- The first six weeks of "American Ninja Warrior"
were extraordinary...
- Let's go!
- With history-making performances...
The youngest ever to hit a buzzer!
And shocking falls.
Whoa!
In our first semifinal, the race for the Power Tower
and the all-important Safety Pass
ended in a shocker.
Brian Burkhardt has earned safety in Vegas
over the legendary Daniel Gil!
Who will claim the prize this week?
Will it be another veteran?
The Weatherman delivers!
Or one of the upstart rookies?
- Yes!
So I may only be 5'4" and 113 pounds,
but tonight I'm gonna shock the world on that Power Tower.
- Will a teen reach the promised land?
Or maybe a mom?
- The first mom!
I still got a lot of unfinished business left.
- Who will be the breakout star tonight?
- Oh, he's ready.
- "American Ninja Warrior" starts now.
Our Olympic break is over,
and we're back at Universal Studios Hollywood,
ready to resume the semifinals of "American Ninja Warrior."
Hello, everyone, and thanks for being with us once again.
I'm Matt Iseman.
- And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.
Matt, the games in Tokyo are done.
Now, it's ninja time.
And we've got a gold medal lineup tonight,
led by the Weatherman, Connecticut's Joe Moravsky.
- Ohh! - We'll also see last year's
top rookie, Vermont's Amir Malik.
- He broke the buzzer!
- And Washington supermom Sandy Zimmerman.
- Yeah! - And she's done it!
- Plus, another talented group of teenagers,
including 17-year-old Jay "Lache" Lewis
and 15-year-old "Ninja Junior" runner-up Kaden Lebsack.
- No hesitation!
Only four ninjas made it to the buzzer
during our first week of the semifinals.
Now, for a look at the course our athletes will face tonight,
let's go down to the other star on our team, Zuri Hall.
- Guys, this course is ten obstacles long,
and before they reach the end,
they're gonna have to pick a side.
There's some strategy involved for our ninjas
if they reach Split Decision in semifinals.
- Oh, no! - With tired arms, do they try
the upper-body obstacle, Inverter?
- Oh, sha-na-na!
- Or do they use their legs and take a chance
on the almost impossible
balance obstacle, Tunning Forks?
- Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Ooh!
- To reach Split Decision, they'll first have to survive
a brand-new eighth obstacle, Padlock.
- Oh, no! - At the end of the night,
we're headed to the Power Tower.
Our two fastest competitors race head-to-head.
The winner earns a Safety Pass,
which gives them a second chance
if they fall at the National finals.
- Oh! - No!
- One more time.
- Let's get them going, guys. - Thanks, Zuri.
Well, our first competitor will definitely get things off
to a fun start.
This is 22-year-old
eighth-grade science teacher Rachel Degutz.
She's the first of three female competitors
from the Garden State,
and they are the Jersey Girls.
[upbeat music]
- The Jersey Girls are Cara Mack,
Abby Clark, and myself.
We train together, we compete together,
but we're all friends,
and we're pulling for each other.
* *
- Ooh! - Yes.
* *
- You think of Jersey girls, and, like,
they're getting their nails done,
whereas we're in the gym,
like, ripping our hands up. [laughter]
- * You better watch out *
- Nice. - Nice.
- You got this. So smooth.
- I love training with Cara and Abby
because they push me to achieve things
that I wouldn't achieve training by myself.
- Yeah! - Ooh.
Okay, there's a wall back there.
- Yeah. - Nice job, Rachel.
- Whoo! - Whoo-hoo!
- * Don't you worry, baby *
* Don't you worry, baby *
- Okay, boss lady!
- Whoo-hoo! - Yes!
- She's got it! - Cara Mack.
- Having close friends in the sport of ninja
is really important.
- Yes! - Okay!
- Whoo! - Let's go!
- Yes!
- It's nice to be able to connect with other females.
Just dealing with life in general, it's really nice
to have someone that really understands you.
- * It's all in good time *
* No need to hurry *
- Aside from being ninjas,
I will like we all have a goofier side,
and we just like to laugh and have fun,
whether it's here at the gym or at the boardwalk.
- * Don't give up on me now, baby *
[all cheering]
- Tonight is gonna be every move, like,
hanging on the edge of your seat.
Who's gonna make it? Who's gonna fall?
Where are they gonna end up? It's gonna be so thrilling.
Race you to the car.
[laughter]
- * Something inside singing don't you worry *
* It's all in good time, no need to hurry *
[cheers and applause]
- Rachel's gonna be the first
for this fun group.
- Here we go, Rachel!
- Abby and Cara will run a bit later.
Lots of supporters will be watching back in New Jersey,
including Rachel's sister and parents.
- Whoo!
- That's her "Whoo!" scream, Matt.
That's how she gets fired up.
[countdown beeping]
She is a big bundle of energy,
and she's coming in with a lot of confidence
after making it to the fifth obstacle in qualifying.
- Makes it through the Shrinking Steps.
Now tackles her second obstacle tonight,
Double Twister.
Needs to fly across these twisting handles.
You can see how those handles--so easy to get turned
if you're not good at controlling
your lower body momentum.
You can see her now starting on these rotations.
But makes a good throw there.
The top three women from tonight
will advance to the national finals.
Degutz gonna try to do it in her rookie season.
And she gets through Double Twister.
- Yes! There you go.
- Third obstacle tonight, Ring Chaser.
When she jumps up, that ring will start rolling.
- Go, go, go, go. - Oh, my.
- Have to get there before the ring.
Oh! Wow, what a grab!
- And before that, Flex LaBreck
was the only woman to make that grab on Ring Chaser.
Rachel Degutz, a rookie, just did it on her first try.
That is impressive.
- You got it. Yup.
Here you go, Rach. - Come on, Rachel!
- Make that move. - Nice.
- Make your move, Rachel Degutz!
- Okay, Degutz!
[cheering]
Can we look at that grab again?
She knew she had to get ahead. - Look at the intensity!
- And then she grabbed that ring like "Mortal Kombat."
"Get over here!"
- Now it's Spinning Bridge. - Come on.
- Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Go! Nice.
- Rolls forward! Showing guts.
- That's the way you want to roll.
I see how you roll. - And she looks at the umpire.
"Safe." - I see how you roll.
- Now on to Wall to Wall.
Got to jump across and land on the small ledges.
- This ain't easy, but she's gonna do it.
- Just got her Master's in Education
from Rutgers University.
Trying to master the fifth obstacle here.
- Come on, Rachel! You're right there.
- Ooh! Right there. - Makes that transfer here.
- I love how she came in so compact like that.
5'3", 130 pounds.
Really making good use of her size.
- Now, keep in mind here, an eight-inch drop.
You have to anticipate it. You have to absorb it.
Otherwise, you will peel off
when the handle gets to the bottom.
- She gotta get up high, anticipate that drop. Nice.
- Great job! - Great.
- This is such an impressive rookie effort
on a semifinals course.
- Uh-oh. She's starting to grimace now.
She's gotta get out of there. both: Ooh!
- My goodness. Oh!
- And she's good. She's good.
[cheers and applause]
- Yeah, she's about to get that Warped Wall.
You good, Degutz? - I'm good.
- Okay. All right. Oh.
- Her first time facing a Warped Wall.
- Go high, Rachel. Come on.
- Where are her eyes? Looking up.
- Where your body goes-- okay, that's all right.
- She gets two more chances.
- It's okay. It's okay. Shake it off.
- Come on. You got it. - Second attempt.
- Rachel was a three-sport athlete.
- Oh!
- Okay! - She had fingertips on it.
- She's gotta keep running.
She needs one more step up that wall.
- Reset. Reset.
- Her Jersey Girl training partners
trying to talk her through it.
This is her last shot.
Here we go. Final attempt.
- All right, generate the speed.
Generate the speed. - Yes!
- Oh, yes! That's what I'm talking about!
- Whoo! - Yeah!
- Rachel Degutz just got up her first Warped Wall!
Only a small group of elite women
have ever made it to the back half.
Rachel Degutz just added her name to that list.
- Come on, Rachel! You got it! - Trust yourself! You got it!
- But the final four obstacles are brutal,
starting here with the Salmon Ladder.
- Degutz on the trampoline.
All right, now watch the technique here.
Look at that. Keeping her L. You see that?
Perfect form. - And switch grip.
And each time, taking a look at the bar placement.
- And she's looking at both sides, left-right,
to make sure it's secure.
She ain't messing around. She's double-checking.
She's proofreading. - And she gets through
the Salmon Ladder.
- Yeah! - Rachel Degutz
continues to impress.
But now it's this brand-new eighth obstacle, Padlock.
- Come on, Rachel! - Each of those
three circles will spin as soon as you grab them.
both: Oh!
- Holds on! - Wow! Whoa!
- And that is the problem.
You really have to control that momentum.
- Yeah, Matt, you saw she came in hot,
so she came right into it,
and as soon as you get on that first padlock,
it will go. - Oh!
- Nice grab. All right, control it.
Matt, she's perfect for this. Now, she's fighting around.
- Oh, she's going the wrong way.
- It's like a steering wheel.
- That cleat needs to be on the bottom, Akbar,
and she's spinning it towards the top.
- Find it, Rachel! You've got it!
- You can do it. Here we go. - Come on, Rachel!
- What I love, Akbar, she's not panicking.
Realized her mistake. Incrementally moving it.
She's finally stabilized,
but now has to move her hands down to the bottom.
This is the tricky part. - There you go!
- And Degutz does it!
- Come on, Rachel!
- Oh! - Oh, my goodness! Come on!
- There you go! - Rachel Degutz!
This Jersey Girl just refuses to give up.
Oh, my goodness!
- Come on. both: Oh!
- Look at her wrist twisting up and everything.
