- If you like edge of your seat excitement,
you've come to the right place.
It's night two of the National Finals
on "American Ninja Warrior."
Hello, everyone, and thanks for joining us.
I'm Matt Iseman. - And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.
Matt, we kicked off the finals last week
with photo finishes and shocking falls.
The night was full of come from behind wins...
- Here comes Lebsack.
Oh, my goodness! - What? What?
History-making performances...
- She's undefeated.
- And big emotions.
- He just saved his season.
We expect more of the same tonight
as a new group of ninjas tackle the course.
They've been seeded based on results in the Regional Finals
and placed into groups of four.
Each Ninja will race three times round robin style.
The top two in each group move on to the bracket,
where the final 32 battle in do-or-die races
until we crown a champion.
Our athletes will be competing on two different courses.
For a look at the first one, let's go down to Zuri Hall.
- Yeah, once again, our ninjas
will be running for their lives down our two-lane race course.
The six-obstacle course starts with Slide Surfer,
then it's Catch and Release, followed by
the Swinging Peg Boards.
The iconic Salmon Ladder leads to Cane Lane.
And finally it's Hourglass Drop,
which was a difference maker last week.
- Oh. - Oh.
- Ninjas fell here 16 times.
- Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.
- Those who hit the buzzer first
or go the farthest get the win.
Guys.
- We're going to kick things off with Group 7
and couple of top competitors.
From Massachusetts, it's former Women's Champion
Addy Herman.
She's got a tough first race facing Utah's
Luke Beckstrand, the brother of our
defending champ, Kai Beckstrand.
Luke's a top contender in his own right.
Made it to the final eight last year.
[upbeat music]
- Luke Beckstrand is an absolutely insane Ninja.
He has shown time and time again
that he is one of the top competitors.
♪ ♪
- In my qualifying run, I was pushing the pace
a little bit too fast.
♪ ♪
- Luke Beckstrand is smashing everything.
- Oh! - Oh, my goodness!
- No!
- But now I just gotta stay locked in for these races,
'cause speed sometimes kills.
- Look at that technique out of Addy Herman.
Wow.
- Addy Herman, she's an incredible athlete.
- Addy Herman does it.
- She's the former Women's Champion.
I got a lot of respect for her and what she's done.
- What a performance by Addy Herman.
- He's the higher seed going into this race,
but I'm going to give it everything I got
and give him a run for his money.
- Luke's the first of three Beckstrands competing tonight.
His sister, Baylee, and brother, Kai,
will race later.
Addy has her mom, Stacy, along with her boyfriend
and fellow ninja, Noah Meunier.
He advanced to the bracket round last week.
- Come on, Addy! Confidence!
- Got her hands full with Luke Beckstrand.
- That's a handful, for sure.
That's a lot of speed, but Addy Herman,
plenty capable of holding her own.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Let's go, Luke! - Here we go.
Look at Luke. He's out there.
- Luke is running like one of the Duke brothers.
He's got some serious speed going.
- Watch out for the hazard part, though.
- Luke jumping out to a slight lead
as he takes on Swinging Peg Boards.
- And this is the obstacle right here
that will slow you down.
You got that first board, 3 feet long.
Then you've got four movable pegs.
Nice and slow.
- Well, you see, he mapped out what pegs he wanted to do.
And he gets through smoothly, but Addy Herman right behind.
- Whoo!
He just took two moves, and that was it.
- But he has to see Andy Herman keeping it close,
keeping the pressure on, Akbar.
- Come on, Addy.
- And sometimes just feeling the ninja behind you--
- Oh, no! - No! Oh!
- Luke Beckstrand falls on Cane Lane.
Now the door is open for Addy Herman.
Another shocking fall in these finals.
- Well, we got to see what happened on that one.
As Luke went to jump the cane over to the other rail,
it got caught, and he came up short.
- But for Addy to take advantage,
she still needs to complete Cane Lane.
Addy Herman could get a big win here.
But this is where Luke went out,
jumping to the other rail. - All right.
Nice big-- - Got the transfer.
- And this is it. Oh.
- Just needs the dismount.
- Get that landing. Get that landing.
Oh!
- And Addy Herman delivers.
Gets the win.
- We've seen this in the finals.
Just because you're fast, just because
you got experience, doesn't mean that this is
going to be an easy race. - Let's go.
- Come on, Addy.
You got this, Addy.
