[crowd cheering]
- Tonight it's go fast or go home.
- Oh!
- It's the start of the Regional Finals,
and some of "Ninja's" biggest stars
will be running for their lives.
- Oh, a stumble!
- We'll see the reigning king and queen of "Ninja."
And it's almost time for the big reveal.
We're debuting our three-lane race course,
the Tripleheader.
It's all starting right now.
We're about to light up Sin City.
It's gonna be a night like we've
never seen before on "American Ninja Warrior."
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Las Vegas.
I'm Matt Iseman. - And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.
Matt, tonight it's our first regional finals,
and it's gonna be fast and furious.
It starts with round one, where ninjas
need to sprint down an updated version
of our six-obstacle course.
Only the top ninjas advance from qualifying,
so you'll likely need to hit a buzzer
and do it fast if you want to move on.
- Then, later, it's round two.
That's where ninjas will be going head to head to head
on the first-ever three-lane race course,
the Tripleheader.
The action will be intense, and we'll see it all tonight.
For more, let's go down to Zuri Hall.
- Yeah, guys, tonight the best ninjas in the West region
will be fighting for a spot in the National Finals.
And here's what they'll be facing.
This round one course features six obstacles,
and two are new.
In the second position, ninjas need a strong grip
for the ride down Greased Lightning.
And it'll take time to get through the twists
and turns of Tilt-A-Whirl at number four.
Only the top 14 men and 6 women
will move on to the Tripleheader in round two.
This is an all-star field, including "Ninja" legend
Jessie Graff and current women's champ,
teenager Taylor Greene.
Our reigning men's champ, Kai Beckstrand,
and other elite ninjas earned a bye
and get to skip round one.
We'll see them later on our Tripleheader course,
Guys.
- Well, four members of the Beckstrand family
are competing this season,
and all four have made it past qualifying.
Our first runner tonight is the patriarch,
Brian Beckstrand.
He and his daughter Baylee have a chance to make history
as they try to become the first father-daughter duo
to hit a buzzer in the same night.
[upbeat music]
- Look at Dad go.
[cheers and applause]
- Back in season 13, I had the opportunity
to compete with Kai.
- Running with the mohawk to match his 15-year-old son.
- And we ended up making history that night.
We were the first father-son duo
to hit buzzers together.
- That's pretty cool.
- This season, I'm getting the chance to compete alongside
my daughter Baylee, and we're gonna be
the first father-daughter duo to hit buzzers together.
- Dad, check this out.
- It would mean a lot to me to help my dad make history,
just because he's been my coach
ever since I started Ninja.
- Rhythm four all the way up.
[metal clanking]
Training with my sons and Baylee
has made me a better ninja.
Nice, time it. Yeah.
We've started climbing quite a bit.
And that's been a lot of fun, because me and Baylee
are about the same level of climbers.
So it's really fun to kind of integrate that
into our training regimen.
Watch feet, yeah.
Anytime that I can accomplish something
and have my kids be a part of it,
it just makes it that much better.
- We got this. - We got this, for sure.
both: We got this.
[crowd cheering]
- Baylee will be watching intently
along with the rest of the family.
Brothers Luke and Kai will run later.
[countdown clock beeping]
You know we're gonna see a lot of success tonight.
Brian probably needs to finish if he wants to move on.
Well, his last buzzer was five years ago,
back in season 13, Akbar.
- First time seeing Greased Lightning this year.
Gotta hold on tight for the ride down.
- He gets through.
[crowd cheering]
Now Diamond Dash. - Good. Ooh!
Oh, oh!
He split his head. Oh, man. He's bleeding.
- I'm not sure where that happened.
And, oh, right there.
The handle swung back and hit him in the face.
But says he's okay.
Told us he wants to keep going.
We'll get that cut taken care of
when his run is done.
Yeah, you know this firefighter,
there's no way he's letting that slow him down.
- Yeah, blood on his face, no disgrace.
He's getting through.
[crowd cheering]
- Said he had a real goal.
He wants to hit a buzzer with his daughter Baylee.
He and Kai made history.
The first father-son to hit a buzzer in the same night.
And he's through, not letting that cut stop him.
- He is gonna need his vision through Kaleidoscope.
- Well, they have two great Ninja gyms in St. George, Utah.
You want to train? Go train with the Beckstrands.
They're doing it as well as anyone.
- Ooh, he's starting to gas out.
I don't know if he's gassing out
or he's taking a pause to blink...
- Ah.
- So the blood can get out of his eye.
- But you know he wants to get a buzzer.
Means so much to him to share this with his kids.
- Ooh.
- Look at the fight, Akbar.
- He ain't giving up, Matt.
Not blood, nothing is gonna stop...
- Come on, Brian!
- Brian Beckstrand.
- Those arms are extended, Akbar.
Can he make this catch?
- Well, 6'2", 185 pounds.
This is a big throw.
Oh! - Yes!
He's holding on. - Hold on.
Hold on-- - Get that dismount!
- He's slipping. Get out of there!
- Oh, my goodness! - Wow.
- This father of five will not quit!
Wants to finish this course so badly.
- Nice!
- And he delivers a buzzer.
[buzzer blares]
♪ ♪
- Wow!
[crowd cheering]
- Could it be more dramatic, Brian?
First of all, we're glad you're okay.
And just an amazing run.
What kept you going? - Man.
- I fell in qualifiers. I wasn't giving up this time.
After watching Baylee, man. She's so inspiring.
And to be able to do it with them,
that's all that matters.
- You are the fourth-best ninja in your family,
but that's still pretty good, Brian!
Hit that buzzer one more time.
Go celebrate with your family, Brian.
[buzzer blares]
Well, Dad did his part. - Wow.
- Baylee will get her chance to join him in just a few minutes.
Somebody get Dad a Band-Aid.
You're gonna hear the crowd roar for our next ninja.
Flipping his way to the start line
is circus acrobat Colby Player.
He lives here in Las Vegas, and he's got a lot
of fans chanting his name.
crowd: [chanting] Colby! Colby! Colby!
- This guy has become a local hero.
In 2019, he moved from New Hampshire to Las Vegas
and found a home in the circus,
doing trampoline and aerial work in multiple shows.
Colby put those acrobatic skills
to work in his impressive "Ninja" debut two weeks ago,
flipping all the way to a buzzer.
Coming up big!
- If being in the circus has taught me anything,
it's that obstacles are built to be overcome.
I feel pretty good going into tonight's regionals.
I've already done the course once,
so now I have to do it again.
- Among his many supporters here,
the loudest has to be his mom, Ramona,
who's ringing the cowbell down on the sideline.
- More cowbell, Matt.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Hit a buzzer a few weeks ago.
Probably needs to hit another one tonight
with a fast time if he wants to move on.
It's his first time facing Greased Lightning.
- Be careful.
We saw what it did to Brian Beckstrand.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- Should have let go.
But now he'll get another chance.
- Why, I-- oh, ooh, nice save.
- That cost him time, but goes right into Diamond Dash.
- Ooh, oh, my goodness.
He is just tumbling and bumbling
through this regional course.
[crowd cheering]
- Oh, no!
As we said, everyone's gonna go fast tonight.
That leads to mistakes,
and it got Colby Player.
- He didn't release the first time on Greased Lightning,
and that cost him.
He knew he had to hit the accelerator after that.
He rushed his grab on Tilt-A-Whirl
and flew right off the cradle.
- Still to come, some of Ninja's best
will battle to keep their season alive,
including Jessie Graff running once again
in high heels. - Nice, ooh!
- And up next, Zhanique Lovett
gets another shot at history.
Can this grandmother get a buzzer?
- Okay!
- It's Regional Finals Night on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Las Vegas, where we're off and running
in round one of tonight's Western Regional Final.
Dr. Steven Cen has made it past qualifying
all four seasons he's competed
and was trying to get to the National Finals,
for the first time.
The emergency room physician got off to a quick start,
but on Greased Lightning...
- Oh, hold on!
No!
- The doctor was out.
Then it was Southern California's
Arnold Hernandez...
- He's been doing this for a minute.
- The eight-time "Ninja" veteran took
a more cautious approach,
moving slower to make sure he finished each obstacle.
[crowd cheering]
- And look at his pace.
We've got a lot of fast ninjas coming.
- Come on! - Gotta get going.
- Though he did make it to the end...
[buzzer blares]
He'll have to wait and see if
his time is fast enough to stay
in the top 20 and move on.
[crowd cheering]
The Godfather David Campbell had earbuds in
and was rocking out for his run,
but it didn't go as planned. - Ooh.
That ain't efficient right there.
All right, here we go. This is hard.
This is hard. Make it. Oh!
- After a near disaster on Greased Lightning,
the stay-at-home dad went all out.
- My goodness! - It wasn't pretty.
- Boom! Oh!
- But the 18-time "Ninja" veteran put together
one of his gutsiest performances and captured
his 26th career buzzer.
[buzzer blares]
- Wow!
[crowd cheering]
Now he'll have to hope his time
is fast enough to move on.
Our next ninja is ready for another shot at history.
Zhanique Lovett is trying to be the first grandmother
to hit a buzzer.
She came up just short in qualifying last week.
Now she'll get another shot.
And never underestimate Zhanique.