- And once again-- - She's a fighter!
- She was caught completely unaware by that.
Managed to hold on.
This is such a courageous, determined run.
And she's at the ninth obstacle.
This rookie Jersey Girl showing how it's done.
- Which should I choose?
- Whoo! - She's asking
what she should she do now that she's at Split Decision?
She's got the upper body obstacle
Inverter on her left,
but she's looking at the balance obstacle
Tuning Forks.
- Speed and precision. You got it.
- You got this! - Tuning Forks
are so difficult, but her arms look shot.
I think a sprint across the balance obstacle
is her best bet.
- Deep breath. You got it.
- Come on. Go for it. Go for it. Just go for it!
No paralysis by analysis.
You got the guts, you get the glory.
You got the guts, you get the glory!
- Oh! - Oh! Hold on!
- Ohh. Just didn't make it.
- That's all right, Rachel!
- But what a great run to start us off.
If that's any indication of what's ahead,
we're in for a big night.
- Whoo!
- Rachel made a couple of big saves on this difficult
new eighth obstacle, Padlock.
But on Tuning Forks, you need big strides,
and she wasn't able to land on top.
Boy, them forks will spin out on you.
- Let's go down to Zuri.
- Rachel, what an amazing run.
You are a rookie, and you do not give up.
Where does that drive come from?
- I mean, it definitely comes from the people I grew up with.
My parents are always just super optimistic.
- Yeah. - And I'm just so happy
that they can watch me do this.
- Yeah. Well, they watched you beast this course.
It is not easy, but you certainly gave it your all.
We'll see soon if you went far enough fast enough.
I have a feeling we'll see you in Vegas, but we'll see
soon enough, okay?
Great work out there. - Thank you.
- Guys, back to you.
- You go, girl.
- The second night of semifinals
is gonna be a spectacle!
Hi, guys. - Hi.
- We've got big name veterans...
- He wants that buzzer.
- And talented teenagers...
- I think we got another ninja star on our hands.
- With Jersey Girls... - Oh, my goodness!
- And Iowa boys.
Everyone wants to earn a trip to the National finals.
- Oh, my goodness!
- But only the strong will survive...
- I see you! - On "American Ninja Warrior."
- The night is just getting started
here at Universal Studios,
but we're already having dessert.
Paul Fisher grew up Amish, and he brought us
a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty, Shoofly pie.
- Hey, it's good, huh, Zuri? - It's good. It's sweet.
- And while we had our mouths full,
Fisher, a barn builder, went to work on the course.
- He's gotta fly. He's gotta Shoofly.
- The 31-year-old swings a hammer on the job,
and he swung through Double Twister with ease.
- Let's go! Let's go!
- But on Ring Chaser, he missed the ring...
- Oh, tried to kick it and get it, but didn't.
- And couldn't nail the swing. - Oh, airball.
Airball.
And I ate all the Shoofly.
- Then it was one of the youngest competitors
of the night, 15-year-old Addy Herman.
- You've got this. - Stay focused here.
- With her nervous mom on the sideline,
the high school sophomore flew
through the early obstacles.
- Yeah, you got it. - And even though she too
missed the ring, it didn't stop her.
- Just like taking the PSAT.
Nice. - Yeah!
- But on the very next obstacle,
the Massachusetts native's fantastic rookie season
finally came to an end.
- No, no, no, no, no, no! Oh! - [screams]
- Aww! - That was a heck of a debut
by this 15-year-old.
- Good job, Addy.
- The night was flying along, but now,
we've hit a brick wall.
We're supposed to have John Uga at the start--
both: Oh! - Look at that.
Oh, he's ready.
That took him a lot of work. - Good news is,
he can rebuild it.
And that's because this 23-year-old
has been a bricklayer for almost a decade.
[upbeat music]
- I started bricklaying in seventh grade.
I love that I'm working with all my friends.
These are all my high school buddies.
Need any help?
- Hey, this house ain't gonna build itself.
- I've known them my whole life,
so there's nothing better than coming to work every day.
- J.J., make a mix. Lunch is over.
[laughter]
We just laugh. We have a good time.
- Every day on the job,
it's just like bonus training for ninja,
'cause everything's just grip strength.
I'm doing pull-ups and doing pushing exercises.
- Hey, John, we got work to do.
- I like it because I'm a hands-on worker,
and I enjoy seeing things that I build.
But I want more purpose in my life.
I want to be able to help people.
I've wanted to be a police officer since I was younger.
They held a police academy
when I was, like, 11 years old,
and I actually really loved all the cops
and what they did.
So I just took the exam, and I scored very well on it.
"Dear John Uga"...
I was actually over there on the other side of the house,
and I got an email saying that I'm getting hired.
I couldn't stop smiling.
- Hope he makes a better cop than a bricklayer.
[laughter]
- My dream's coming true now.
The only thing left to do is to hit that buzzer.
- He comes from a very tight family,
so he's got his parents and grandparents watching,
along with his sisters.
They all live on the same block
back in Everett, Massachusetts.
- Come on, John. Let's go. - Some of the other
Boston area ninjas on the sideline showing support.
[countdown beeping]
Well, you don't get any more blue-collar Boston
than a bricklayer who's becoming a cop.
- He was wicked fast across that one, Matt.
- Now on to the second obstacle, Double Twister.
Gotta fly across these two handles.
- You're there, John. - You got it. You're there.
- Everyone tonight trying to make the top 15
and move on to the national finals,
which start in a few weeks in Vegas.
- All right, right here. - Right here.
- And he's through two. - Take your breath.
- Uga quickly hops up on to Ring Chaser.
- All right, here we go. Go, go, go, go, go.
Oh! Whoa! He caught that with his foot!
- We've never seen that before!
- What the what? That was unbelievable!
- Still needs to make the jump.
He does it. Now the dismount.
- I can't believe that didn't land there!
- Lucas Reale still can't believe that catch.
- Dude, how'd you do that?
- I told you, point the toe. - Look at this again.
He had no chance to catch it with his hands,
so he stuck his foot out. Wow. What a snag right there.
- Dude, what? - That was sick, dude.
- Gonna try to keep that momentum
going on Spinning Bridge.
- Come on, you got it. - Oh!
- Oh, okay. Oh. He's making it interesting.
- Well, back-to-back saves for John Uga.
And the bricklayer now has to face Wall to Wall.
- He's got to have good hands as a bricklayer.
He could use those right here.
- Right here, John. You got it.
- Watch that hand. Go for it. - You got this. Come on.
- You got it, dude. - Ooh!
- Missed with his toe there.
- Ooh, boy. He's 5'11", 165 pounds.
Played linebacker in high school.
He's pretty solid.
- Watch the drop here.
Got to anticipate it.
- Nice. Oh, my goodness!
- Great save. My goodness. Brick by brick,
he is laying it down on the course.
- But he's spinning in circles right now.
Needs to straighten it up and launch himself
towards the landing area.
- Straighten it out. - Line up your swing.
both: Ooh! - My goodness!
- Whoo!
- John Uga, living a dangerous existence.
- He'll feel that one tomorrow.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- Facing a Warped Wall for the first time ever.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- Ooh! - Right into the wall.
Might have banged his leg there.
- Chest up, legs up.
Calm your breathing. Take a few deep ones.
- Nothing has been easy tonight.
Second attempt.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- And he's up! - Nice.
- The blue-collar hero from Boston's gonna have
a lot of bruises after this run,
but he's still alive.
Now heading to the back half.
- Come on, John. - Let's go, John.
- Let's go, John. You got it.
- Stepping up now to take on the Salmon Ladder.
He's shown he doesn't always have the best technique,
but he fights his way through.
Hop up the four rungs.
- Let's go, John!
- And he's done it. Through seven obstacles.
Three more to go.
- Small moves here. Small moves.
- You got this, John. - It's about to get real
on this eighth obstacle, Padlock.
I think it's gonna be trouble tonight.
- You got it. - It's so easy
to just spin right out.
- Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no, no!
- Well, John Uga's gonna have some bruises tomorrow.
But wow, never a dull moment in that run,
as he reaches the eighth obstacle.
- He showed right from the start he was gonna power
his way through this course, with one-legged grabs,
the dives, the saves, even running into walls.
John Uga did whatever it took,
and that could be good enough to earn him a trip to Vegas.
- Coming up...
Joe Moravsky's trained Jay "Lache" Lewis for years.
- Man, that's a hard move.
- But has the student surpassed the teacher?
- We're gonna see him for many years to come.
- Find out when a superstar and a rising star both go
for the fastest time on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Moments ago, Shaq Leach looked like
that other guy named Shaq as he crushed a basketball...
- Look at them arms. - Flex it.
- Then set out to crush the course.
The muscular realtor from Raleigh, North Carolina,
powered his way through the first three obstacles.
- He's got a lot of potential here as a rookie.
[cheering]
- But Shaq got hung out to dry
on the Spinning Bridge.
- Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
- Ohh!
- That was wild, man.
- Logan Kreglow is an engineer
who builds skyscrapers in New York City.
Kreglow was an Ivy League track star at Cornell,
and he was sprinting through the first few obstacles.
- Come on, now. - Whoo-hoo-hoo!
- Nice! - Nice job.
- At 185 pounds, he's one of the heavier ninjas,
and the man who constructs buildings
couldn't handle Wall to Wall.
- He's got that-- both: Oh!
- Aw!
- Alex Begolly threw a quick point to the sky
to honor his father, who passed away last June.
- He knows his late father Ed is watching, so proud.
- The 22-year-old New Jersey college student
put together a run that would make anyone proud.
[cheers and applause] - Let's go! Let's go!
- And wearing his dad's name on his back...
- He's on a mission.
- He made it up his first Warped Wall.