- Now she can try to finish,
but will have to get past what's been
the toughest obstacle in the finals, Hourglass Drop.
Very good ninjas fell on this one last week.
- All you got to do is hit the trampoline
on the star in the middle, then bounce up
and catch that second board. - Up and engage.
- That's--up! - Oh, a little too far behind.
- Oh! [laughs]
- Can't make the grab, but it's a win
for Addy Herman against one of the favorites
to win it all, Luke Beckstrand.
And this year, the top four ladies,
those who complete the most obstacles during the season,
will race to be our Women's Champion.
Addy added five obstacles to her tally on that run.
She's now up to 18 with two more races to go.
- Addy, great work out here tonight.
- Thank you. Thank you.
It was a good one.
- Once you realized, I won this thing,
was your focus most on the buzzer,
was it on putting yourself in a good position
for the women's crown, all of the above?
- Yeah, I am a little behind on position for the women's crown.
So my goal was the buzzer, get as many clears as I can.
So I'm happy with where I got, but definitely
want to get further next time. - OK.
Well, you got more work to do.
Two more races ahead of you, but great work on this one.
- Thank you. - Guys, back to you.
- And now it's the other two from this group,
two more familiar faces.
It's Massachusetts gym owner Lucas Reale
taking on Alaska's Nick Hanson.
Both been competing for many years,
but what drives them now is their love for coaching others.
- Once you guys get to here, you can either rotate under
or you guys can just reach with the front hand
and spin once you get onto there.
As soon as I got into Ninja Warrior,
I kind of knew that coaching was
something that I'd want to do.
Yeah, out of there.
Let's go.
Mainly so that I could pass on the passion
that I have for Ninja to other people.
[all cheering]
[bright pop music]
- You got it! Dude, you got it!
♪ ♪
- The pride of Wasilla, Alaska.
- Every time that I walk up to the start line,
I think about those moments.
Here, throw it behind you. Throw it behind you.
Yes, like that. There you go.
I think about every kid that I've had
a chance to make an impact on,
and I take them with me on the course.
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!
- Every time that I go out there on the course,
I want to run to inspire the kids that I teach.
Come on, Charlotte, everything you have.
- Come on, Lil! - Come on, Lil!
They can do whatever they set their mind to.
♪ ♪
[cheers and applause]
- And you can see the love Lucas has for his students
and that they have for him.
Look at all of them watching back at his gym.
Nick Hanson's got his wife and son
on his sideline and a good friend
watching from 30,000 feet.
That's "Ninja" veteran Grant McCartney.
- Let's go. - From the plane, Akbar.
- And in the bathroom of a plane.
- Let's go.
- Wow, that's a real friendship.
- FN 2187.
- Well, this is an important first race
for two "Ninja" veterans.
[countdown clock beeping]
Sixth time in the finals for Nick Hanson
and the sixth time for Lucas Reale.
- All right. - Good start.
- Nice catch.
- You know, Lucas has been training with Matt D'Amico,
who'll be racing later tonight.
They focus on speed, and a little hung up there
for Nick Hanson.
- Oh, it's all about that efficiency.
- And another swing, Akbar,
just giving Lucas Reale an edge.
Now Nick's going to try to make up some ground
here on Swinging Peg Boards.
And Lucas, first off.
But we see sometimes, when you've got
a half obstacle edge, sometimes your glance
steals back and mistakes happen
right around here,
'cause here comes Nick Hanson,
but another swing.
Now finally gets off the Peg Boards.
Nick Hanson is moving slowly,
and Lucas Reale continuing to progress,
but now he's got the big move on Cane Lane.
- Oh! Ooh.
That almost got him.
And you see Lucas Reale taking a peek back.
- Nick looks like he might be hurt, Akbar.
There's something not right with him.
You can see him grimacing,
but there is no quit in this athlete.
And now Lucas Reale has reached the big grab on Hourglass Drop.
- Nice. - Got it.
Now just needs the dismount,
and Lucas Reale's going to get a buzzer.
[upbeat music]
- You got this, Nick!
- Nick Hanson, something's wrong.
- Yeah, you can see he is grimacing.
He's grimacing badly.
- Daddy! - Go! Fight through it.
- I don't know if he pulled something
or if he's cramping.
He looks like he might be cramping.
- Come on, Nick. Fight.
You got it, man.
- Well, these athletes know their bodies.
If he's going for it,
he feels his body can handle it.
- Come on, Nick. Go get it!