- It's crazy to see you, like-- - Be a mom.
- As a mom. - I know.
- My daughter is my rock.
She is the reason why I changed my life around.
Growing up was really tough.
It was very inconsistent, very unstable.
I was going down the wrong path.
But once I got pregnant, I knew that I had
to quit partying and doing all the things
that 18-year-old would do,
and I had to provide for this baby.
So I continued to go to college.
I graduated.
I'm now a business owner, a mother.
And it's so crazy now,
seeing my once young daughter
that I had raise a little child.
Good boy.
And it's really amazing for it to go full circle.
Come to Z-ma.
When I'm with my grandson, I learn to just focus on Ace,
because time goes by so fast.
And I want to cherish every moment I have with him.
I love you so much.
This Z-ma is gonna rock that course.
[bright music]
- Well, it's past Ace's bedtime,
but Zhanique's daughter and son-in-law will be watching.
- There's my baby.
- Oh, there's her grandbaby in the back.
Oh! [laughs] Sound asleep.
[countdown clock beeping]
- I mean, I'm just trying to picture my grandma
on the "Ninja Warrior" course. [laughs]
- Zhanique is not your average grandma.
And that's why they love her.
- Last year became just the third mom ever to hit a buzzer.
Now trying, once again, to be the first grandmother.
- Let go! - Oh, no!
- Whoa!
- Oh.
- Zhanique Granifique!
- A shocking early exit from Zhanique Lovett.
[crowd cheering] - So look here.
She survived the drops but held on a little too long,
and that yanked her backwards,
and she couldn't get over the wall.
- Zhanique, I am so sorry.
I hate talking to you this early in the course.
Girl, we're supposed to be at this buzzer.
- I know.
I was supposed to be the first grandma
to make it up the wall. - Yeah.
- This is a very big disappointment for me.
I think I held on a little too long.
I felt good. I felt confident.
I felt ready to go. And it just--
I guess it wasn't my year.
- Well, I did see a very adorable grandbaby
in the background there.
So hopefully, next season, Ace could be here in-person.
- Yeah. - I'm just saying--
- That's the plan. Yes, absolutely.
I already told my daughter we're already
working on that, so for sure.
- I love to hear that.
Well, it's always great to see you out here.
Great job this season, Zhanique.
- Thank you. - Guys, back to you.
- Our next ninja is also gonna try to make some history.
Dancing her way to the start line
is Utah's Baylee Beckstrand.
And if this hip-hopping high schooler
can finish the course, she'd be part of
the first father-daughter duo to hit a buzzer the same night.
We saw her dad, Brian, get one minutes ago.
He took a shot to the head doing it,
but now he's patched up.
You know, we've got four Beckstrands in action tonight.
Baylee's brothers, Luke and Kai, run later.
[countdown clock beeping]
- That's called a monopoly.
That's called a "Ninja" monopoly.
All right, come on, let's go, Baylee Beckstrand.
- Let's go! - You got this!
- Be careful here on Greased Lightning.
This is where her dad cut his head a few minutes ago.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
Okay, that was a little bumpy,
but it was a lot smoother than her dad.
- Akbar, sometimes you need a break.
That was a close call.
And right through it.
[crowd cheering]
- Atta-girl, Baylee, let's go!
- Good transfer. - Come on.
- Well, Kai Beckstrand dominated the competition.
He won it all last year.
Luke was in the final eight.
He was knocked out by Kai.
And Baylee got her first buzzer back in qualifying.
- They are an impressive family.
[crowd cheering]
Only six women from this first round
will move on to race in the Tripleheader.
Baylee probably needs to finish
or at least get to that fifth obstacle quickly
to have a chance to be one of them.
Ooh, Baylee a little hung up here.
- Baylee, 103 pounds, trying to get
the oblique muscles, the core muscle
to get it turned around. Using her feet as a propeller.
- Well, Chubby Checker, you told her.
She's got to do the twist.
- Let's go, Bay!
- There it is!
[crowd cheering]
She's edging close to that buzzer.
Back now to Kaleidoscope.
How amazing, Akbar.
We could have four members from the same family
in the National Finals.
- We're gonna start calling them the Fantastic Four.
- [laughs]
Baylee looking to do her part.
And looking real strong here early on
in Kaleidoscope, Akbar. Good power.
But this is where the arms are starting to fatigue.
Can she make this move to the last panel?
Yes!
Now just needs the dismount.
- Nice! - Oh, here we go!
[crowd cheering]
Baylee Beckstrand, a chance to make history.
crowd: [chanting] Beat that wall!
- She feels the crowd, the energy.
They're telling her, beat that wall!
This is it.
- And she does it with ease.
[buzzer blares]
Baylee Beckstrand
making history on "Ninja Warrior."
[crowd cheering]
Congratulations.
Hey, Baylee, do you mind? It's a special night.
Hey, Brian. Go join her, buddy.
[crowd cheering]
This is the first time a father and daughter
have hit buzzers. There it is!
- Hey! - [laughs]
- Oh, Pops is up there.
Oh, my goodness.
Oh, that's gotta warm your heart.
- She's amazing, right? - Yeah.
- So good.
- Baylee, how are you feeling after that long run?
- I feel so good. It was great.
- Baylee, you just continue to impress us.
We remember when your dad first came on this show
and then your mom and then your brother
and then your other brother.
But you're showing you belong.
That's your second buzzer.
Congratulations, Baylee.
Hit that buzzer one more time.
[buzzer blares]
[crowd cheering]
Coming up, training in Alaska hasn't always been easy.
- [grunts] [laughs]
- But Nick Hanson has spread his love of Ninja
to the next generation. - There you go.
Much better. - Much better.
- Tonight...
- What's up? We did it, baby!
- He tries to punch his ticket to the National Finals.
We'll see him next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- It's the first night of our regional finals,
and minutes ago, three more ninjas raced
to earn a spot in the next round.
Colorado's Jaelyn Bennett knew
she was gonna need a strong run to be one
of the six women to move on.
- Her name is Bennett, and she wants to be in it.
- The five-time "Ninja" veteran equaled
her best run ever last week,
reaching the fifth obstacle, Kaleidoscope.
- She's got to get locked in.
- She looked like she might get past it tonight...
Oh, no!
But lost her grip.
Now she'll have to wait and see
if that's far enough, fast enough.
Idaho dentist Devin Harr was hoping
to match last week's run when he hit his very first buzzer.
- He's got to have this thing straight,
lined, like Invisalign. Get off! Right now!
Whoo!
[crowd cheering]
- The father of seven kept up a steady pace
as he powered his way through Tilt-A-Whirl
and then Kaleidoscope.
- One more, come on! You got it!
[crowd cheering]
- He made it to the buzzer in under two minutes,
so he's got a great shot of moving on
to the next round, the Tripleheader,
which we'll see in just a bit.
[crowd cheering]
Talus Bunch is the first teenager
to compete from Alaska.
- He said, we got good athletes up here, too,
meaning Alaska.
- Let's go, Talus! You got it.
- With his mentor Nick Hanson cheering him on,
the rookie had a good run going
but lost some costly seconds on Tilt-A-Whirl.
- Turn it, turn it, turn it!
- Obviously, time matters.
- Go the other way, if you have to.
There you go! There you go!
- The high schooler fell on Kaleidoscope in qualifying...
- Nice!
- But it didn't get him this time.
- Get out of there, Talus!
Whoo!
[crowd cheering]
- He finished the course and collected
his first career buzzer.
[buzzer blares]
But he'll have to wait and see if his slower time
keeps him in the top 20.
Now Talus's coach gets his shot.
Zuri's gonna tee him up.
- Alaska's Nick Hanson is one of
Ninja's greatest ambassadors.
And in qualifying, he got his first buzzer in six years.
He's proud to still be blazing a trail for the kids
in his home state.
[dramatic music]
- I was the first Alaskan native on the show,
so bringing my culture into things
has been always what I've loved about this sport.
[grunts] [laughs]
But I didn't understand what bringing Ninja culture
truly meant until I saw kids actually
fall in love with this sport.
Good. Oh, yeah. Beautiful.
Oh, the reverse grab, bro. What?
Watching the youth of Alaska take
that community aspect of it and the character
that Ninja brings... Oh!
Let's go. That's now the dream.
That's what I live for every single day,
and that's why I'm still here.
♪ ♪
[crowd cheering]
- Nick's star pupil, Talus Bunch
just hit his first buzzer.
He's on the sideline with Nick's wife and son.
- There you go! Let's go, Nick!
[countdown clock beeping]
- This is Nick's 11th season of "Ninja."
He has become one of the most recognized
athletes in his home state.
What a Ninja community Nick has started to build in Alaska.
- All right.
I don't know how much lightning is in Alaska.
- Ooh! - Right in the Northern Lights!
Maybe Southern.
- But Nick knows speed is important,
so he's got to keep pushing.
And it's another hard fall.
- He is taking a beating.
- Nick Hanson, though, staying calm.
- You got this, Nick!
- 5'10", 180, that is on the heavier side
for our "Ninja" athletes.
- There you go! Come on!
- Tilt-A-Whirl will punish you.
This is a very, very heavy grip intense obstacle.
- Well, we want to see efficiency here out of Nick.
Pretty smooth so far.