[cheering]
And the rookie from Lumberton, New Jersey,
made it to the eighth obstacle, Padlock.
- There you go, there you go, there you go!
Oh!
- Though he fell, his fast time means
he's still got a chance
to make the top 15 and move on.
- One hand went too far, and I just let it spin.
Ah. Dang.
- Well, up next is 16-year-old Xavier Dantzler,
a high school junior out of Yonkers, New York,
and he was so impressive in qualifying.
- Let's go! - X came in here
as an unknown rookie,
and now we know what he can do.
So X is a known variable.
- Easy!
- Unlike a lot of the teenagers,
Xavier did not compete on "Ninja Junior."
Has very little ninja experience.
But it hasn't slowed him down.
And right into Ring Chaser.
This kid is running with authority.
Oh, just got that ring.
- He is not messing around.
This kid from Yonkers is going bonkers.
- Breathe, dude. Nice and easy. Just like the gym.
- There's Joe Moravsky giving some advice.
X trains with Joe.
- Nice. - Nice.
- Matt, I love the dedication, though, too,
to his training, his commitment to ninja.
- Nice deep breath. - He's not slowing down.
Going right into Spinning Bridge.
both: Oh!
- Just survived.
There's his mom and little brother,
and his dad also watching back in Queens.
X up now on Wall to Wall.
You mentioned his dedication.
We told you his story in qualifying.
He takes a train two hours each way to get to Connecticut
to train with Joe Moravsky.
That hard work paying off, as he's in the semifinals.
- Be aggressive with it.
- You got to trust everything you prepared for.
You might not have seen this one before,
but you've got transferrable skills.
- Got to reach out. This is--5'11".
Gotta get that foot compact.
- Nice. - For the tall athletes,
we're seeing that, they get one foot up,
let the other one drop down, then get their perch.
Now, watch, you gotta anticipate the drop here.
- He can see it. - Start pulling it down,
keep the L's, absorb--nice.
- Here we go. - Joe Moravsky,
still coaching him through,
even though he's gonna be competing with him.
Come on. Nice!
- Just over the wall. - All right.
X gon' give it to 'em. Huh? X gon' give it to 'em.
- Fell on the fifth obstacle in qualifying,
so this will be his first Warped Wall.
- Beat that wall, man. - Beat that wall. Come on.
- Get up. all: Beat that wall.
Beat that wall. - No Mega Wall in semifinals.
It's the regular 14 1/2 foot version.
all: Beat that wall. Beat that wall. Beat that wall.
- Nice. - And he's got it!
[cheers and applause]
- You good, X? You good? All right.
- Yeah! - Forever. Forever. Go get it.
- He sprinted through the front half,
but now he's slowing down.
Checking his heart rate.
May have caught up to him.
- Breathe. Breathe.
- Gotta remember,
he's only 16 years old.
We saw moments like this with Olympians in Tokyo.
The pressure can get to these kids,
knowing that one mistake can end their season.
- All he needs to do is relax.
- All right, buddy, this is the time to fight.
Let's go!
- First time on this brutal back half.
Starting with the Salmon Ladder.
The pace is getting a little more methodical, Akbar.
And he really seems out of breath.
But he gets through it.
That's seven obstacles down, three to go.
But now this head-spinning new obstacle, Padlock.
This one will throw you around.
You have to anticipate it. - All right,
he's got a find a-- hold on! Whoa!
- You can see how, just when it turns, it goes quickly.
- Yeah, he ain't seen a padlock like that
since his locker. - There you go. Big kick.
Wide feet. - Kip it up.
Gotta get those hands
right up on top and control it.
- Throw it up. Throw it up. both: Oh!
- His foot got there first.
- Hey, nice effort, man.
- Well, X couldn't handle Padlock,
but made it to the eighth obstacle.
A strong showing by this 16-year-old.
- He didn't swing high enough.
His feet made it onto the padlock,
but he barely got his hands on it.
Hands down, man down.
- [exhales]
- Still, a strong run by the 16-year-old.
We'll see if that was good enough to get him
in the national finals.
More electrifying moments are coming up...
- Whoo!
- Quick feet, quick feet, quick feet, quick feet.
- Including two of Vermont's finest,
ninja Amir Malik
and snowboarding legend Hannah Teter...
- Hey!
- When "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- We're here on the Universal Studios backlot in Los Angeles
and are thrilled that Universal Studios Hollywood
is open and welcoming guests back to the theme park
to experience the amazing new Indominus Rex
on Jurassic World: The Ride.
- Plus, you've got to check out
Universal Orlando Resort in Florida,
where you can now ride Jurassic World: Velocicoaster,
the apex predator of roller coasters.
And moments ago, Puerto Rico's Lenny Lopez
found out our obstacle course can be a pretty wild ride too.
- All right, he's waving that Puerto Rican flag.
He is pumped. - Yes, yes, yes. Let's go!
- After making it through the Shrinking Steps,
the 33-year-old rookie
discovered the splash zone on Double Twister.
- Oh! Body slammed!
- Welder Anthony Eardley had the sparks flying
as he hit the start line.
- Let's go! - He's lit.
His shoestring's lit. He's ready.
- The three-time veteran from Oneonta, New York,
was electrifying on the front half of the course.
- Well, he brought that arc voltage.
- Eardley was eliminated by the Ring Chaser last year.
- Oh, no! - Ohh!
- Oh, no!
- But not tonight.
- Whoo! Okay! He ready.
- There it is, a little bow. - "I got it."
- Let's go! - Whoo!
- The welder gave us a replica of his goal for the night...
- You smack it when I smack it. - A custom-made buzzer.
- I just broke it. I just broke it.
That's all right. Break this course.
- And seconds after his buzzer fell apart,
so did Eardley's run.
- Oh, my goodness!
- Finished the obstacle that took me out last season.
Sometimes you gotta have small goals to reach the big goals.
Stay in it.
- Well, we've got another exciting young star
on the course right now.
[cheers and applause]
This is Amir Malik,
the 20-year-old from Vermont nicknamed Sonic.
This is the kid who came out of nowhere last year.
Suffers from a childhood heart condition,
but it didn't slow him down.
He became the top rookie last season in St. Louis
and famously broke the buzzer on one of his runs.
And he's going for another buzzer tonight.
Keeping himself calm.
Confident. - And Matt, after--
- Wow. - Look at that.
That's why they call him Sonic.
- Wow. That was good.
That's where you earned your nickname.
- That was good. - You earned your nickname
on that Warped Wall.
- I did. - Yes, you did.
- He's got some of his fellow ninjas
from the northeast on his sidelines.
And his family is watching from back home in Vermont.
And Amir's also got maybe the most famous athlete
from the Green Mountain State,
snowboarding legend Hannah Teter.
- Hey!
- Hannah, you won a gold medal on the halfpipe.
What do you think of Amir's run so far?
- Oh, my gosh, that is some next-level business going on.
I don't--that--craziest course I've ever seen.
These guys are hands-down the best athletes in the world.
- Awesome. Hannah, this next obstacle, Padlock,
is kind of like the halfpipe.
It's a long way down. - Ooh.
All right, now, he's gotta throw himself into them.
He's gotta make sure that he comes in
with his knees tucked.
We've seen a couple of athletes already
get bounced off because their feet hit first.
- But Amir able to make the grab.
Now gotta spin the ledge down to the bottom
and get his hands on it.
And he's done it.
Now has to swing to the final padlock.
- There you go. No, watch yourself.
- Could be just the second ninja
to get through this tonight.
Yes! [cheers and applause]
- Yeah. - Right on.
- And now what's going through his head
as he approaches Split Decision?
- Well, I can tell you,
he's looking at the Tuning Forks,
but his body's walking towards the Inverter.
- What are you really feeling?
The Inverter is just an upper-body gauntlet.
- You can see him sweating, too.
Man, he is sweating. Look at the--
- Well, that's the first time we've seen him
looking a bit winded here at the ninth obstacle.
- I know, and if you think eight obstacles is just easy,
look at the sweat on his forehead. He is--
- Well, that is the respect these athletes
have for the Tuning Forks.
- All right, now he's gotta go side-to-side, traverse across,
and now this big reach up here.
He's 5'6", so he's really gotta get up there.
- Wow. - Nice.
- You could see just see him just levitate there.
- And that board is heavy, too.
Don't trip. - But watch this.
You have to get your fingers locked in
'cause it's a hard drop. - Get up high. Get up high.
Ooh! - Oh, what a jump!
- He almost peeled off.
- Amir Malik, the first to conquer the ninth obstacle.
[cheers and applause]
- He does not want to go out like he did last year.
You remember this? He was so close,
and then he just gassed out.
- Let's go!
- Trying to be the first finisher of the night.
Amir Malik, 35 feet away
from getting his first semifinals buzzer.
- Yeah, he's like, "Bump that. Give me my buzzer.
I want double buzzer." - Look at that.
Back-to-back years making it to the final obstacle.
- All right, come on. Okay!
I see you put in some leg room work.
- Wow! - I see you!
- And look at that, Akbar. - Look here.
- I think the technique has gotten better.
Hitting in the middle. - Much better, Matt.
- He's using the leverage, starting in the middle.
- He looks like he's been in the weight room!
Okay, you little meathead! - Whoa!
- Little meathead!
[buzzer blares]
- Amir Malik smashes that buzzer!
He may break it again this year!
- Let's go!
- I love it.
Oh, boy, look at him. He is emotional.
- Amir, you seem to be feeling something real deep right now.
What's going through your mind, buddy?
- You know, falling on this last year,
the last door so close,
I wanted it so bad, and I'm just glad I got it.
- Well, Amir, guess what. Your next stop: Las Vegas.
- Let's go, baby!
