owen went out earlier.
- You got it. You're so good, come on.
- To advance, getting through the Tilt-A-Whirl,
that will punch her ticket.
- All right, come on. Go for it.
You see her twisting her body around.
Gotta be very careful, nice.
- Well, "Flex" has never failed to get past qualifying.
- Ooh.
Came in a little uneven on that one.
- Well, we saw Maggie Owen, her protégée,
go out right here when she wasn't secure
with that bar placement.
You know "Flex," you can see her
sneaking a peek, making sure
that bar is safely centered.
- Looking to her left side,
making sure everything is good.
Nice. - Yes!
- And with that, "Flex" has punched her ticket.
She's going to the semifinals.
But you know, Akbar, it's all about the buzzers.
- Yes, she wants the buzzer.
She's already hit six in her career.
Looking to hit number seven.
- Gonna have to get through Sideways first.
- Hey, no cap, she's a beast. She's got this.
[cheers and applause]
- Yeah, come on, Jesse! - Nice.
- She's moving quickly-- already on the slider.
And she goes reverse here,
the only one who's ever done this.
A good approach. - And it gives her
a little bit more swing. - Great job.
- Two more, two more! - Come on, come on!
- Let's go! Let's go!
- And around! - Oh, my goodness!
- Around, one more! - All right, come on!
- Bring that right hand-- - One more transfer.
- Nice. - Get that dismount!
Yes! - I told you.
I told you. - She's done it again.
And now 14 1/2 feet away from a record seventh buzzer.
- Let's go! Get up!
- Here we go!
"Flex" Labreck back where she belongs!
Hitting buzzers!
[upbeat music]
- * I can do it better *
* You can do it better *
- Whoo!
* *
- * I can do it better *
- You are one of the best. I mean, how great is it?
You got your banner up there, and there's a reason
because you deliver every time, "Flex."
- Thank you. - You are big time, prime time.
And you're headed to Los Angeles!
- * I can do it better *
* I can do it better *
- She had a close call on Log Runner
but sailed through the rest of the course.
And she joins Meagan Martin as the second woman
to hit a buzzer this year.
- It was heartbreaking earlier when Chris fell
and his season ended,
but, of course, he's still Flex's biggest fan.
* *
- Coming up,
he gave us one of last season's
most dramatic moments. - Let's go!
- Now Michael Torres returns on "American Ninja Warrior."
- While we were away,
we had a Bigfoot sighting.
Remember two years ago Sasquatch took on the course
here in Tacoma in a run
that went viral on social media.
- One big leap for an ape!
- Tonight, the man who was wearing the costume,
Kyle Soderman, hit the course with a different Sasquatch
on the sidelines. And Bigfoot got a big show.
- Nice. Backwards release.
- The LA stunt man cruised through the course
and took a shot at the Mega Wall.
- Oh! - Ooh!
- But he had no trouble with the smaller wall
and finished in just over two minutes.
- Whoo! - Okay, I see you!
- Then the man who was in the Sasquatch suit this year,
Soderman's good friend Hunter Gerard
AKA the Lizard took off the costume
and hit the course.
- The Lizard, he is a cold-blooded ninja.
- The four-time veteran from Minnesota
also had a fast and fun run.
- Let's go, Hunter boy!
- Soderman and Gerard always try
to outdo each other on the course.
- Yeah!
- And the difference between the two
was less than two seconds.
- He got 2:03:04, and you got...
- 2:04:83.
- Oh! - What?
- Cold-blooded, Lizard. Cold-blooded.
- Oh, man.
- And another explosive performer
was Cam Baumgartner AKA Cam the Bomb.
- He can go.
- The 23-year-old pre-med student
is another one of the impressive ninjas
out of the Chicago area.
- He is the bomb. - Whoo!
- And he blew through the course
faster than both Soderman and Gerard
and added his name to our growing list of finishers.
- He ain't messing around.
- Let's go! - Cam the Bomb.
- Let's go! Go, go!
[cheers and applause]
- And our final runner of the night
is also a Chicago Ninja, and he's one of the best.
It's six-time veteran Michael Torres.
Two years ago, he came close to the million dollars
when he made it to stage three at the national finals.