- This is where his fellow Alaskan, Talus,
got hung up and lost a lot of time.
Now, Talus ended up finishing at over 2 1/2 minutes,
and Nick is ahead of that pace.
[crowd cheering]
And now facing Kaleidoscope.
You want to be efficient, to rotate those panes
as quickly as you can.
There's no room for your forearms
to hide on this one, Akbar.
- One of the greatest athletes in Alaska.
Quietly, he's competing against his student's time.
And he's looking really, really good to beat that time.
Whoo! You see how light he look?
- The Eskimo Ninja.
- Wow, he looked really, really light.
Matt, he's 180 pounds, and he's throwing his weight
around like it's nothing! - Akbar, this is it.
The big move to the final pane.
- Yes!
- He is looking strong.
- Okay, here we go!
[crowd cheering]
- Nick Hanson! - Okay!
- The Eskimo Ninja looking to go back-to-back with buzzers.
- Come on, now. Come on, now.
crowd: [chanting] Beat that wall!
- Rise up.
- Nick Hanson!
[buzzer blares]
[crowd cheering]
♪ ♪
- You're full of emotions, man.
Is that fatigue or is that emotions?
- Emotions. - What are you feeling, man?
- I'm just so proud of Talus, man.
But also I didn't want him to beat me.
[laughter] - There it is!
- I knew it! I knew it!
- There it is!
[laughter]
Nick, love seeing the competitive fire.
I know it's special.
Love what you're building in Alaska.
Hit the buzzer. Go celebrate, brother.
[buzzer blares] [crowd cheering]
Wow.
- Alaska, the biggest state in the United States
and a big performance by Nick Hanson.
- Yeah!
- Heading to the start line now is an athlete
you may see in the next Olympics.
Behind that fencing helmet is Luke Filar,
who's training for 2028 when fencing and Ninja
will be part of the modern pentathlon competition.
Last year, Luke moved away from his family in Wisconsin
to the U.S. Pentathlon Training Center
in Charlotte, North Carolina...
[dramatic music]
Where he trains all the sports disciplines--
swimming, fencing, running,
laser shooting, and Ninja.
- Modern pentathlon takes all my skills
I grew up with and combines them into one sport.
Representing the U.S. in Ninja,
this would be such a full circle moment for me,
and it would just be an honor.
Tonight I'm going for gold.
♪ ♪
- He's got his teammates watching from the U.S.
Pentathlon Training Center back in Charlotte...
- Let's go, Luke!
- Along with his parents, who are here on the sideline.
[countdown clock beeping]
Luke was recruited for the Olympic program
because he's a great all-around athlete,
did track and swimming in high school.
Also competes in underwater hockey.
- But he doesn't want to be underwater tonight.
My man can't be swimming if he wants a chance
of moving on to the Tripleheader.
- Had an early exit last year and his first time--
[crowd groans]
- And another early exit here tonight.
A disappointing fall on Diamond Dash for Luke Filar.
- Well, here's the thing.
The ninjas know they need to go fast tonight,
and that can lead to mistakes.
His steps were off on Diamond Dash.
He came up short on the third one.
That tripped him up and sent him
tumbling into the water.
- His "Ninja" season is over, but his Olympic dreams
are still very much alive.
Hopefully, we'll see him in 2028.
Let's take a look at the leaderboard.
We've already had six finishers among the men.
In this loaded field, it looks like
you're gonna need to finish and finish fast
if you want to be one of the top 14 men who move on.
On the women's side, six will advance.
Baylee Beckstrand is the only one
to hit a buzzer so far,
but many more top competitors still to run.
Coming up, she's part of the Ninja Kidz
with millions of fans on YouTube
and their own touring show.
But Payton Myler wants to be a "Ninja" star too.
- I really just want to hit a buzzer and finish this course.
- She's next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Las Vegas,
where more ninjas from the West region
try to keep their season alive.
Daren Perez is one of two ninjas this year
from the Pacific island of Guam.
- Guam might be small on the map,
but it's big here on "Ninja Warrior."
- The Coast Guard recruiter is a six-time "Ninja" veteran,
and he powered his way to the buzzer
in just under two minutes.
[buzzer blares] - Let's go!
[crowd cheering]
- The other ninja from Guam, Rai Flores,
is the first teenager from the island to compete.
His trademark propeller hat propelled him to a buzzer
in his first run, two weeks ago.
- Let's go! [buzzer blares]
- He was hoping to duplicate that success tonight
but do it even faster. - Ooh, yeah.
He's got to go. This is a long ride for Rai.
- The high schooler managed to finish 15 seconds
faster than his coach, Perez.
He put up the best time of the night to that point.
- Let's go!
- Yeah, there it is, King Rai!
- A few handstand push-ups at the start line
are part of the warmup routine for Ontario, California's
Xzavian Ochoa, who's better known as X.
- X marks the spot.
- X had extra motivation.
He's trying to get to his very first National Finals.
- I love how he sprinted through
the first four obstacles.
- The three-time "Ninja" veteran hit his first buzzer
in qualifying and followed that up with
another impressive run tonight.
- Now that he's got a taste of it, Matt, he wants it again.
- He finished faster than Flores, the best time
of the night to that point.
- Let's go!
- Then it was social media star Ashton Myler.
- Whoo! Let's go, Ashton!
- He's part of the Ninja Kidz,
the Utah family that has 40 million subscribers
on YouTube.
- They take "Ninja Warrior" very seriously.
- Ashton is a skilled martial artist
who hit three buzzers last year in his rookie season
and made it to the National Finals.
He was able to beat Ochoa's time,
and he captured the fastest time of the night,
finishing in a minute 6 seconds.
- Ashton Myler wants to go racing.
- Let's go, baby!
- Well, her brother, Ashton, hit a buzzer.
Now it's Payton Myler's turn.
She's already one of the most popular
social media stars in the world.
And she's hoping this is her breakout year
on "Ninja Warrior."
- I was really nervous going into qualifying.
I fell on balance before.
I did not want to fall on balance again.
- And this time survives the balance obstacle.
- I made it to the fifth obstacle and then fell.
- Oh, no! - No!
- So I was very close.
I really just want to hit a buzzer and finish this course.
[upbeat music]
[crowd cheering]
- Payton has a lot of fans watching,
along with her parents and Ashton,
who just got his buzzer.
If Payton can match him,
they'll be the first brother-sister duo
to get buzzers on the same night.
[countdown clock beeping]
She's a great all-around athlete.
Level 8 gymnast.
Second degree black belt in martial arts
and a ninja warrior.
- Let's go, Payton!
- It's very likely, for the women to move on,
you're gonna need to hit a buzzer,
something Payton's never done.
- Nice. Hit that landing first. Good.
Well, Matt, we do know this about Payton Myler.
Every single time she stepped on the course,
she's gotten better. Go back to her rookie season.
Went out on third obstacle.
Comes back this year and falls on the fifth obstacle.
I expect Payton Myler to hit that buzzer.
- The Ninja Kidz have millions of fans,
and Payton's got six million subscribers
for her YouTube channel alone.
May pick up a few more followers tonight.
- Tilt-A-Whirl looks so fun, but it is so hard.
It ain't no just whirly-twirly.
You got to get going on this one.
- The other side! Twist it!
- Ashton's trying to coach her through this.
- And that struggle will cost you on your grip strength.
- You're right.
Every second you're up here, Akbar,
that grip gets further taxed.
- And then that slows down your time,
and then before you know it...
- Oh, look at the left side of that bar!
- You start pushing it.
Push that a little bit more to the right.
- Now watch that bar.
It's very easy to have it slide as you maneuver,
especially going for the dismount.
I think she's aware of it, Akbar.
- Yeah. - Look at how close it is.
- Yeah, and that swing back is where
you got to be a little careful.
She just does a pull. Get out of there. Nice!
[crowd cheering]
- Ooh, that's not a good sign.
She still has another upper-body obstacle
to get through with Kaleidoscope.
- This is where she fell in qualifying last week.
- Don't think about the pain.
Think about the game and what you would do,
making it to the second round of the regionals.
Nice! - Good move.
[crowd cheering]
- Nice!
- This is the test, Akbar, these big reaches here
on this third pane. - Ooh, just go for it.
Just go for it. - Crossed over.
- Yeah, a little crossover. Tangled up, but that's okay.
- Dig in! - Ooh!
She's strong.
Payton Myler is strong.
- Oh, man. Can she hang on?
- Nice! - Get that dismount, Payton!
- Matt, she's gonna do it. She's gonna do it!
- Whoa! Whoo!
[crowd cheering]
- And now she's got a chance to make history with her brother.
- Keep going, yeah!
- But only 5'4", and this will be her
first time facing the Warped Wall.
Here we go.
Yes! - Oh!
- And she's done it. [buzzer blares]
The first brother and sister to hit buzzers on the same night.
[crowd cheering]
- You made it to the top. Now you're here.
- Whoo! - Hey, how does it feel?
- That was crazy. - Yeah.
Here comes bro.
Hey!
- Payton, you did so good!
- That's got to be very, very special.
I heard you right there in front of Kaleidoscope
saying, "I'm already pumped."
But you ignored the pain.
How did you get there to ignore the pain?
- I fell on it once.
I was not about to fall on that again.