- Yes! Yes! Yes!
- He got past Padlock with ease,
and then showed us how you do it on Inverter.
And the Spider Trap
wasn't gonna stop him two years in a row.
And Amir Malik is our first finisher of the night.
- Let's go!
Whoo! - Let's go!
- Come on, baby! Hey, come on!
- * Show me how it's done *
- And remember, later tonight,
our two fastest finishers are gonna race
on the 40-foot Power Tower for a Safety Pass,
a second chance if you fall in Vegas.
- Welcome back to the semifinals.
Minutes ago, Jeremy Clark brought back his masterpiece
from qualifying, a painting of his favorite TV hosts.
- Work of art on canvas. - When he's not painting,
Clark is a registered nurse in Mississippi
and the father of four. [cheering]
But his technique on Double Twister
wasn't quite picture-perfect.
- Ohh! [all groaning]
- As short as it was, I enjoyed the ride, baby.
- Biochemist Will Schlageter
embraces his nerdy side, and so did we.
- [as Urkel] Did I do that? Hi, Zuri.
- Hey, Akbar. [laughs]
- When Schlageter takes off the lab coat,
he becomes Will da Beast, Ninja Wild Man.
[growling]
- Hi. Hi, Will. - Oh!
- There's going to be some chaos here
as the Will da Beast takes the course.
In his second year of competition,
the 23-year-old looked like a beast
on the early obstacles.
- Whoo!
- Hey, Will, how do I look?
- Yo, you guys look nerdy.
That's a good thing. - Ah, yeah!
- Yeah, buddy!
But even though he's got
degrees in chemistry, biology,
and environment science,
Schlageter still couldn't avoid the H20.
- No! - Oh!
- Trajectory was all wrong.
- Did he do that? [laughs]
- Our next athlete is a trailblazer
on the course and off.
It's Casey Rothschild.
She's the youngest woman
ever to hit a buzzer on "Ninja Warrior,"
and she's carrying a flag representing bisexual pride,
because she's the leader of a group
called Queer Ninjas Unite.
[upbeat music]
[horn honking]
- We're here in Newport, Rhode Island,
at the Newport Out Fest.
* *
Last year, I started Queer Ninjas Unite,
and it's an organization that brings together
LGBT ninjas and allies.
- Let's celebrate, let's party,
and let's have our freak flag fly, baby.
Yeah! [cheering]
- Queer Ninjas Unite means that there's a safe space
for everyone to be and feel welcome,
and you know you always have this huge family
to back you up.
- I'm always nervous to run the course,
but I got to stand there... - Right.
- With the pride flag, and that means something.
- Come on, Casey! - You got this!
- I was going crazy on your sideline.
Just so you know. [laughter]
Being queer can be a challenge, especially when you're younger.
It's a lot of questioning.
Now, being surrounded by this community has shown me
that I'm just my own special person.
all: Happy Pride!
- Casey is definitely an inspiration to me,
and I want to follow in those footsteps.
Thank you.
- Hug! Hug! - Get a group hug.
Representing queer ninjas again at the semifinals is fantastic,
and it's really great feeling the community behind me.
And I'm gonna hit a buzzer for them tonight.
Whoo!
- Get it, girl.
- Casey's got her parents and brother
and her boyfriend Eli
cheering her on from home tonight.
Showing support on the sidelines,
two of the greats, Allyssa Beird
and Sandy Zimmerman, who will run later.
- Whoo! [countdown beeping]
Casey made history three years ago
as the youngest woman to hit a buzzer,
but followed that up by falling
on the first obstacle in semifinals.
And look at this: history almost repeated.
An extra swing there, but she is through.
She's pumped. - Whoo!
- On now to Double Twister.
- And she's trained in circus arts.
She knows how to do the trapeze,
so she should be right at home on this obstacle.
- 5'8", long and lean.
Couple extra swings here.
But she's through.
- Nice. - Whoo!
- Not the smoothest start for Rothschild.
Now looking at Ring Chaser.
- Matt, you know she wants to get to that wall again.
- Look at that. Good pace.
Oh, just missed the ring.
- That's okay. She can handle this.
Now she just has to do this with the smaller ring.
- Line it up, line it up.
- This transition much more difficult
with the smaller ring.
- You see her eyeballing that hook.
Nice. - Got it.
- Ooh.
- And she gets through again.
Now on to the Spinning Bridge.
- Matt, she's a track star at Wesleyan University.
Still holds the school record there for the triple jump.
Ooh. Oh! - Stumbles forward, sliding!
Gotta get up!
And she is still alive.
- Wow, I thought you were donezo!
[laughter]
Oh, she is tough. Shaking it off.
Ready now for Wall to Wall.
- Well, this has not been pretty.
But she's fought here to the fifth obstacle,
hoping to reach the Warped Wall once again.
- Go ahead. - Nice!
- If she gets past that wall,
she's got a good shot at making it to Vegas.
- You can see she's trying to push that wall open, break it.
Nice. - Eight-inch drop here.
Can she lock that grip in?
She's got it! - Nice.
Now she's just got to take herself--get off that.
Nice. - And there it is!
She's back at the Warped Wall! - Yeah.
- I'm back. - It's been a while.
- Well, here we go.
First time being at this spot in three years.
You got this. - You've got this.
Handling the pressure.
- Casey Rothschild.
One hand, and the other, and she's done it!
- Okay! All right! Enjoy it!
- Well, it wasn't the prettiest run, Akbar,
but she's done what she had to do,
and she can keep going here.
This woman is a leader off the course,
fighting for causes she truly believes in.
And she's really showing she's a fighter tonight.
- And it's a great comeback season for her.
By making it this far, she's got
a good chance to make her first national finals.
- She's taken some hard falls here.
Those take a toll on the body,
particularly the endurance.
What does she have here on the Salmon Ladder?
- Moving kind of slow.
- Needs one more rung. Got it.
- Matt, you gotta be concerned by the way
she just kind of struggled up the Salmon Ladder.
How much does she have left in the tank?
- And you don't want tired arms here on Padlock.
This has been so tough tonight.
- Nice. Nice hand placement. - Gotta lock it on. Oh!
- Whoa. - Casey Rothschild
splashes down, but she reached the eighth obstacle,
her best run ever.
- Three years after her first Warped Wall,
Casey got her second.
She made it to the back half, but on Padlock,
her left hand just peeled off.
- I didn't get my hand on the bar soon enough.
A little tired, but I feel good about it.
- Whoo!
- It's still early, but that may have earned
Casey her first trip to the national finals.
- Coming up, Dougie's gonna be fresh.
And Flexington's gonna be...flexing?
Plus, the beast is back.
Who is gonna make it to the Power Tower tonight?
- Welcome back to Los Angeles.
We're about halfway through tonight's semifinals,
and so far all the drama
has been on the back half of the course.
- Yeah, in our first night of semifinals,
our ninjas had no problem on the eighth obstacle,
Corkscrew, but tonight, number eight is new,
and it's a different story.
North Carolina's Brett Hernandez Strong
had a strong debut back in qualifying.
But when he reached the eighth obstacle,
the budding baseball player
didn't have the hands for Padlock.
Oh!
[all shouting]
- Rapid spin, and he struck out.
- Troutdale, Oregon's Caiden Madzelan
was also impressive in qualifying,
and the 15-year-old
was sailing through the semifinals course.
- Liftoff!
[cheering]
- Until he reached Padlock.
both: Oh!
- And there it was.
- Took the left hand off, the right hand just spun over.
- Massachusetts' Lucas Reale is a top ninja
who made it as far as stage three in Vegas.
But even this four-time veteran
got crossed up on Padlock.
both: Ohh!
- As we said, any obstacle, any time, any ninja.
- All three had fast times to that point,
so they've still got a shot to move on.
Hey, that's eight falls already
on this eighth obstacle.
- Ohh!
- That's not supposed to happen.
- Well, our next competitor bleeds red, white, and blue.
That's right, it's time for the one, the only,
Chad Flexington!
Oh, Akbar, coming out pumping iron,
the flag behind him.
Chad Flexington is here.
- Yeah!
- You know, you can see-- - Oh, yeah, one, two,
2,000, 2,001, 2,003. - This dude is jacked.
- Look at this.
- And you can see his wife Katie
along with the little Flexingtons right there,
wearing the Flexington headbands.
He's gonna hand off the barbell
to ninja veteran Grant McCartney.
Oh!
Well, if you're wondering who this guy really is,
he's the alter ego of Ben Udy,
who, when we first met him,
was a food scientist in California,
but in the last year, he's moved his family to Idaho
and is now a contractor.
But on the course, he becomes
Chad Flexington, American Hero.
[countdown beeping]
- Matt, this is a slimmer Chad Flexington.
- There it is! - He's dropped about
ten pounds since we saw him two years ago.
Check out the difference.
Less mass might mean fast.
- Well, despite the show he puts on,
he's a legitimate athlete.
Qualified for the national finals in his previous season.
But he's spinning around here.
- You're good. Kick. Kick forward. Yep.
You got it. There it is.
- And a little hung up here on Double Twister.
But now he's through it.
- Reset. Big, deep breath and reset.
- Taking a deep breath before Ring Chaser.
- Quick, go, go. There it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Reach, reach.
- Oh! - Misses the ring! Oh, boy.
And now he's got use the smaller ring.
- Watch it all the way in. All the way in.
- Makes this obstacle a little tougher.
Gotta line it up, land his big body softly on that hook.
- Whoa! - And hangs on.
He's like a piece of iron, this guy.
Chad Flexington fighting for America,
fighting for a shot at Vegas.
- Keep it moving.
You're doing great, man. You're doing awesome.
- You can hear Grant offering advice,
and getting a workout in, too.