- We'll have our medics standing by
to check him out as soon as he's done.
But you can just see, does not want to quit.
Look at him fight through, Akbar.
- This is the Ninja mentality.
This is the Ninja spirit.
I don't care if he doesn't hit a buzzer.
- I am so impressed by Nick Hanson here.
- And this big transfer is going to put a lot of pain
wherever he's feeling it right now.
- And I got to imagine, if his wife and son
weren't here, he might have let go, Akbar.
- Ooh. Oh.
Just too much.
- Well, we're going to get our medical team
to check him out right away.
So Lucas Reale gets the win,
and he goes to 1 and 0.
- I'm not sure where Nick hurt himself,
but when he came off Swinging Peg Boards,
that's when he first started to grimace.
He may have pulled something on that obstacle.
- Our medics are checking him out.
Soon we'll give you an update on his condition
as soon as we have it.
Tonight, it's more nonstop action
in our all-racing National Final.
Oh, no! - What?
- Several of Ninja's biggest names
will be battling to keep their season alive,
including our reigning champion, Kai Beckstrand.
- Yeah, baby.
- He could be joined by two more members
of the Beckstrand family.
- That was some "Cobra Kai" magic!
- It's all coming up on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Vegas
and night two of "Ninja's" National Finals.
While we were away, it was group 8's
first races, with the two men battling the two women.
First, Florida College student
Jay "Lache" Lewis took on
Massachusetts teenager Akshara Pappu.
Jay "Lache" is one of the top contenders,
so he came out fast.
But Pappu, a rookie, surprisingly
kept it close early. - OK, Akshara.
She is on this man's heel.
- By Cane Lane,
Jay "Lache" was able to open up a lead,
but then faced Hourglass Drop for the first time.
- This can be the great game changer.
Whoo!
- He got the win to go 1 and 0.
[buzzer blares]
- Pappu kept fighting,
making it to the final obstacle.
- Nice! Oh.
- A good effort, but she falls to 0 and 1.
Then it was the other battle of the sexes
as the Boss, Elijah Browning,
took on Florida rookie Olivia Lopez.
The Boss, a six-time "Ninja" veteran,
looked confident as he jumped out to an early lead.
- Elijah Browning going fast.
- Lopez took a more cautious approach.
- Olivia Lopez still working. - Let's go!
- Browning just had to survive Hourglass Drop.
- Nice.
- He made the grab, and then tumbled
to the buzzer to get the win. - Whoo!
- Lopez battled to the final obstacle.
- Ah.
- But she falls to 0 and 1.
- Our next two competitors know how to win.
We've got our defending "ANW" champion,
Kai Beckstrand, racing former "Ninja Junior"
champ, teenager Max Salebra.
[rock music]
- Max Salebra is somebody I know very well.
Former "Junior" champion, like myself.
- "American Ninja Warrior Junior" champion!
- He's one of the younger guys,
so we'll see if he can keep it together
or if he might get a little star struck.
♪ ♪
- Being on "American Ninja Warrior Junior"
definitely gives me a little bit more experience
going into the racing format.
- There it is. - Riding to success, baby.
Ride to success.
- But racing Kai, there's just no words
that can explain how scared I am.
He's like a big brother, but he's probably not
going to go easy on me this race.
- He's had a good rookie season.
He's absolutely killed it this year.
But the champ is ready to take this win.
- Well, Kai's got reason to smile before this race.
He just got married.
There's his wife, Lexee, on the sideline.
She's with the rest of the Beckstrand family,
including his sister, Baylee, who runs later.
Max Salebra has his family and friends cheering for him.
- Max is only 14 years old, the youngest in the finals.
Can he handle the pressure?
[countdown clock beeping]
- Well, this will be a real test
for the teenager trying to keep up with Kai Beckstrand.
- Kai's not going to take it easy on him.
He knows Salebra can go.
- And look at that, Max Salebra keeping pace.
- They're right there, neck and neck.
- When we talk about his maturity,
look at this. - Whoo!
- Look at his flexibility. - Uh-oh.
Ay yai yai! Ay yai yai!
- Max takes an extra swing, and Kai jumps ahead.
First up on Salmon Ladder.
- And you cannot let Kai Beckstrand get that far ahead.
Max Salebra's got to push it just a little bit,
but not too much to where he makes a mistake.
- Well, look at this.
Now Kai is finding his rhythm,
but Hourglass can trip anyone up.