- That's right.
Well, I gotta say, Payton and Ashton,
you guys were so impressive as real-life Ninja Kidz.
Congratulations.
- Whoo! - Yeah! Whoo!
Coming up, Taylor Greene can make history this year
and break the record for most buzzers
among our female competitors. [buzzers blaring]
- Taylor!
To prove that you're great, you just got eight.
- She'll try to add another one
when we come back on "American Ninja Warrior."
- The Western Regional Finals roll on here in Vegas.
While we were away, two college students
and two Utah teens hit the course.
Western Washington University's
JoJo Grubesic was hoping to go fast enough
to join her boyfriend, Josiah Pippel,
in the next round. - Let's go!
- The three-time "Ninja" vet made it to
the fifth obstacle in qualifying.
But tonight... - No!
[crowd groans]
- Her early exit means she won't be moving on.
[crowd cheering]
She was followed by another college freshman,
Emily Gardiner. - Nice!
- Big Em always brings the energy to the course.
- We're here for it.
- The four-time "Ninja" veteran hit a buzzer
two weeks ago in qualifying...
- Let's go.
- And she added another one tonight...
- Yes! Yes! [buzzer blares]
- Becoming the third female finisher.
[crowd cheering]
With so many women hitting buzzers,
Utah's Violet Kepo'o knew she needed to go all-out.
- Oh, no. Hold on for your life here.
- She survived one close call after another...
- Oh, my goodness!
- All through the course. - Whoa!
- Oh! - Whew!
- She fought through it all to make it to the Warped Wall.
But at 5'2"... - Oh, she had it.
- She came up short... - Oh, no!
- On all three attempts.
- Oh! [air horn blares]
- She'll have to wait and see if that keeps her
in the women's top six. - Keep your head up.
- Then it was another Utah teen,
Luke Beckstrand, who was hoping
to follow in the footsteps
of his dad, Brian, and sister, Baylee,
who hit buzzers earlier tonight.
- Okay, he wants it!
He's on it like he want it.
- Though he's a contender to win it all,
the high schooler shockingly fell in the fifth obstacle
in qualifying,
but he wasn't gonna let that happen again.
- He's a competitor.
He is a competitor.
- He not only got the third buzzer
for the Beckstrand family, he put up
the fastest run of the night so far.
[buzzer blares] - That was too fast!
That was too fast!
- Our next ninja is wearing a "Dad" cap
because he's about to become a father for the first time.
Parenthood can be daunting,
but Zay Keaton is used to scary situations.
He's a Hollywood stuntman.
- Three, two, one!
[flames roar] You're lit!
- I work as a stuntman.
I've been lit on fire.
[fire extinguisher whooshing]
I've jumped inside of a bullpen during a rodeo.
I've swam with sharks.
[upbeat music]
I think that the biggest misconception
is that I'm fearless, and that's far from the truth.
I just don't like letting fear stop me.
Ninja has helped me get used to that,
like, uncomfortable fear and, like,
getting out of my comfort zone.
But now I'm about to face my biggest fear,
becoming a dad. I'm having my first kid.
It's so insane.
A lot of people have talked to me
and asked me, like, if I'm gonna
stop doing what I'm doing.
And that's not really the message
I would want to, like, teach my daughter.
I can't wait to share all of this
with her when she's older.
And this buzzer is for you, Iris Jade.
[bright music]
[crowd cheering]
- Zay's girlfriend, Natalie, due in a few months.
She's on the sideline along with Zay's mom.
- You got this, son!
[countdown clock beeping]
- Well, some people face their fears,
and other people, like Zay Keaton,
chase their fears down,
put them in a headlock, and stare them in the eyes!
- That's how you do it.
- Zay Keaton loves it.
Says Ninja taught him to attack that which scared him.
And nothing scares Zay anymore.
- That's Zay living, right there.
Zay, living!
[crowd cheering]
- And, Akbar, running with a good aggressiveness.
He knows tonight is all about speed.
Gotta go fast if you want to move on.
But he's taking some extra swings
here on Tilt-A-Whirl, Akbar.
- Throw it! - Hit it!
- Ooh, okay.
That bar is close on the left edge, though.
- Tilt-A-Whirl put the brakes on his run a little bit.
Still a good pace.
- This ain't a stunt. It's a real thing.
Oh, he lost his hat! No cap!
- Now a rematch with kaleidoscope.
Well, this is it, Akbar.
This is the obstacle that took him out in qualifying.
And it's just such a loaded field.
Zay Keaton very likely gonna need a buzzer to move on.
- Big throw. - Go!
[crowd cheering]
- Good.
- And he went down on Kaleidoscope in the quals.
Nice.
- And he's had such a good run, but we saw him
slow down a bit on Tilt-A-Whirl.
How's that grip holding up?
- Yeah, he's going counterclockwise.
Going to that left side.
Ooh, he looks like he's thinking about it, Matt.
- Oh!
- He's thinking about it, yeah.
Whoa. Got it.
Got it, Coach.
- He's giving everything you own to turn
the Kaleidoscope to the left.
But the final panel is where he fell last week.
Peeled off the tiny ledge.
Oh, he's hanging.
The clock's ticking, trying to get to that fourth pane.
Got it!
[crowd cheering]
- Come on, now!
- And gets the dismount!
- He's going for it.
- Just wills his way up.
- Get it, get it, get it, get it.
Oh, he's struggling. Oh!
[buzzer blares]
- Yes!
Yes!
[crowd cheering]
- It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done.
[crowd cheering]
- Oh, God, I did it.
- You did it!
- Zay, I'm about to become a dad.
You're about to become a dad.
What's it mean, hitting that buzzer,
knowing your daughter's gonna watch this video someday?
- Ah, it's gonna be so cool, and I can't wait to show her.
I'm so tired. - Oh, no. That's all right.
You have every reason to be breathing heavy like that
because you just kicked this course butt, man.
- Thank you.
- Hit that buzzer one more time.
[buzzer blares]
[crowd cheering]
- And with only a few more runners left in round one,
Zay's guaranteed to be in the top 14 among the men.
So he's moving on to the Tripleheader,
which we'll see in just a bit.
All eyes are on the course whenever our next ninja runs.
It's Colorado College student Taylor Greene.
Though it's only her fourth year of competition,
she's on the verge of "Ninja" history.
Last week, Taylor hit her eighth
career buzzer, tying her for second
all-time among the women.
And she's closing in
on Jesse Labreck's record.
- I've been watching Jesse Labreck
since I was little.
Knowing that I, in this season,
could become the female with the most buzzers
is crazy when I've only been on for four seasons.
- Taylor's mom and training partners
on the sideline.
Other friends and family watching from back in Colorado.
[all cheering]
[countdown clock beeping]
Taylor's our reigning women's champ.
Made it to the final 32 last year.
Won races against some of our top men along the way.
Akbar, she is so consistent.
Has never failed to finish a course in qualifying.
- That's incredible.
That is an absolutely incredible feat.
[crowd cheering]
- Let's go! - Let's go, Tay!
- Now, she's got to have quick feet on Diamond Dash.
- Well, not to put pressure on, Akbar,
but it's such a loaded field of women this year.
- Ooh.
- She very likely needs a buzzer to move on.
Remember, only the top six women will advance
to race on the Tripleheader.
We saw her first on "Ninja Junior,"
and the thing that struck us both, Akbar,
was what a ferocious competitor she is.
- Yeah.
- She loves it when the pressure is at its highest.
- Matt, she doesn't like to lose.
She literally focuses on winning.
- Well, it reminds me a lot of "Flex" Labreck,
the woman whose buzzer record she is chasing.
- Yeah, that's right, and we've seen her grow up, Matt.
I can't believe she's in college now.
- Yeah, she's going to the University of
Northern Colorado, studying nursing.
wants to help people.
Just needs the dismount here on Tilt-A-Whirl.
[crowd cheering]
Well, she has made it look so easy so far,
but needs to get past Kaleidoscope
to assure her spot in the next round.
Right now, she's on track to beat Baylee Beckstrand
for the fastest time for the women.
These ninjas really pushing the pace.
- Ooh, that was a low flight right there.
I got a little scared and nervous.
[crowd cheering]
Nice. Good--good form.
- And she moves ever closer--
- Watch the way she comes up.
I mean, these are literally, like, doing pullups.
[crowd cheering]
- Well, a strong run. - Nice.
- Can she get the dismount?
- To be good is not good enough,
if you dream of being great.
And Taylor Greene dreams of being great
because she is great.
- I was gonna say, Akbar, it feels like she's there,
as Taylor Greene, her ninth buzzer!
[buzzer blares]
[crowd cheering]
Taylor, it feels like when the pressure
is at its highest, that's when you shine the brightest.
You just got your ninth buzzer.
Fastest time of the night for the women, Taylor.
What's it like just crushing these courses?
- I mean, it's amazing.
I always focus on hitting a buzzer
and expect to hit a buzzer, but sometimes the pressure,
I can really feel it.
And today was one of those days,
where I was kind of feeling it, but I'm glad I was able
to pull it out and get past that--
- Wait, this was you feeling the pressure?
Oh, my goodness. - Wow.
- Well, Taylor Greene, you are money.
Hit that buzzer one more time
and go celebrate with your friends.