- Flexington won the Striding Steps Skills Event.
We know he's got balance.
- Nice. - Go, go, go!
- Oh, okay! - Oh! There he goes.
- I see you, Akbar! - I see you.
You great American hero, you!
- Whoo! - Whoo!
- Hopefully Chad's saving
some of that energy for Wall to Wall.
- That was graceful.
- "That was graceful," he said.
- Let it roll. Let it roll. Shake it, baby. Shake it.
- Oh, now look at him. He's having fun.
- Yeah!
- You got it.
- Nice. - Good.
- Good transition here. Rotating around.
Now, it's gonna be this drop here.
- Shake it around. Shake it around.
- All right. - He's got those hips.
- All right, remember, it drops.
Be ready on the drop.
- All right, come on now. Watch out for the drop.
- Holding on, man.
It's like he's chasing chickens out here.
Seeing if he can catch greased lightning on this course.
All right! - Let's go!
- Flexington. - Flex on them, man!
You gotta flex on 'em.
- Gotta breathe.
- "Gotta breathe." - Gotta breathe.
- "Hold on, let me breathe before I pass out."
- This is an enlightened Chad Flexington out here.
Not gonna wait. Going for the wall.
Right up it.
- Easy work, man. - Easy money.
- Hey, what are you listening to?
- I got Technotronic, "Pump Up the Jam."
- Technotronic. - Oh!
- "Pump up the jam. Pump it up." That one?
Okay. All right.
- Well, he's gonna try to keep jamming
as he heads to the back half.
both: Oh! - From the top rope!
The People's Elbow!
- That was like Thunderlips right there.
- Matt, you know I gotta call for a replay on this one,
'cause the WWE would approve of this move.
Dropping the hammer on the course.
- Well, he's having fun,
but needs to be conscious of the time.
Only the top 15 move on.
Right now, needs to get past the Salmon Ladder.
- Good. Nice.
Solid. - Right up it.
But now the obstacle that's been trouble tonight, Padlock.
- He's a little slimmer, but still 180 pounds.
That's a lot to control if he starts spinning.
- Micro moves. Hands up when it drops.
Oh, yeah! - There it is.
Now, watch it here, on this transition.
You see that cleat slightly off-center.
Get those hands up and control this disk.
- Come on, now. Come on, now. You gotta control it.
There is no tomorrow.
- Oh, no! - There is no tomorrow.
- Oh! 360, and he's down!
Chad Flexington goes out, but goes out in style.
- Dang it! - As soon as he lifts
his left foot, his weight shifts,
and he goes spinning to the right.
Does a complete 360,
and yet still lands on his feet.
- And Zuri's with Chad now. - Chad Flexington.
What went wrong here on Padlock?
- I thought hanging out upside-down
might be a good idea. - Okay.
- Turns out it wasn't.
Hope it at least looked cool.
- Yeah, it did look very cool.
- If I don't complete it, if I go out
in a blazing glory of fire, I'm all right with that.
- All right, well, there it is. Good work out there,
Chad Flexington. - Thank you.
- You never cease to amaze and entertain.
- Thank you, thank you.
- Well, we'll have to wait to see if his time
to that point still gets him into the top 15.
- I didn't get enough. - Get your set in, bro.
- And he's getting in a few reps.
Gotta love Chad Flexington.
Still to come, more of our top teenagers,
including Colorado's Kaden Lebsack
and Connecticut's Jay "Lache" Lewis,
plus Jay's coach,
the ninja legend Joe Moravsky,
along with our history-making mom,
Sandy Zimmerman,
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- * Welcome to my life * - * Hey *
* This is how we ride * - * Hey *
- Ninja and rapper Black Jewelz made some noise
while we were away.
Jewelz, aka Julius Ferguson,
let it flow as he took on the semifinals course.
- That's it, Julius. Let's go!
- With his friend and training partner
Dan Champagne cheering him on, the 35-year-old
had one of the smoothest runs of the night.
- I got a feeling about Julius Ferguson, Matt.
- Hey, what's it gonna take to get us in a rap, Julius?
- Ohh! All right. - Okay!
- The five-year veteran
was looking for his second trip to Vegas.
- He's like, "I ain't messing around."
- But like so many others...
- Oh! Body slammed!
- His night came to an end on Padlock.
- Great run, man.
- Then it was his friend Dan's time,
and he brought champagne to celebrate his first buzzer,
which he hit back in qualifying.
- Yes! Yes! [horn blaring]
- This is the real good stuff, folks.
We were ready to pop the cork
if the Connecticut financial planner hit another buzzer.
- Yeah! - Come on, Champagne.
- And it sure looked like he might.
- Yeah! Yeah! - Whoo-hoo!
- We're ready to pop this, buddy.
- We got it. - Get a buzzer.
The 32-year-old rookie was just
the third ninja all night
to get past Padlock.
- He's making it work! - Yeah! Let's go!
- At Split Decision, he gave the Tuning Forks
a look, but ultimately decided to go
with Inverter, where Champagne's improbable run
finally went flat.
- Whoa. - Oh!
And though he didn't hit a buzzer,
his run clinched him a spot in the top 15.
He's going to the national finals.
Dan Champagne, here's to you.
That's alcohol. - Yeah.
- That wasn't apple juice.
Our next athlete is a teenager,
so naturally, he's on his phone.
- You got this, man. - Wish we could be there, man.
- This is 17-year-old Jay "Lache" Lewis,
who's FaceTiming with his friend and fellow ninja
Blake Feero, who's back in Connecticut.
Jay Lache has also got his dad and brother
watching from back home,
and down on the sideline, his coach and mentor,
Joe Moravsky, who's turned him into the ninja he is today.
- I first saw Joe Moravsky on TV
when I was only about nine years old.
- Joe Moravsky, the last athlete remaining.
- I remember watching his run on stage three in season six.
I'm like, "Dude, I really want to do this.
This looks awesome."
- Look at this! Joe Moravsky,
only the third competitor ever to reach this point!
- I started training with Joe in 2016.
It's not very often that you can go to a gym
and meet somebody that knows how hundreds of obstacles feel.
- Man, that's a hard move.
I love Jay Lache. He's amazing.
I think you need to kill your swing on the second bar.
Right here. Kill it, and then pull straight up.
Yeah.
He showed me a video recently
of me and him training when he was, like, this big,
and I'm coaching him on the Salmon Ladder,
and I think I was pulling on the rope
to kind of help the Salmon Ladder bar up,
because he didn't quite have it.
Now here he is competing, and I would consider him
one of the guys I gotta watch out for.
[buzzer blaring] - Let's go!
- He's got a lot of what it takes
to be a superstar on this show.
That's it! Yeah!
We're gonna see him for many years to come.
all: Yeah!
- Ridiculous. - Ridiculous.
- Thanks.
I'm in this sport for the long haul,
but right now, I'm just focused
on the semifinals and hitting that buzzer.
- And Joe will be running later.
He's mentored many of these teenagers,
knowing these are the guys who are gonna replace him.
But he says not necessarily this year.
[countdown beeping]
And if you're not familiar, "lache" is a parkour term.
It means to use your body's momentum
to swing and release off an object.
- Hey, hey, Jay Lache.
- 5'4", 115 pounds,
and as the name says, Jay Lache can fly.
- Ooh. Yes, he can. And he loves to lache.
That's his favorite part about ninja.
- Stay on the right side.
- Moravsky giving Jay some tips for the Ring Chaser.
And racing out to the ring. - Okay.
- No problem.
- Come on. - Yeah, Matt, it's not
that long ago he was on the playground,
on the monkey bars.
- He started training for "American Ninja Warrior"
when he was just ten years old--
seven years ago--
and here is out here,
making this semifinals course look easy.
- Ooh.
Look at that, going straight into it.
- The thing that's impressing me
about these young athletes
is, they just have an easy efficiency pace about them.
- Well, that, and the other thing: look how fast this is.
They have no regard for personal safety.
When you're this young, you're that limber,
you don't care about getting hurt
or anything like that, you just go.
- Yeah. - Not taking a breath.
He's going straight at the Warped Wall.
Oh, my! Flying up it, Jay Lache!
- Hey, hey, Jay Lache! - On the back half right now.
- Yeah. You see that?
He's calling for it. He's calling for it.
- Let's go. Good pace. Keep it moving. You got this.
- First time he's been on the longer ten obstacle course,
but he's not slowing down.
Going right into Salmon Ladder.
- Watch this.
- And at 115 pounds,
just flying up it.
- Yeah.
- This next obstacle, though, has been a buzzkill.
This is Padlock.
We've only seen three ninjas survive it.
both: Ooh! - Watch out. Watch out.
- So impressive. Right up. - Ooh.
- And you see the foot got there--
- Look at that, Matt. - Going the wrong way
- He's got that number two pencil grip right there.
- Did you see the correction? - Yes! Yes!
- That's so impressive.
- When was the last time you used a number two pencil?
- Oh, my goodness.
- Whoa! Whoa! No! No. Stay on.
- Almost needed the eraser. That was close to a mistake.
And look at that. [cheering]
- That thing's terrifying.
- And now Split Decision.
Will he go Tuning Forks or Inverter?
- How's Tuning Forks look? - You do Tuning Forks, Joe.
I'm gonna do this. - No, no.
- He says Joe can do Tuning Forks,
but he's gonna go with the Inverter.
Well, he has been flying.
Well ahead of Amir Malik's pace for fastest time.
- Well, Matt, if he's able to get the board flipped over,
you can see, he gets it flipped over.
He's got the grip.
Now he's gotta power up to get that bar on the backside.
- Oh, my goodness. As my-- - And that's what it's
gonna take--nice power-up.
He's got the muscle strength.
Now, this is where it gets difficult.