- We've seen it. - Kai!
Got it! - Nice!
And there's Kai Beckstrand.
- He's going to get the win and with a fast time.
[cheers and applause]
Max Salebra going to try to finish.
Makes the grab.
He can't beat the champ, but what a confidence boost
for this 14-year-old.
[cheers and applause]
Kai Beckstrand is off to a good start in his quest
to be back-to-back champion.
He's going to be tough to beat.
And now it's the other two from group 9.
We've got the long haired rock-and-roll rookie
from Virginia, Daroch Wilmoth,
better known as D-Rex.
He's facing Southern California's
Xzavian Ochoa, who's had a strong season,
which is remarkable considering
the medical issues he's had to face.
- I was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2017.
I would have a seizure three or four times an hour.
[somber music]
I couldn't play sports.
I couldn't cross the street by myself.
♪ ♪
We immediately got onto medications,
and I started Ninja, just pushing my limits
and facing challenges every day...
[dramatic music]
Lowered my stress levels.
It reduced the amount of seizures I had.
Today, I am a year and a half free of seizures,
and now I'm able to compete on "American Ninja Warrior"...
- Wow. - Good balance.
This kid is legit.
- And show people what's possible.
- Xzavian going to be supported by his mom on the sideline.
And D-Rex has quickly become a fan favorite
with that ponytail haircut.
He's been perfect this season,
his family of musicians cheering him on.
First time racing in the finals for both these guys.
- Come on!
[countdown clock beeping]
- This is an important race.
Kai Beckstrand's a favorite to get
one of the top two spots in this group.
Who's going to get the other?
- What a great start, right next to each other,
and Xzavian pulling slightly ahead.
- Nice.
- And that puts so much pressure on your opponent.
- Xzavian is super efficient.
Swinging Peg Boards, you don't want to go so fast
to where you make a mistake and slip.
- But D-Rex, looks like he's evened it up,
but just can't make the peg placement.
- He's having shoulder mobility issue right now.
- Who's going to dismount? - Get out of there.
- And it looked like Xzavian's feet were slightly
ahead on the Salmon Ladder.
- Xzavian's a little crooked. Nice.
They're both at the top.
- D-Rex first on Cane Lane.
What a back and forth.
- Daroch is not messing around.
Look at how well he's using that cane.
And he's a young man, not an old guy.
Whoo!
- D-Rex has a slight edge heading into
the unpredictable Hourglass Drop.
And here it is, the big moment, the divider.
- First time on this is always tricky.
You want to hit the trampoline right in the middle.
- Ni--oh! - Oh!
And the door is open for Xzavian Ochoa.
But he must make this transfer.
- Matt, he saw what happened to D-Rex.
Hopefully that's not in his head.
No, it's not.
- Makes the grab.
And Xzavian Ochoa's going to do it,
a come from behind win. - Nice.
- Another round where
Hourglass Drop made the difference.
- Putting up the X. X marks the spot, baby.
- So Xzavian goes to 1 and 0, and D-Rex now has work to do.
He's 0 and 1.
Coming up,
she won a Women's Championship two years ago.
- It's a vertical sprint for Addy Herman!
- And Addy Herman's off to a great start
in this year's finals.
Her second race is next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Vegas and "Ninja's" National Finals.
Moments ago, we started the round 2 races for group 7,
with Utah's Luke Beckstrand facing
Massachusetts' Lucas Reale.
Beckstrand was looking to get back
on track after a shocking loss in his first race.
- He is upset that he started at 0 and 1.
- The high schooler set a blazing pace
and stayed just ahead of the gym owner, Reale,
who won his first match-up. - Here comes Lucas.
- It was close as both reached hourglass Drop.
- Man, look at Luke.
I mean, he is so locked in right now,
but he's got to drop now. - Got it.
Despite hitting his head, Beckstrand made the grab
and held on for the win.
[cheers and applause]
He's now 1 and 1, as is Lucas Reale.
[buzzer blares]
And now the other 2 from group 7
are ready for their second race.
And, yes, that's Nick Hanson back on the course.
Says he pulled an abdominal muscle
in his first race, but he wants to continue.
Going to give it a go against Addy Herman,
the former Women's Champion, coming off
a big win in her first race.
Well, Nick's got a 5-inch height advantage,
and neither comes in as a high seed.
Addy's at 37, and Nick's at 54,
but both have plenty of experience.