[buzzer blares]
[crowd cheering]
Now, remember, only the top six women will advance
to race in the next round.
Taylor and the others who've hit buzzers
are now locked in, with only two more ladies left to run.
On the men's side, only 14 will move on,
and right now, 9 have guaranteed their spot
with a few more runners left to go.
And it's looking like you'll have to hit a buzzer
and do it in a fast time
to have a chance of getting to the next round.
Up next, Jessie Graff has a chance
to get her ninth buzzer.
And she's doing it once again in high heels.
The "Ninja" legend runs when we come back
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to the Regional Finals
on "American Ninja Warrior."
In the last few minutes, we've had
a flurry of fast finishers, with Simeon Serrano...
- Wow, that's a good time.
- Max Manson...
- Okay! - Ah!
- Colt Elder... - That was fast.
- And Max Feinberg
all finishing with times to guarantee them
a spot in the next round.
All those fast finishes left Brian Beckstrand
on the bubble in 14th place.
His fate would be decided by round one's
final male competitor, Colorado's Glenn Albright.
The seven-time "Ninja" veteran would need
to finish faster than Beckstrand's time
of 2 minutes, 15 seconds. - Ooh.
Wow, he fell forward.
If you gonna fall, fall forward.
- The former track star had the speed
but started to run out of gas at the end.
- Oh, he's feeling it now.
That grimace is never a good thing.
- Fingertips locked in!
Can he get the dismount?
- You're too close. Oh!
He just keeps falling forward!
- It wasn't always pretty, but he made it
to the buzzer fast enough,
and he's moving on to the Tripleheader.
He knocks out Brian Beckstrand,
who will not advance, but he'll still get to
cheer on his three kids in the next round.
Among the women, the next-to-last athlete
was LA's Daniella Blanchard,
roommates with "Ninja" great Jessie Graff.
- Whoo!
- Two years ago, Blanchard fell
on the very first obstacle,
and she almost fell early tonight.
- Hell of a save right there.
[crowd cheering]
- But she battled... - Yeah!
She does like diamonds!
[crowd cheering]
- And made it to the Warped Wall.
- Do not succumb to the pain.
- She couldn't get to the top two weeks ago,
but tonight, she did.
- On the first go.
[buzzer blares]
[crowd cheering]
- This is not real!
- She punched her ticket to the Tripleheader.
Now it's her roommate's turn,
and Zuri's gonna get her started.
- Guys, Jessie Graff hit a buzzer a couple
of weeks ago in high heels,
and now she is back to try and do it again.
She is showing off those flexible Hero Heels
that she helped design for her movie stunt work.
She's confident she can finish the course in them,
and there's a lot riding on this run.
Jessie currently has eight career buzzers.
If she gets another one, she'll be tied
for second among the women with Taylor Greene,
who just got her ninth minutes ago.
- Jessie's mom, Ginny, will be leading the cheers,
along with Jessie's roommate, Daniella,
who just hit a buzzer.
And as always, lots of Jessie fans in the crowd.
Remember, only six women from tonight will move on,
and five have already hit buzzers.
[countdown clock beeping]
So Jessie needs at least reach the Warped Wall
faster than Violet Kepo'o's time
of 2 minutes, 29 seconds.
- Daniella's like, come on, roomie.
I want you to join me.
- One of the top stunt women in Hollywood.
Ooh! - Wow.
- A little split. She knows how to dismount.
The former pole vaulter moving quickly.
- In heels, though, Matt, in heels.
She's doing that.
That's what we call a flex.
And I'm not talking about her flexing her muscles.
That's a flex.
I'm so good, I can run
a "Ninja Warrior" course in heels.
- Her upper-body strength is insane.
I believe she was up to 41 pullups.
- Yeah.
- Just incredible.
And look at that.
Just wheeling her whole body to get
the Tilt-A-Whirl into place.
What an athletic dismount.
The Godfather, Captain NBC,
all the "Ninja" greats out to watch this one.
[crowd cheering]
She's smiling, but it's not over.
Still needs to get through Kaleidoscope,
and we've seen plenty of top ninjas fall here.
Jessie hoping to get that ninth career buzzer.
[crowd cheering]
- Well, you know the one thing Jessie's known for
is her grip strength.
She's got incredible grip strength.
She's also a really good strategist.
She really maps out what she's going to do.
- And Jessie Graff.
She's done it!
With that, she beats Violet Kepo'o's time
to the Warped Wall,
so she's definitely in the top six, and she's moving on.
Now she wants that ninth buzzer.
crowd: [chanting] Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- Jessie Graff in high heels for her ninth buzzer.
And she does it!
[buzzer blares]
[upbeat music]
Jessie Graff gets another buzzer!
- I thought last one was my favorite.
That one was my favorite ever.
- The next one is always your favorite.
- That's the one that pushes me.
- That might be true.
- Well, I gotta say, you know what?
Those Hero Heels performed admirably.
- They did.
- Your ninth all-time buzzer.
Jessie, love watching you perform.
Hit the buzzer one more time. Let's celebrate.
- I love you guys too.
[crowd cheering]
- Always a pleasure, Akbar, watching one
of the best who's ever done it.
So Jessie's one of the six women
who will now move on to go racing
on our three-lane race course.
Among those joining her is her roommate,
Daniella Blanchard,
who got her first buzzer.
For the men, Luke Beckstrand had
the fastest time in round one.
He'll now join his sister Baylee
and brother Kai in round two.
Ashton Myler will be joining his sister Payton
for the racing as well.
Among the other 14 men who advanced from
this round is dad-to-be Zay Keaton.
And the final two spots were captured
by veterans Nick Hanson
and the Godfather, David Campbell.
They'll now join the 10 athletes
who got a bye in the first round,
including our defending champ, Kai Beckstrand.
All ten of these ninjas were so fast in qualifying,
they got to jump directly to round two.
So now we're on the move.
When we come back, we'll be on our three-lane race course,
watching three ninjas go head to head to head.
- It's our first look at the Tripleheader.
I can't wait.
- It's all next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back, as we open a new chapter
in "American Ninja Warrior" history.
For the first time, we'll have three ninjas racing each other.
- This is gonna be crazy.
And I can't wait to watch.
- For a look at this unique course,
let's go down to Zuri.
- Guys, the race starts here with three ninjas,
but only two will move on.
First up, it's a mad dash across the uneven steps
of Island Hopper.
Then it's the iconic Cliffhanger
with its tiny ledges.
But there's a twist.
We've added a dangerous leap to grab the flaps
on that birdhouse at the end.
Finally, it's a brand-new one, Bounce House.
The ninjas will have to maneuver
through a series of bungees to reach the buzzer.
Only the top two ninjas in each race
advance to the National Finals.
[buzzer blares]
- Moments ago, our ninjas determined
the matchups for these races.
- Glenn Albright. - Rematch.
- Here we go again.
- The athletes who got a bye in the first round
pulled names of who they'll be racing against.
- Here we got Nick Hanson.
[crowd cheering]
- That's created some interesting matchups,
like defending champ Kai Beckstrand in a group
with the Godfather, David Campbell.
And Jessie Graff's group includes her roommate,
Daniella Blanchard.
[crowd cheering]
This three-lane course is like nothing we've ever seen before.
And the first to try it out is a veteran group.
In the far lane, we've got
the 5'2" fan favorite,
Nate Hansen.
In the middle,
it's the Coast Guard recruiter
from Guam, Deren Perez.
And in the red lane,
it's one of the favorites
to win it all, Josiah Pippel.
[upbeat music]
- Tripleheader's something we've never done before,
and so I guess we're the pioneers,
which is gonna be really interesting.
- Still neck-and-neck!
- In every season I've competed,
I've done some form of racing.
I feel confident that I can win this.
[crowd cheering]
- Josiah, a Stage 4 National Finalist.
- Matt, he's got a great pace going right now.
- Gnarly Nate, also an amazing athlete.
- Never underestimate Gnarly Ninja Nate!
- I'm like, all right. [laughs]
Here I am.
Let's do it. - Here we go.
Whoa, Nelly!
- If you're getting chased by a bear,
you don't have to be the fastest.
Just don't be last.
- Deren's got the group from Guam cheering for him,
including Rai Flores, who runs later.
- Biba!
- Nate's getting support from his friends,
including Taylor Greene.
And Josiah's family and girlfriend
will be on his sideline. - I love you, Josiah!
You got it!
- Josiah was the fastest in qualifying,
so he's probably the favorite.
But remember, it's top two who move on,
and finishing the course is important.
That'll get you a better seed for racing
in the National Finals.
[crowd cheering]
Well, here we go.
It's our first-ever three-lane race.
[countdown clock beeping]
Island Hopper is first.
- Nice and quick here.
- And Josiah jumps out in front.
- Wow. - [laughs]
- He's a strong climber, Josiah Pippel,
favored in this one.
- Those ledges are only two inches deep.
Then you have to jump to the birdhouse.
Those flaps will come down.
Got it!
Now he'll give us our first look
at this new obstacle, Bounce House.
Gotta hop up to the top then grab those bungees.
This takes a lot of grip.
It's so easy to slip off.
Well, it's not over, Akbar.
Anything can happen.
This is a battle.
And remember, second place moves on as well.