He's gotta make that grab and pull it--nice.
- Great job hanging on. This is so impressive.
And he's through.
The 17-year-old destroying the course!
And he's on pace for the fastest time by a mile!
- This guy done passed his SAT, his ACT,
and now he's about to pass this semifinals ninja course.
- But at 115, these doors are almost as heavy as he is.
- Does he get extra credit for PE?
This is ridiculous!
- Oh, my goodness. - Come on, Jay, push!
- Look at this.
50 pounds on each side.
Jay Lache continues to rise.
- At 5'4", Matt, he's the new big man on campus.
- Oh, my goodness.
He's gotta get the other door, though.
Does he have anything left?
- That's what I'm talking about!
- Jay Lache!
- Let's go! [buzzer blaring]
[upbeat music]
- What a run! Oh, my goodness.
- Yes! Yes!
- Jay, you just had the fastest time of the night.
- Yeah! Let's go! - Let's go, buddy!
Pack your bags. Don't get a fake ID.
You're gonna have supervision there.
You're gonna have chaperones.
But we're going to Vegas, baby.
- Yeah!
- Well, he survived some close calls on Padlock,
but hung on and became just the second tonight
to conquer the Inverter.
At 17, he's got his first semifinals buzzer,
the fastest finisher tonight.
- Somebody get me water, please.
[both laugh] - He's calling the shots!
He's calling the shots!
- Smash that buzzer one more time, Jay.
- He's calling the shots. - Smash that.
[buzzer blaring]
- Give the man some water, Matt.
- Get your camera ready.
More heart-stopping-- - No!
- Heart-breaking moments are coming up.
- I see you! I see you!
- As "American Ninja Warrior" rolls on.
- All right. We'll talk about that later.
- Hey, buddy. - All right, I gotta run.
I'm live. - We're back.
Hang up the phone. - [laughs]
We gotta show the folks what just happened.
New Jersey auctioneer
Judas Licciardello brought his gavel to the start line,
and the fast talker had some high-flying moves...
- Whoo! Whoa, whoa, whoa.
- Get down, baby. Show them. - Yeah! Let's go!
- And also some painful ones. - Oh, my--golly!
- Oh! Right in the goody-good, too.
- Oh! - Oh, my goodness!
Down his backside!
- Bro!
- But despite the blows... - Nice.
- He was still ready to play auctioneer
as we bid on how many obstacles he'd complete.
- [auctioneering]
Now I'm gonna get ten.
- Man, go get ten.
- But Licciardello was going,
going, gone once he reached Padlock.
- Oh, no!
- We'll be back. We'll be back.
- New Jersey's Abby Clark
had the other Jersey Girls on her sidelines.
- You got this, Abby. - You got it!
- The former college gymnast was cruising
on the early obstacles,
showing good hands on Ring Chaser...
- Get it. - Yeah! Whoo!
- And good footwork on Spinning Bridge.
- Where there's a will, Abby will find a way.
- The four-time veteran made it to the Warped Wall,
but missed on her first...
- No! - Second...
- Oh, so close! - And third attempts.
- No! [air horn blows]
- Then it was the last of the Jersey Girls,
31-year-old Cara Mack.
Mack hosts the "Ninjababes" podcast,
where she interviews top women competitors.
And she looked like one herself tonight.
- Ooh, she brought that heat. - The three-time veteran
got up the Warped Wall for the first time in her career.
- Oh, my God!
- I'm subscribing right now to your podcast.
- And Mack made it all the way to the eighth obstacle
to put herself in a good position
to make it to her first national finals.
- Oh! Oh! Oh! [air horn blows]
- First time up the wall. I'm so excited.
- Up next is a fan favorite.
It's the Eskimo Ninja, Nick Hanson.
- I'm not that Nick Hanson! Wrong one!
- We're just having some fun.
It's not that Nick Hanson. It's this Nick Hanson.
This Nick Hanson's not from Alaska.
He's a rugby-playing college student from Iowa,
and he's ready to make a name for himself.
The rookie shares his first and last name
with the seven-time veteran, the Eskimo Ninja.
- I'm a huge fan of the Eskimo Ninja.
[upbeat music]
You know, I've been watching him for years,
and he's been a big role model of mine.
- But that Nick Hanson
had a shocking fall back in qualifying.
- Oh, my goodness!
- So now the torch has been passed to this Nick Hanson...
- Let's go! - AKA the Rugby Ninja.
- I got to put it on my back and keep it going.
I've combined the power and speed from rugby
and then the grip strength for ninja.
- Whoo! - Let's go!
- Whoo!
This Nick Hanson's gonna hit a buzzer tonight.
- Yo. I made it. Made it.
- And Alaska Nick Hanson is here.
He's gonna be down on the sideline
along with the two other Iowa boys,
Chris Behrends and Jackson Twait,
who will run next.
- Them boys be wilding out. - Let's go, Nick!
- Plus a big bunch of supporters
watching from back in Iowa.
This is gonna be a party.
[countdown beeping]
- All right, he's a big boy, Matt.
6 feet tall and almost 200 pounds.
- No problem on the Shrinking Steps.
Moves on to Double Twister.
Probably needs to get to the eighth obstacle
to have a chance to move on.
- Oh! - One hand.
Well, a good save there.
And he gets through.
- Whoo! Good save, bro.
- Steps up now for Ring Chaser.
- All right, watch the ring.
Can the rugby player make the grab?
- Here we go. Ooh. - Oh, he missed it.
- But that's okay.
He can grab the smaller ring next to it.
Still has to jump it across to the other hook.
More of a challenge, though, with this smaller ring.
- Come on, let's go!
- Come on, big fella.
Watch out.
He's got a lot on that upswing.
He better be careful. Nice.
- And he sticks it. [cheering]
Still needs the dismount.
And now he's through.
Oh, headband coming off, Akbar.
- You don't need that, bro. Light and fast.
- He needs balance here on Spinning Bridge.
- Nice, nice, nice. Fall forward.
- And there it is.
And the rookie has made it
to the fifth obstacle, Wall to Wall.
- Anticipate the drop here.
- Some of the bigger guys like Hanson
have had trouble on this obstacle.
- Don't overgrip, Nick.
- Jackson Twait says, "Don't overgrip."
- Yeah, overgripping will tire you out so fast.
both: Oh!
- Matt, he is beating himself up now.
To make a miss like that, that's 196 pounds--
almost 200 pounds he's messing with.
- And it is those unanticipated shots
that really will sap that grip strength rapidly.
- Get a couple. - You got this!
- This is gonna be another big ask here.
Eight-inch drop. - That Nick Hanson.
- Good job holding on.
The Rugby Ninja.
And this is it. He is pumped.
[cheers and applause]
- Let's go, boy! Let's go, boy.
- He fell on the fifth obstacle in qualifying,
so this will be his first run at a Warped Wall.
- He's getting psyched up. - Get up there. Let's go.
- Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Right up. No problem on the Warped Wall.
- That's a Nick Hanson Warped Wall right there.
- All right, you ready? - I'm ready, baby. Let's go.
- Go get yours. Go get yours.
- This rookie trying to make it into the top 15
so he can move on to the national finals,
which start in three weeks in Vegas.
- Just breathe and stay in control.
- First task is to get past the Salmon Ladder.
- Stay in control.
Good.
- All right, got it.
Boy, he's looking winded.
- Yes, yes, yes. - Come on!
- And this is the one that's taken out
so many ninjas, Padlock.
- Good job! Yes!
[all shouting]
- He's doing a good job. That was great.
- I like the way he controlled that all the way down.
Controlled the speed. There's no speed on that one.
- And on the second disk here, watch it--if both hands
get past noon on either side, it is lights out.
- Nice. Oh!
- And there it is. [air horn blows]
Spins off this difficult eighth obstacle, Padlock.
But a good run from the other Nick Hanson,
and he's still got a shot to move on to Vegas.
- You crushed it. - Let's go!
- Watch it again.
As soon as he lands on that second padlock,
it starts to roll him up, and he couldn't stop it.
This obstacle has been a ninja killer tonight.
- Let's go to Zuri, who's standing by
with Nick Hanson and Nick Hanson.
[both shouting]
- You crushed it, bro. - Thank you, man.
- Nick, how do you feel about Other Nick's performance?
- Dude, I'm telling you right now,
Nick Hanson was the better ninja today.
He crushed it. He got to the eighth obstacle.
That's something that I always aspire to try to get to,
is past the Salmon Ladder, and he did amazing.
This is Nick Hanson right here.
- Let's go! - I love it. I love it.
Nicks supporting Nicks. Great job out there.
We'll see if you went far enough fast enough.
Guys, back to you. - I believe it.
- Let's do it. - I don't need it.
- Jay "Lache" Lewis could be headed to the Power Tower.
Can his coach, Joe Moravsky, join him?
He's coming up on "American Ninja Warrior."
- We're in Los Angeles, but the last few minutes
have been all about Iowa,
with two more corn-fed ninjas hitting the course.
Cat-crazy Jackson Twait gave his run a kickstart.
all: Ohh!
- The ninja known as Cat Daddy
pounced on the early obstacles.
[cheers and applause]
- You can tell, Matt, he's running with a lot of energy.
Look at that. Meow! - Let's go!
- The fun-loving, full-throttle
23-year-old from Hudson, Iowa,
was on pace for the fastest time of the night.
- Here I go. Talk to you guys later.
[cheers and applause]
- But on the eighth obstacle,
Twait's cat-like reflexes couldn't save him on Padlock.
- Oh! - Oh.
But his fast time guaranteed him a spot
in the top 15.
- Whoo!
- Then it was another young Iowa ninja,
20-year-old Chris Behrends,
who came out blazing on the early obstacles.