And then he was chosen for Team USA
in our USA Versus The World competition.
And last year's special season
was also a memorable one for Torres.
He invited Kyle Schulze and Jimmy Choi
to compete alongside him.
And when they both fell before the buzzer...
- Oh, no.
I'm gonna to do my very best
to bring you and Kyle back for a second chance.
- He put himself at risk racing through the course
in a desperate attempt to reach the Power Tower
and save their seasons.
- Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh! - He's going for it!
- Sha na na, do it for your boy!
Do it for your boy! - And he's got it.
- Whoo! - Let's go!
- The situation is much different
for Torres tonight.
His buddies Jimmy Choi and Kyle Schulze
are back to root for him,
but Schulze now sits in 30th place,
and if Torres has a good run here,
Schulze will not move on.
Lots of his other ninja friends
are gonna be watching this run.
No one wants to miss this.
- Hey, guys.
- And lots more friends and family
watching on the screens,
including his wife Sarah and their two dogs.
[countdown clock beeping]
Torres had the fastest time in his qualifier last year.
If he wants it tonight,
he'll have to beat the teenager Kai Beckstrand
and finish faster than a minute, 36 seconds.
Torres needs at least to get to the fifth obstacle Sideways
to be in the top 30 and move on to the semifinals.
[cheers and applause]
- Nice, wow. - Whoo!
- Did you see the way he just shot
out of there like a cannon?
- This kid's an incredible athlete.
Did track and field. Has a lot of athletic skills.
- Oh, no! What?
- What?
- Michael Torres down on just the second obstacle?
- No.
- That's how quickly it can happen
even to top ninjas. And everybody's stunned
into silence.
- Holy cow, that was fast.
- That's just not an ordinary ninja.
I mean, he's got his banner up in the rafters.
Six-time veteran.
- And it's bittersweet for Kyle Schulze.
Torres' fall means he'll now end the night in 30th place
and he'll move on to the semifinals.
- Michael, I know you are disappointed right now.
Do you feel okay? Can we talk for a second?
What went wrong here?
- I wanted to link my dismount,
and it came up faster than I thought,
so I loosened up my hands to lache,
and it just ripped me back.
I don't know how I didn't get hurt.
I'm okay.
- Yeah. - I'm okay.
- Well, thank God for that, right?
You're okay, you're an amazing ninja,
and I have no doubt we will see you
back on this course next season.
- You better believe I'm coming back.
That is never happening again.
- All right. - You better believe it.
- We'll hold you to it.
[cheers and applause]
- Well, Akbar, those moments are so painful,
but they're what makes
"American Ninja Warrior" so special.
Every buzzer is earned.
Every time you advance,
you have to work so hard to earn it.
- And look at the other competitors
gathered around trying to make him feel better,
just like he did one year ago.
That right there is the spirit of "Ninja."
- And Torres' fall means two teenagers wind up
at the top of the leaderboard
with Tyler Yamauchi right behind them.
Check out all those moving on
while we watch Akbar's Gbajabia-Moments.
- Number three, from the plains of Kansas,
preschool teacher Trinity Bush looked like a character
from "Little House on the Prairie."
- Laura Ingalls Wilder would be proud.
- But the sun set on the Prairie Ninja
on the very first obstacle. - Oh!
- Number two, there was a stampede
on the course for the stallion Mike Silenzi.
- When you're called the Stallion, you gotta ride.
- There are horses for courses,
and the Stallion ran all the way to the buzzer.
[cheers and applause]
- It's like a rodeo round-up here.
- Hey!
- And number one, entomologist Eric Middleton
brought us a plate of tomato hornworms
to eat if he finished the course.
You're crazy. - Mmm.
- So when Middleton the Bug Ninja hit the buzzer...
- [laughs]
- We hit the hornworms.
What's that crunch? - The exoskeleton, the outside.
- You know what? This is not bad.
- You a damn liar. Man, this is horrible.
- Well, that wraps it up for tonight.
We're packing all this up and heading to L.A.
- That's right.
Next week, we start the semifinal.
- Can't wait for it, big man.
For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall,
I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you next week on "American Ninja Warrior."