- We got all three of them on the Bounce House now.
And Josiah Pippel hit the buzzer first!
Now who's coming in second?
- Yeah, it's not over.
Whoever comes out on top between these two
will also advance.
[dramatic music]
Nate's got the lead right now.
Can he hold on?
- Deren Perez is pushing Nate Hansen!
- And Nate Hansen is stopped!
He's trying to figure out if he should go!
He needs enough momentum to make that transition!
Who can make the leap?
- All right. Just go for it!
Go for it!
- Oh, my goodness!
- Oh, wow!
- Deren Perez...
[buzzer blaring]
Shockingly takes out Nate Hansen!
Nate just couldn't find the momentum, Akbar.
- Josiah jumped out to a lead on Island Hopper
and never looked back.
He cruised through Bounce House for the easy win.
But for the other two, it was a battle.
Nate had the lead but got hung up on the bungees,
and Deren sailed past him to capture second place.
- Congratulations, all three of you, on a great race.
Deren, Josiah, we'll see you in the next round.
- Thank you.
- Awesome. Awesome. - Good job, bros.
[crowd cheering]
- Our next group is heading to the start line,
led by the Papal Ninja.
He had the bye in the first round
and pulled the names of Max Manson,
the Stanford grad student and rocket scientist,
plus Alaska's Nick Hanson.
Sean and Nick, two crowd favorites,
have a long "Ninja" history together.
- Nick and I have been competing together for
quite a number of years now,
and he's always been really inspiring.
- Redemption, baby!
Let's go! - Nice!
- Got it! - I feel accomplished!
[dramatic music]
Sean, Brian, and I have been battling these courses
for years, so it's pretty cool
to have the honor to race against him.
He's a legend.
- Both of them have experience racing on the show.
It's definitely a little intimidating
going up against that.
But I think that I have a solid chance.
- And he gets that buzzer.
- I don't think I get nervous, no matter who I race,
but there's gonna be no mercy on this course.
[crowd cheering]
- Well, Akbar, these athletes have
experienced racing head-to-head but not head-to-head-to-head.
[countdown clock beeping]
- All right. It's showtime.
Ooh! Okay!
I see you, Nick Hanson!
Looks like he's running on top of glaciers!
- All three so close as they take on Cliffhanger.
Max Manson is an experienced climber
and looks like he's pulling ahead.
- And you saw Brian with the quick lache!
Oh! - Oh!
Max Manson is down! - Wow!
- The climber couldn't make the final grab on the birdhouse.
So that means Nick Hanson is moving on.
- Yeah.
- So these two experienced veterans,
Sean Bryan and Nick Hanson, will be moving on
to the National Finals.
But this is for seeding now.
Let's see who can win this.
The faster you finish means a better seed,
and you'll be in a group
with slower competition in the finals.
- Sean Bryan making his way through.
But don't count out Nick Hanson.
- Watch your feet! And hangs on!
- Whoo!
- Sean Bryan gets the win!
- Of course, for seeding it's so important,
so Nick Hanson still wants to finish.
- Absolutely. - Ooh.
He's at the bottom part of the bungee.
He might go down, Matt. Ooh.
- He is looking gassed.
All he's got. - Ooh.
He's holding on.
Hold on, Nick!
Oh, oh!
- No!
He doesn't make it to the buzzer,
and that will hurt his seeding in the next round,
but Nick Hanson is still moving on to the National Finals.
- Well, Max Manson looked strong early but couldn't
clamp down on the birdhouse.
That made it easy for the other two.
For Sean Bryan, he barely stayed out of the water
on his way to the buzzer.
[crowd cheering]
So Sean Bryan moves on to his ninth National Finals,
while Nick Hanson will be appearing in his sixth.
Just ahead, Jessie Graff and Daniella Blanchard
hang out together as roommates in LA.
- Can you pass the pepper? - Oh, yeah.
- Now they'll have to race each other in Vegas
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- It's already been a big night for the ladies.
We had six women hit buzzers in round one.
- Wow!
- And now three of them are about to face off
on the Tripleheader.
This showdown features impressive teenager
Baylee Beckstrand along with two ninjas
who spend a lot of time together,
LA's Daniella Blanchard and the great Jessie Graff.
[crowd cheering]
- Got myself into a predicament.
- Yeah, what's happening? - [laughs]
So I have a new roommate, Daniella Blanchard.
- You need help with anything?
- Can you pass the pepper?
I've had roommates before, but Daniella
appreciates my decorations more than anyone I've ever met.
- This is fun. - Right?
- [laughs]
- We're pretty normal roommates.
[upbeat music]
You know, we clean up the house,
wash dishes, do laundry.
I mean, we don't touch the floor
while we do it, but the usual stuff.
♪ ♪
You ran harder, which means you have
to get your chest up earlier. - Yes.
Okay. - You know. Okay.
- Living with Jessie has improved my skills,
like, 1,000%.
- Whoa! [laughs]
- And now we get to race, so that'll be really interesting.
And hopefully neither of us get to go home.
- Well, those two better keep an eye
on the third member of this group, Baylee Beckstrand.
She got her second straight buzzer earlier tonight.
Jessie's got more experience
than the other two
and is taller,
but that may not be an advantage
on this fast course.
- Jessie ain't wearing those heels for this race.
- The families and everyone in this crowd
excited for this one.
Only two will move on.
[countdown clock beeping]
- It's a straight-up sprint. Here we go.
- Well, Jessie Graff, a big height advantage.
But look at Baylee! - Whew!
- Jessie's down! - Whoa!
- Jessie's down, and she is out!
- Oh, wow.
This could be Baylee's game here, but now look!
- Oh, my goodness!
- Look at Daniella!
Jessie's roommate has got to now carry the load!
- Well, both of them are advancing,
but Akbar, this is important.
This determines your seeding.
So they wanna race to the end, and--
Daniella Blanchard is down!
- Oh!
- And Baylee makes the grab, so she gets the win.
But she's gonna keep going.
- Impressive.
[crowd cheering]
- What a night for this Utah high schooler.
Now she's gonna try to complete the course
and show the other women how it's done.
- She's got it going now, Matt.
She's pushing it. She knows.
She doesn't need the motivation from the race.
It's just all her.
- So Baylee is the first of the Beckstrands
to qualify for the National Finals.
[crowd cheering]
- Anticipate the slide.
It's a slide! - Go!
- Got it!
Baylee Beckstrand does it, wins this race!
[crowd cheering]
She and Daniella Blanchard are moving on,
but Akbar, we have to say goodbye to Jessie Graff.
- Jessie went with regular shoes this time,
but I don't think it made a difference.
Those steps aren't in a straight line,
which can cause you to lose your balance.
Daniella couldn't make the grab on the birdhouse,
while Baylee battled through all the obstacles
and made it to the end.
- Baylee, what a moment.
You just not only got a win,
but you did it against Jessie Graff.
How's it feel?
- It's crazy 'cause I've always looked up to her.
She was my favorite ninja growing up,
so I just never thought this would ever happen.
[crowd cheering]
- Congratulations.
Go celebrate with your family.
So Jessie will now cheer on her roommate Daniella
in the National Finals,
who will be there along with Baylee Beckstrand.
And we move on to our next race,
which features Idaho's Devin Harr,
a dentist with seven kids.
He's facing two college-aged speedsters,
Utah's Colton Skuster and Colorado's Max Feinberg.
And those two have a history.
[upbeat music]
- Me and Max, college kids, University of Denver,
University of Utah.
[crowd cheering]
Pretty similar.
- This kid's so fast, so strong.
He is running at a breakneck pace.
- I know Skuster's gonna come in
with a lot of confidence.
- Colton Skuster! Yes!
He's got it! - We raced last season.
I ended up taking the win.
- Oh! And he does it!
Max Feinberg gets the win!
- But I know he's wanted this rematch for the last year.
- So that one's been bugging me
for a whole year now. [chuckles]
And then we've got just some dentist dad in the group...
♪ ♪
Which obviously doesn't fit the vibe.
- Devin Harr looking strong, Akbar.
- Devin comes in kind of as the underdog.
- Big move! Okay! - And he holds on!
- But he's hit two buzzers this year,
so we can't count him out.
- And he does it!
Dadiator cleaning up once again!
- I got seven kids.
I'm chasing them around all the time.
- [shrieks]
- Go, go, go. Jump!
There you go.
I know how kids think.
These guys are kids to me, and I'm gonna get in their heads.
♪ ♪
[crowd cheering]
- Devin Harr is gonna have his hands full,
but gotta be used to that with seven kids at home.
They'll be cheering on the sidelines.
Colton's parents are over there...
- Let's go, Max!
- Along with Max's parents and friend Taylor Greene.
- I think the best strategy here
is try to find the best way to get through Island Hopper.
- Well, look at the dentist leading the way!
- Okay! All right!
Oh! - Oh!
- That was a big jump he couldn't make!
- And Devin Harr, after a great season, is out.
Well, with that, Colton Skuster and Max Feinberg are moving on.
But this is a grudge match.
Neither one of them's gonna take their foot off the gas.
They are synchronized.
- Oh, you see him looking over there?
All right, hard to do what you do when you do peekaboo!
You gotta run your own race!
- A finish means a better seed in the finals.