- He went right through. - Let's go!
- With the other Iowa boys showing their support,
the college student from Cedar Falls
made it interesting.
Oh! - Whoa, whoa, whoa.
- One hand! - A one-handed save!
- But like all the other Iowa ninjas tonight,
Behrends' run came to an end on Padlock.
Oh!
- And another one from Cedar Falls falls.
- But Zuri got to soften the blow.
- Nice job, Chris. - Let's go, Chris.
We love you, baby.
- Seeing those guys cheering me on...
- Yeah? - That's what keeps me
going every day, so it's really great to have them.
- Well, I've got some good news.
They'll be cheering you on in Vegas,
because that is where you're headed, my friend.
Congratulations.
[all cheering]
- Well, here comes another energetic young ninja.
Oh!
- Look at that. He's showing out already.
- Well, this is 17-year-old True Becker,
who's starting at Tufts University
in just a few weeks.
With ninja and academics,
his life is in perfect harmony.
[upbeat music]
- I think I'll pack all my clothes,
and I'll steal some of your guys' too,
so I don't have to do any laundry at all.
In the fall, I'm going to Tufts University.
It basically checked every box I wanted.
But there's under a 10% acceptance rate this year,
so I knew I had to stand out.
For me, that's "Ninja Warrior" and a cappella.
Two, three.
all: * Now is the month of maying *
* When merry lads are playing, fa-la-la, la-la, la-la *
- My sophomore year, I had founded an a cappella group.
all: * Each with his bonny lass *
- After that, I started arranging some songs
for the group itself.
I started finding more and more gigs.
I started getting more members.
all: * La, la *
* Fa-la-la, la-la, la-la *
- I think performing in general has just made
"American Ninja Warrior" the perfect thing for me.
I'm fine with lights in my face
and all of the pressure.
Yes! Let's go! Let's go!
- He is looking impressive.
- I actually wrote my college essay
on "Ninja Warrior," about overcoming obstacles.
So if I can hit a buzzer on "American Ninja Warrior,"
knowing that I've achieved one of the things
that I've wanted to achieve my whole life
going into freshman year, that would be amazing.
- True Becker's started his run,
and he's already through three obstacles.
- It's your course, True.
- There's his mom on the sideline.
He's also got a special guest.
It's Jumbo the Elephant, the Tufts University mascot.
- Okay, Big Dog. - [trumpeting]
- But Becker doesn't want to move
like an elephant here on Spinning Bridge.
- Oh! - Whoa!
Did you see that Big Dog? - Oh!
- Let's go!
- He flew like Superman. Peep this again!
He just goes airborne over that last ball
and tumbles across.
Okay!
- Bounced back up, and now, the soon-to-be
engineering student is gonna try to master
this fifth obstacle, Wall to Wall.
- He fell on that fifth obstacle in qualifying.
And he said that ain't happening again.
He's got to go airborne again. Nice.
- Akbar, he is moving with such a good pace
and yet looking very efficient.
Watch the drop. Absorb it.
Perfect. Just 145 pounds.
You can see that handle bouncing up and down.
And he is through.
This teenager's about to face the Warped Wall
for the first time in competition.
- You got this. - True, you got this, True!
all: [chanting] Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- Let's go, True.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- And he is up. No problem.
- Ohh! - There's his dad and brother
cheering him on from back home in Massachusetts.
Only a few runners left.
If True Becker can get through that eighth obstacle,
he'll just about guarantee himself a spot
at the national finals.
- True, you got this! All you!
- This will be his first time facing the Salmon Ladder
in competition.
Gotta make it up four rungs.
- Good. - Nice.
- That's the way you supposed to do a Salmon Ladder.
You want to, right, go upstream, just like that.
- Now it's Padlock.
We've talked about it all night.
It has been turning ninjas upside-down.
- When he gets on that college campus,
he's gonna know all about this padlock.
Padlock your bike. Padlock everything up.
- This second padlock's so tough.
Got it.
- He's stuck like he was superglued.
- Get that cleat on the bottom,
then you gotta drop down.
- Yeah, he's 5'7", 145 pounds. - Let's go, True.
- Look at the flexibility.
- Nice. - Oh, that is just impressive.
- He's really trying to control it.
Now he's got to superglue himself to this one. Nice.
- Now, this one does not fully rotate.
It will lock out there.
- When you got a name like True,
you know you gotta come out here and compete.
- Going for a push here. Trying to keep it locked.
- Wow. - Let's go!
- And True Becker, the 17-year-old,
has made it through eight obstacles.
He's headed for Split Decision.
- Matt, he's pointing at the buzzer.
At the Spider Trap. He wants it.
- Well, first he has a choice to make.
And he's spinning the wheel to decide on Split Decision.
True just pointed to the Inverter.
- All you, all you, all you. - Matt, he's smiling.
Doesn't look like his arms are tired.
So maybe this is a good move to try Inverter.
He's gotta be able to reach out, go get it.
Nice.
- Wow. Great job.
- And you can see him traverse it up there.
Now it's a big reach.
- Now, big reach here to the handle.
- At 5'7", he's really gotta get up there.
- Wow!
Akbar, what have we done
letting these young kids on this course?
- Ooh, this kid is the truth.
- He's gonna just take that fall.
- Nice. Wow!
- Let's go!
- That was amazing technique. - He's going for the dismount!
- To get up so he can make that grab.
Yes! - Let's go!
- True Becker. He pointed at the buzzer.
- He called it out. - He's 35 feet away.
- Who does he think he is, Babe Ruth? He's called it.
- He's not gonna beat Jay Lewis
for the fastest time,
but he can still catch Amir Malik
for second fastest,
which would put him in line for the Power Tower.
- 145 pounds.
He's got 100-pound doors he's got to push up.
- Look at him. He's smiling.
- And he's showing he's got his strength.
I don't know if he's smiling. I think he's grimacing.
- He's gonna be the big man on campus at Tufts University.
- Boy, he is on cloud nine right now.
- This is remarkable.
- 30 feet up. 35 feet, Matt.
- He just destroyed this course.
- He's showing he's got some muscles on him.
- I know this much is true, this kid had a phenomenal run,
and he's going to Vegas. [buzzer blaring]
- Let's go! - Yes! Whoo!
[upbeat music]
- Oh! - Oh, man.
He pointed it out. He called it.
[cheering]
- Well, True, I got a question, man.
Have you ever been to Las Vegas?
- Never been to Vegas.
- Well, pack your bags, buddy...
- Yes! - 'Cause you are going.
- Yeah.
- True Becker, 17 years old,
you're going to Vegas, buddy.
- Yes!
- Well, he called his shot, pointing to the buzzer,
then got there by conquering the Inverter
and battling his way up the Spider Trap
to become the second teenager to finish our course tonight.
- Yes!
- And we're gonna keep the good times rolling
with our next competitor.
Zuri, take it away.
- Nothing is Zimpossible
when our next ninja hits the course.
Sandy Zimmerman was the first mom ever to hit a buzzer,
and at 44,
she's also the oldest woman in this year's semifinals,
trying to earn her first trip to Las Vegas.
- Sandy will have her husband
and three kids watching back in Spokane,
along with a big bunch of supporters.
- Yeah, check out the giant Sandy heads.
They are big fans.
[countdown beeping]
At 44 years old, she's better
than when she was competing in her 30s.
- She is a bulldog.
That's what her dad nicknamed her in judo.
Of course, won a championship in the Tacoma Dome.
Now facing Double Twister.
Last time she competed in LA,
back in season nine,
she had a nasty fall on the second obstacle.
But she is a different ninja now.
- She wants to hit a buzzer tonight.
She says she has what it takes to conquer
all ten obstacles and finish.
- Well, if Sandy wants to move on,
she needs to at least get to the eighth obstacle
faster than Cara Mack, who's on the bubble right now.
Next up for Sandy, Ring Chaser.
Racing after that ring.
Oh, no. - Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
- Come on. - Staying calm,
but the difficulty level just got ratcheted up.
And you can see, much smaller diameter on this handle.
- When stuff gets tough, stay calm.
- Still trying to pull back...
- I see you, Mama Zimmerman. - And launch.
- I see you. - And you can see--
look at the rings sliding on that first--
- Oh! - It slid ride off.
- You called it!
- You could see it sliding, Akbar.
- Oh, man! Too much of a swing!
- And you can see the frustration
for Sandy Zimmerman.
- That hook is only about six inches long,
so when you start swinging your body,
it's easy to slide off the end.
Sandy probably should have gone for it
on her first swing.
She waited and slid right off.
- Sandy Zimmerman's disappointed.
But it does guarantee Cara Mack a spot
at the national finals.
Sandy will have to wait till next year.
- We're under the bright lights
here at Universal Studios,
and minutes ago, Devin Harrelson,
AKA Dougie Fresh, lit up our course.
- Light 'em up. Light 'em up.
- He even brought a special pair of kicks for Zuri.
- Dougie's got me fresh.
I'm ready for his run. Let's go.
- And the flashy 36-year-old
from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina,
was fresh as always on the course.
- Whoo-hoo-hoo! Whoo! Y'all see that?
- He's looking around like, "What just happened?"
- The seven-year veteran made it
to the back half... - Nice.
- And was closing in
on his first trip to Vegas.
- Oh, he's going backwards. Uh-oh.
- A high-risk move out of Dougie Fresh.
- What? Why?
- That wasn't-- that wasn't fresh.
- Then it was our final teenager of the night,
Colorado's Kaden Lebsack.
In qualifying, the 15-year-old
put up the fastest time of the night,
and he didn't slow down any for the semifinals.
- Oh! Look at that!
- The soon-to-be high school junior continued to show
why some think he's the best ninja on the planet.
- He's got to show that upper-body strength.
- The rookie got past Padlock. - Yes!
- And the Inverter.
- Oh. Okay.
- And climbed his way to the top.
- Yeah!
- Putting up the second fastest
finish of the night.
Congratulations, buddy.
Look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas.
So right now, Kaden Lebsack's in line
to go to the Power Tower, where he'd face
another teenager, 17-year-old Jay "Lache" Lewis,
who has the fastest finish of the night.
But there's one more runner to go.
- Matt, Akbar, there is a storm brewing over Universal Studios,
because the Weatherman is headed to the start line.
Joe Moravsky has reached the national finals
every year he's competed.
And with that Safety Pass on the line,
you know he's gonna move fast.
- Joe's got his family watching
from back in Connecticut,
including his wife Stephanie,
who's watching with their baby boy Dylan.
Watching closely will be his student, Jay Lewis.
- Just like practice, Moravsky. You got this, dude.
- If Joe has a good run here, it could be student
versus teacher on the Power Tower.
[countdown beeping] - Whoo!
- And we'll see right away if Joe's gonna play it safe
or if he's gonna go for a fast time.
- But it looks like he's gonna go for it.
- Oh! He's going for speed. Look at him.
Oh, he's not messing around.
- He wants to remind these young bucks
that old Papa Storm Clouds is coming.
- Come on, Joe. - Matt, we could see him
going up against his apprentice.
- Makes the grab on Ring Chaser.
- You can see, he's locked in.
He doesn't have the smiles. He's going for it.
- Now, keep in mind, though, Akbar,
even the greats are prone to missteps.
- You got it, Joe.
- Well, I think Joe Moravsky, he wants it badly this year.
- Oh! - Oh, my goodness! A stumble.
- And he survives it.
But a close call like that will slow you down.
- That was the one I was worried about.
- The balance obstacle's what he was worried about.
But now he's gotta regroup.
Still has six more obstacles to go.
- You got it. Come on.
- Little trouble getting the momentum.
- He's trying to-- he's trying to work it.
- All right. All right. Focus.
- You can hear him. He said, "Focus."
He wants to stay focused.
For a long time, people have said,
"Can Joe Moravsky be the next American Ninja Warrior"?
- Well, he improves his chances if he goes to Vegas
with that Safety Pass in his pocket.
Look at this! Right through it.
- Yeah, let's go, Joe. - Jay Lewis getting excited.
You know he'd love to race against his coach
on the Power Tower.
No problem up the wall.
And he's headed to the back half.
Joe's parents and sister also watching back in Connecticut.
- Joe trying to catch his breath
before the final obstacles.
- Right now, Joe's got a little over two minutes
if he wants to beat Kaden Lebsack
and grab the other spot on the Power Tower.
Needs to keep it moving here on the Salmon Ladder.
- Ooh. - Joe's gotta pick it up.
- All right. Nice.
He's showing he's got a rhythm.
Now, this is it: Padlock.
- Easy to make a mistake here, Akbar.
This obstacle has taken out more ninjas
than any other tonight.
- Whoa! Okay. You see that?
Now, this is where he's gotta see himself.
He's gotta get up high enough
so he can make that grab. Nice.
- Well, this has been the most challenging part
of this obstacle: getting the hands down
to the bottom of this second padlock.
- And he's been watching some of his younger students
go through it.
- And Moravsky figures it out.
This old dog is looking salty on the course, Akbar.
- Uh-oh. Watch out. Watch out. He's riding it. Riding it.
- And he is through.
He's got a great pace to this point.
He's got over a minute to catch Kaden Lebsack,
so will he try Tuning Forks here at Split Decision?
- Yeah, that's sketchy. - He says that's sketchy.
And he's right. Only one ninja,
Rachel Degutz, has attempted
Tuning Forks tonight, and she did not get through.
- Nope. - Oh, he said, "Nope."
- He's going to Inverter,
which will take longer to get across,
but we've seen four other ninjas conquer it tonight.
Clock is ticking if he wants one of those top two times.
- Yeah, Joe Moravsky's definitely gotta push it
if he wants to get to the Power Tower.
- Moravsky has some experience on the Cliffhanger.
This is just such a diabolical obstacle here.
Look at him.
- He can go now, Matt.
Once he gets going, he'll fly.
And I think right now,
just wants to make sure he can secure this grab.
- This is a real challenge. - Whoa!
- Moravsky!
- Okay, 'cause that thing, it will swivel.
- He's got a shot, Akbar!
A little over 30 seconds to catch Kaden Lebsack
for the second fastest time.
Oh, does he have the strength? The old-man strength!
- Matt, it's not just the teenagers
that can go fast.
"I can call the weather and I can hit a buzzer."
- Oh, my goodness! 20 seconds!
- Uh-oh, he's starting to slow down a little bit.
He goes, "Hold on, now. I'm not 17 anymore."
- 32 years old, the father of three.
- He's still trying to get them heavy doors up.
Whoa, Joe, come on. You gotta go, Joe.
- Almost there!
He's not the fastest, but he is the second fastest.
Joe Moravsky, the Weatherman.
- * The best is yet to come *
- Great run, Joe.
- Whoo!
- Matt, you want to tell him how fast he went?
- Joe... - I didn't beat him. I know.
- No, you didn't catch your buddy Jay Lewis
for the fastest time. - I know.
- The good news is, second fastest, Joe.
You're going to the Power Tower!
- Whoo!
[cheers and applause]
Whoo!
- Up next, what a matchup.
It's the master, 32-year-old ninja veteran Joe Moravsky,
racing against his apprentice, 17-year-old rookie
Jay "Lache" Lewis, and it's coming up next
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to the final moments
of tonight's semifinals.
And we're gonna end the night 40 feet in the air
on the Power Tower.
Our two fastest finishers are gonna race head-to-head.
The winner earns the coveted Safety Pass,
a do-over if you fall in the national finals.
Akbar, this felt inevitable.
Here it is, Jay "Lache" Lewis, 17 years old,
going up against the Weatherman, Joe Moravsky.
And what a difference between these two.
- Yes, some big differences.
Joe's 15 years older and much heavier than Jay Lewis,
who only weighs 115 pounds.
But the big difference is experience,
and Joe knows that Safety Pass
could help him win a million dollars in Vegas.
- This is definitely student versus teacher.
Just try it. See what it feels like.
Nice.
Something tells me you would win.
- Joe is my coach and training partner.
I've seen a lot of the top guys train and compete,
and I've never seen somebody
attack the course the way Joe does.
- Uh-oh. Oh! - Oh!
- Okay! - The Weatherman delivers!
- Jay got the fastest time tonight,
and I'm not surprised.
- What a run!
- I may have trained him a little too well.
- I know a lot of his strengths.
I know a lot of his weaknesses.
- Ooh. He caught up. - He's not gonna intimidate me.
The student is definitely going to surpass the master
on the Power Tower tonight.
- Will lightning strike? - I'm still here to win.
I will not pass the torch.
- Back and forth! Back and forth!
- Joe Moravsky!
- Back and forth! - Oh!
- Ah! - Moravsky gets the buzzer!
- Oh, my word.
- I have nine years of experience out there,
and you cannot train for that.
[dramatic music]
* *
- Moravsky looking confident as ever.
He's been on the Power Tower before,
but it's been redesigned for this year.
- You look at Joe Moravsky, 55 pounds heavier
than Jay Lewis.
A little dad weight.
Can the kid use that to his advantage?
- Go, Jay. - Jay will have his dad
and brother watching from back in Connecticut.
- Come on, Joe. You got this. - And Joe's got his wife
Stephanie watching, who never misses one of his runs.
- Joe, Crush it. Come on.
- This has got to be intimidating
to be 17 years old and racing 40 feet in the air
against the guy who trains you.
- A Safety Pass to use in Vegas
up for grabs.
And here we go.
[countdown beeping]
- Teacher against pupil. - And Joe Moravsky exploding.
- Oh, and look at Joe Moravsky!
- He's already opened a big lead
going into the Rope Climb.
You can just see this is a new obstacle,
but Moravsky just relying on that veteran experience.
Watch this right here.
- He's got nine years of experience on him.
And look at the teacher.
He says, "Uh-uh, you better respect your elders."
- On the end of Salmon Ladder, pulling away from Jay Lache.
- And check this out.
Jay Lache is still coming. He ain't giving up.
- Now, Moravsky, does he have enough to finish it up?
Because Jay Lache's almost caught up.
- There's a new--Lache, and Joe Moravsky knows it.
There's Lache. - One move left!
- Here we go! Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness!
[buzzer blaring] - Let's go!
- And Joe Moravsky does it!
- Oh. Whoo! - A storm front comes through,
and the teacher holds off the student.
- Yeah! Whoo-hoo!
- And these two may be going head-to-head
for years to come.
- This guy is an animal.
- Joe won this in the first few seconds.
He used his legs to climb up that first section faster,
while Jay was only using his arms.
That put Joe way out in front.
Jay tried to close the gap near the end,
but it wasn't enough to catch his coach.
- We'll see Jay and Joe
on stage one in Vegas in a few weeks.
- Whoo! - Yeah!
- And Joe Moravsky with a Safety Pass in Vegas
could be dangerous.
- Whoo!
- And joining those two at the national finals
will be our other finishers,
teenagers Kaden Lebsack and True Becker,
along with 20-year-old Amir Malik.
Others who are moving on include Rachel Degutz,
who landed in the seventh spot as a rookie.
And grabbing the final spot in our top 15
is the Massachusetts bricklayer, John Uga.
Joining Degutz in the top three among the women
are Casey Rothschild and Cara Mack.
Well, that's it for tonight.
For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall, I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you next time on "American Ninja Warrior."