But Skuster really wants a win to get his revenge on Max.
- Oh, look at Skuster! - Skuster reaching out!
- Oh, scoot, scoot, scoot, scoot!
- But out comes Feinberg!
And Skuster can't get his momentum!
Oh!
Look at that time save! - Wow!
Whoa!
- Colton Skuster delivers.
He flips the script on Max and wins the rematch.
- You can't do it twice. You can't do it twice.
- I heard you there. What'd you say?
You did it last year. You ain't doing it twice?
- He's not beating me twice, man.
I'm not letting it happen again.
- Look at this race again.
Devin Harr was right there till
he tried to skip the first ledge
and jump to the second. That didn't work.
And it was a duel between Colton and Max.
They were looking at each other,
but ultimately Colton came out on top.
- So proud to do it with this guy,
and I'll see him again in the finals.
Let's do it again. - Oh!
Whoa, whoa, whoa! You calling him out?
- I am. - You calling him out?
- We're getting a rematch. Two out of three.
- Okay. All right.
- Oh, I love it! - I like that!
- Scoot, scoot. It's on.
Go celebrate with your crew, guys.
- Yeah, sometimes you think that the ninjas are nice.
And they're nice, but they still want to compete.
- Ah, A-Max-ing Feinberg, he threw down the gauntlet.
[crowd cheering]
- Coming up, they're a couple of country boys.
Can Colt Elder and Kieran Yuan hold off
city slicker Zay Keaton?
- People underestimate the power of a country boy.
- Their race is next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Vegas, where every ninja
dreams of winning it all.
And this season, viewers at home
can be winners, too, with our Win Like a Warrior
Sweepstakes presented by the Active Cash Credit Card
from Wells Fargo.
Enter for a chance to win at NBC.com/anwsweeps.
- Well, this next race
is a Guam sandwich.
Rai Flores, the first teenager from the island,
is in the middle between two Colorado ninjas,
Glenn Albright and Kaden Lebsack,
who had a bye in round one
and picked his opponents.
- Glenn Albright. - Yeah!
- When Kaden pulled out my name,
I instantly thought, the rematch.
[dramatic music]
- Back in season 15,
we raced head-to-head on the semifinals.
- Oh!
- I ended up winning that one, so I know Glenn's gonna
have some revenge in his eyes.
- When I first met him, he was only ten years old.
And now he's, like, this full-grown adult
that's doing amazing things on this show.
- Kaden Lebsack is the Last Ninja Standing!
- He won season 13 and 14.
So it's like meeting a celebrity for me.
- I know that I'm fast.
I know what I'm capable of.
I'm ready to shock the world.
- Matt, this is gonna be a tough one.
Kaden Lebsack has to be the favorite.
But the X factor is King Rai, Rai Flores.
- Can that propeller hat lift him up one more time
and get him into the National Finals?
- Let's go, Rai!
[countdown clock beeping]
- Don't count out Glenn Albright.
He's a former track star.
And he's out to an early lead.
- All right, run your race.
Don't look over!
- Glenn Albright. A bold start.
- Lebsack is pulling away!
- Look at Glenn, though, keeping up!
Kaden makes the grab.
So does Rai.
- No! - Glenn Albright is out.
That means Kaden Lebsack and Rai Flores are gonna move on.
And what a night for the island of Guam.
Deren Perez qualified for the National Finals earlier.
Now his prized pupil, Rai Flores, will join him.
Kaden Lebsack just so consistent,
two-time Last Ninja Standing, final four last year,
considered one of the favorites to win it all.
And he's just gonna glide his way to the buzzer
as Kaden Lebsack takes the win.
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
And King Rai gets another completion.
[crowd cheering]
- Kaden Lebsack and Rai Flores
are headed to the National Finals.
- Yes!
- And we're gonna roll right into our next race,
which features two high schoolers.
We've got Kieran Yuan, who works on a ranch,
Colt Elder, who works on a chicken farm,
and Zay Keaton, who's a Hollywood stuntman.
♪ ♪
- It's gonna be a country versus city type of race.
[rooster crows, car horn honking]
I'm kind of the outlier for sure.
They're both farm town types of guys.
I grew up in the city.
- Country guys have so many more unique opportunities
to train, a lot of running between different stations,
running to get your job done.
- People underestimate the power of a country boy.
Out on the farm, I can find many creative ways
to stay strong.
I go around and I--you chase the chickens sometimes.
Gotta keep them active with their workouts.
[chicken squawks]
- Zay, I know he's a super accomplished
Chase Tag athlete, so I know he's gonna be booking it.
- Colton, Kieran, the fastest farmers that I've ever met.
So, yeah, it's gonna be fun.
- Well, this should be a fun one to watch.
You've got Kieran and Zay, who are rookies.
Colt's the veteran, but it's just his second season.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Oh, you gotta get out of the blocks quick.
But it's hard to get out when the...
- Wow. - Steps are offset like that.
- Look at Kieran Yuan. - All right.
Now it's go time.
- Let's get it, guys!
- A great start, and he's launching
himself on Cliffhanger!
But Colt the Bolt keeping pace.
- Oh, Colt the Bolt is just moving.
He's got a nice, steady pace.
- Wow, great transition!
He's the first off the Cliffhanger.
Oh, Kieran Yuan is down!
That means Colt Elder and Zay Keaton are moving on.
We say goodbye to Kieran Yuan.
And Colt may not even be aware of what's happened behind him.
He's taking care of business on Bounce House.
Now, keep in mind, Akbar, it does matter
when you finish for seeding.
[crowd cheering]
And Colt "The Bolt" Elder gets to the buzzer first.
He's got the second-fastest finish so far.
Let's see if Zay can finish.
- Ooh, bro hanging on by a thread.
No!
- So the rookie splashes down
on Bounce House, but he's moving on.
His season continues, as does that
of Colt "The Bolt" Elder.
So after six races,
here's who's punched their ticket so far.
Josiah Pippel leads the pack, Colt right behind him.
And from Guam, we've got teenager Rai Flores
making his first appearance in the National Finals,
along with his mentor, Deren Perez,
and from Alaska, Nick Hanson.
- Man, Ninja is taking over the world.
- Up next, a race with plenty of star power.
We've got YouTube sensation Ashton Myler...
- Whoever does the best flip wins.
- Our most experienced ninja, the Godfather, David Campbell,
and our defending champ, Kai Beckstrand.
- Yes!
- Who will survive?
When "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- It's our first night of racing
on our Tripleheader course, and this is a matchup
we've been waiting for.
Zuri, tee 'em up.
- This next group has star power.
We've got our defending champ, Kai Beckstrand,
Ninja legend David "The Godfather" Campbell,
and Ashton Myler from the YouTube sensation
the Ninja Kidz.
- 43 years old.
Can he make it up 18 feet?
- I want him to get that money.
- Oh! Oh, my!
What a send!
Never doubt the Godfather.
- My opponents are living legends.
Got David Campbell.
He's been here for so long on so many seasons
of "American Ninja Warrior."
And Kai Beckstrand literally won last year.
- Kai Beckstrand!
He is your season 17 champion!
- This isn't the match I was hoping for.
- David Campbell. - I knew it!
I knew it!
[laughter, applause]
But there is a certain poetic significance to it.
It's kind of the OG versus the new G.
- David Campbell is a very seasoned veteran at this point.
He's competed on every season of "American Ninja Warrior."
He's been able to kind of grow and progress.
- 18 1/2 feet.
Got it! - Oh! Whoa! Oh!
- Kai Beckstrand!
- I'm actually a year older than his dad,
Brian Beckstrand. [laughs]
These young kids better watch out,
'cause the Godfather's coming.
[dramatic music]
[crowd cheering]
- Aw, man.
I love the Tripleheader, Akbar.
- This is, like, a generational race right here.
- Well, no one wants to miss this.
All three have big groups on the sideline.
You have to make Kai Beckstrand the favorite,
but anything can happen in these races.
[countdown clock beeping]
Showtime. Ooh, a good start!
- Wow! - David Campbell!
My goodness!
My apologies!
I did not see him coming up that fast!
- All three now on the Cliffhanger,
but the defending champ, Kai Beckstrand,
is getting separation from the others.
Oh, my.
- But remember, the top two will go.
- Akbar, somebody's gonna be going home.
- Whoa.
- It's Campbell who's falling behind.
- Myler just separated.
But remember the Godfather has incredible upper body strength.
- Well, Kai Beckstrand is running away with it.
He's gonna slide to the buzzer with the fastest finish so far.
Joining his sister in the next round.
- Ooh.
- But who will claim the other spot in the final?
- Oh!
And David Campbell is down!
[crowd cheering]
- So it's Ashton Myler who's moving on,
and he finishes with a buzzer.
The two Utah teenagers are going to the National Finals.
Kai Beckstrand just crushed this course,
finished in 33 seconds, the best time so far.
The Godfather fought to the end,
but unfortunately his season is now over.
- Couldn't have lost to a better couple of guys.
[crowd cheering]
- Well, we've got three rising stars
in our next group.
It features California's
Xzavian Ochoa,
Minnesota teenager Andreas Johnson,
and another Beckstrand, Luke.
He's a top competitor who shockingly fell
in qualifying and was the name no one wanted to draw.
- When I drew my two names for the seeds, I pulled...
Luke Beckstrand.
[group oohing]
And my jaw instantly dropped.
I was like, there's no way I got a bye just to pick
the fastest ninja in my group.
- Boy, he is showing he's got some speed.
- He's got the pedal to the metal, big man.
- Luke I mostly know through his reputation
and obviously being Kai's brother.
- He's gonna destroy his brother's time
by almost 30 seconds!
- I know him well enough to know where my odds are at.
Slim, but not zero.
[dramatic music]
- I'm kind of, like, a threat to the competition.
Nobody really wants to race me,
and that just makes me feel good.
- Luke is such an incredible ninja.
I know that he's so fast,
but he's already fell once.
- Oh, my goodness! - Oh! No!
- Sometimes people make mistakes,
and that could happen tonight.
- Has energy for days, strength, endurance for days.
- Kai got his win.
Now it's my turn to get mine.
[crowd cheering]
- So here they come.
And this is a big day for Luke.
It's his birthday,
and you know the gift he wants is a buzzer.
His siblings, Baylee and Kai,
have already punched their ticket to the National Finals.
Luke could be the third Beckstrand to do it.
- But don't underestimate Andreas Johnson.
He had the second-fastest time in qualifying.
- He could give Luke a run for his money.
[countdown clock beeping]
All right, get out of there. Drive face.
You gotta get out there quick.
Oh, nice. - Wow.
- Ooh!
- A little stumble by Luke.
- But Luke is moving fast.
You know he can move fast on the Cliffhanger!
- Luke just going hand-over-hand!
- Look at them! - Look at this!
- Nice. - Oh!
Andreas is down!
And now it's up to Xzavian Ochoa.
Can he make the tough grab?
Got it!
[crowd cheering]
And he's moving on.
[crowd cheering]
Meanwhile, Luke Beckstrand is flying.
[crowd cheering]
He might be able to beat his brother's time.
Can he do it?
[crowd cheering]
Oh, just a second slower.
But that's now three Beckstrands
going to the National Finals.
Xzavian Ochoa trying and finish himself
That's his mom, Daniella, cheering him on.
Got two buzzers this year.
A third one will help his seeding in the finals.
- Hold on! Oh.
- Good work, Luke.
- Andreas Johnson was move-for-move with Luke,
but as he went to grab the birdhouse,
his fingers peeled right off.
And Luke was flawless.
He finished in 34 seconds,
just behind his big brother, Kai.
- Well, Luke, happy 18th birthday.
- Happy birthday, man! - Thank you. Thank you.
- You did not look like you were fazed
by the competition whatsoever.
What was your secret?
- I just had to do my race, not focus on them,
be smooth through the course and obstacles,
and just get it done.
- Well, it probably helps that you get to train
with your brother and sister. I think they push you.
- Oh, yeah. - Congratulations!
Happy birthday!
Go celebrate with your family, buddy.
- Thank you.
- Well, we're gonna see a lot of the Beckstrand family
when we get to the National Finals.
Coming up, Taylor Greene, Payton Myler,
and Emily Gardiner have all hit buzzers tonight.
But one of them is about to go home.
Their race is next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- For the last three weeks,
we've seen the best ninjas from the West.
Next week, top competitors from the East
get their shot, including former women's champ
Addy Herman, speedster RJ Roman,
and social media star Bob Reese.
But we're not done with our races tonight.
Stepping up now is high school student Simeon Serrano,
Hollywood actor Cal Plohoros,
and the Reach, 6'6" college student John Mack.
For Mack and Serrano, this year has already been
an emotional journey.
[somber music]
Simeon's dad, Jerome, was severely burned
and almost died in a refinery explosion
in California back in 2023.
John Mack spent almost two months in the NICU
with his son Jason after he was born 11 weeks premature.
- To go from happy, smiling, excited to be a dad,
to we might lose our baby, to, oh, he's doing better,
it's been a whirlwind of emotions.
Cool dads hit buzzers.
- Go, big fella!
- Both hit buzzers back in qualifying.
- How sweet is that?
- And they're hoping to hit another one tonight.
- I'm very excited. I like to race.
I am ready to race.
- Racing against guys I don't really know makes me nervous.
Like, I don't know what to expect.
But I'll still go out there and do my best.
[upbeat music]
[crowd cheering]
- Simeon's dad watching tonight
from back home in Texas.
John's wife and newborn watching from Utah.
His mom and other friends down on the sidelines.
And Cal's had some big changes in his life, too--
moved to Hollywood to pursue acting.
His stage name? Cal Tolentino.
- And we know Cal can go fast.
[countdown clock beeping]
Oh, it's go time. It's showtime.
Uh-oh, keep your feet hot.
Look at Cal.
Cal off to a nice start!
And Cal is moving quickly.
- A tight race so far.
Look at that.
Simeon Serrano, though, pulls ahead!
- Oh, yes! Simeon's onto it!
- It's back and forth, anyone's race.
- Oh! - Reese pulls ahead.
- Oh, Cal Plohoros is down!
- So John Mack and Simeon Serrano
are moving on.
These two are in.
Now they're gonna try to get past Bounce House and finish.
That will improve their seeding in the finals.
What a year for rookie Simeon Serrano.
- Okay, now John Mack's gotta be careful here.
He's so tall, his feet may hit the water
when he grabs the final bungee.
- The 6'6", 200-pound Reach comes up big,
gets the win!
[crowd cheering]
Can Simeon reach the buzzer?
- It was Simeon who ended up needing
to watch his feet at 5'11".
- But it doesn't matter.
He's going to the finals.
- Simeon made some big moves on Cliffhanger.
Cal missed the grab on the birdhouse to end his run.
John Mack avoided the water coming home.
Simeon Serrano didn't.
But both keep their season alive.
John, you get yourself through the course fastest.
What was it like, going on that Tripleheader, buddy?
- Aw, it was so cool.
I mean, that was awesome.
I was definitely nervous, but I think
the ideal body type for Ninja is 6'6",
200 pounds right here.
- Let's go, baby! - Let's go.
- That's what I'm talking about!
[laughter]
- Go celebrate, brother.
Well, we've had some great races tonight
on the Tripleheader, and our final group
should give us another good show.
What a matchup between these three teenagers.
In the blue lane, we've got YouTube star Payton Myler.
In the middle, it's college student Emily Gardiner,
and in the red lane, our reigning
women's champ, Taylor Greene.
Taylor has to be considered
the favorite.
She's closing in on
the all-time record
for buzzers among women.
Emily Gardiner, though, having
a breakout year.
She's captured two buzzers already.
And Payton Myler got her first
buzzer earlier tonight.
She's part of the social media
sensation the Ninja Kidz.
Her brother Ashton punched his ticket to the finals earlier.
Payton can make it two finalists
from the Myler family.
- The Beckstrands have three.
- Nobody wants to miss this race.
- Well, when it comes down to racing, blonde hair don't care.
It comes down to speed and precision.
[countdown clock beeping]
- For the final two spots from the Western region.
Payton Myler just a step behind, right into Cliffhanger.
- And look at Taylor Greene already trying
to create some separation.
Wow! But watch out.
- But look at this!
- Payton Myler's coming!
- What an even matchup between these three.
But this last move is where we've seen so many falls.
And Taylor makes the grab.
And Payton makes it.
Gotta get the dismount.
Oh!
- Emily's down!
- So it's Payton Myler and Taylor Greene moving on!
But who will be first?
[crowd cheering]
- Well, you gotta stay focused on this one.
There is no room for recovery.
You just gotta go.
- Akbar, Payton Myler!
And it's dead even!
- This is what racing is all about!
- Who makes the move? - Oh!
- Hang on!
- Wow!
- Taylor Greene seemed to levitate!
And here comes Payton Myler.
She's gonna finish too.
Well, this race lived up to the hype.
- Go, Payton! - Whoo!
- Well, these three were neck-and-neck early,
but like many others tonight,
Emily missed the grab on the birdhouse.
Taylor and Payton stayed close.
First Taylor then Payton snagged the final bungee,
and both slid to the finish.
- What a race!
You guys were fantastic!
Taylor, what was that race like for you?
- It was definitely scary and something that I haven't, like,
done before 'cause, I mean, in my lane,
I could see both of them.
- I saw you over there, Payton.
You took a look to see where she was.
Did it create a little bit of nerves?
- I mean, I saw her go, but I felt like
I had to do one more swing.
So I took one more, and it better be
finish than fall, so--
- Well, congratulations.
You guys are both moving on to the National Finals.
[crowd cheering]
- And here's our list of those moving on
from the Western region.
The Beckstrand brothers
have the two fastest times.
Only a few spots down
is another Utah teen, Ashton Myler.
Among the others moving on,
two-time Last Ninja Standing
Kaden Lebsack
and the Papal Ninja, Sean Bryan.
Payton Myler joins her brother Ashton in the finals,
and Baylee Beckstrand will be there with her two brothers.
That's five National Finalists from two Utah families.
These 20 ninjas from the West
will eventually be joined by 20
from the East region and 20 from the Central region
in the National Finals later this summer.
That wraps up our first regional finals.
Next week, we'll see the best ninjas from the East.
For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall, I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you next time on "American Ninja Warrior."
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