Both with their family and friends on the sideline.
- Nick's got to battle through that abdominal injury.
This course is tough even when you're healthy.
It's going to be a real test for him.
[countdown clock beeping]
Nick Hanson playing hurt, and I like it, Matt.
He is a warrior.
- Well, he cannot take it easy with Addy Herman.
Her at 5'5", 130.
She's got so much power.
- Go, Nick, you got this!
- Nick Hanson, Matt, a little timid.
Really a little cautious.
Addy Herman separating.
- And Addy's just looking fluid, Akbar.
Already halfway through Swinging Peg Boards.
And with that injury, Nick Hanson moving slowly.
You can just tell he's not 100%.
Looks tentative out there.
- Getting on Swinging Peg Boards
requires you to stretch out.
So you know he's feeling it in his ab muscle right now.
- But Addy Herman's looking spectacular, Akbar.
- Yes, she is.
Addy Herman showing what she's made of.
- And Addy's adding to her obstacle total this year.
The top four women, those who complete the most obstacles
during the season, they'll race to be our
Women's Champion in the season finale.
Nick Hanson at the bottom of the Salmon Ladder.
She's starting Cane Lane.
- A lot of abs on the Salmon Ladder for Nick Hanson.
You can see he's just going up real slow,
trying not to agitate the strained ab.
Oh, you can see him touching it right there.
He feels it.
But then look at Addy Herman.
She's going. - Watch the transition.
Gets through.
Neither of them got a buzzer on their first run.
We'll see.
Addy may get a chance here.
She's going to do it.
She's going to get to face the Hourglass Drop.
As Nick continues to fight on Cane Lane.
- Both these ninjas are showing a lot of grit.
Addy Herman running her race.
And then you can see Nick Hanson
really fighting through pain.
- It's going to come down to this move right here.
Can she nail it?
- Perfect form.
Engage the abs. Big up.
- Oh, my! - Oh!
- Got it on the back half.
You could see she went straight up and down.
Somehow managed to hang on.
- Now she just got to have a nice, clean dismount.
- And Addy Herman does it.
Gets the win, gets another buzzer,
and six more obstacles.
[cheers and applause]
But what a gutty performance by Nick Hanson
fighting through that abdominal injury.
What grit.
Still reached the final obstacle.
- Addy, get over here.
- 2 and 0.
Nick was pushing you the whole way.
How did it feel out there?
- Man, Nick is actually one of the coolest people
I've ever met.
It was an honor to race him.
That last move had me scared, but got it done.
- Well, congratulations, Addy.
You're 2 and 0.
- Thank you.
- And Addy's climbing up the obstacle leaderboard.
She's now at 24 with another race to go.
If she ends up in the top four,
she'll race to be our Women's Champion
as part of the season finale.
- Now we shift over to group 8 and the match-up
of the top seeds in the foursome.
Here are a couple of ninjas who know how to go fast.
It's Tennessee's Elijah "Boss" Browning
facing Jay "Lache" Lewis.
These two know each other well.
They both started competing on "Ninja Warrior"
back in season 13.
Elijah's mom, Renee, is on the sideline,
along with his girlfriend, Cora.
And Jay's girlfriend, fellow Ninja Maggie Owen,
is watching from back in Illinois.
Maggie was eliminated in Regional Finals,
but we put the two of them together for This or That.
[upbeat music]
- Cake or pie? I'm going cake.
- I'm going cake too.
Especially ice cream cake.
I don't know if that is allowed
- Cookie cake? - Cookie cake.
- All right. - Yeah.
- I'm glad we agree.
♪ ♪
Cats or dogs? Cats all the way.
- I'm dogs.
I'm a dog person through and through.
- You've been great with my cats.
I'm allergic to dogs. So, yeah.
- My dogs almost killed her, like, three times,
just from pure allergies. - I now have an inhaler.
[laughter]
♪ ♪
Late nights all the way.
You've seen me in the morning. Not, not pretty.
Late nights, I could be up all night.
I thrive in the night time.
- You ever heard of the story of the early bird?
He gets the worm.
- I don't need the worm.
I don't need the worm.
- Well, Jay needs to be a night person
right now because you know he's going to be pushed by the Boss.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Big difference in height.
Elijah's 10 inches taller than Jay Lewis.
- These two are attacking this course.
Good power. - Look at that Lache.
- And Lewis a half move ahead.
Good moves.
- Got to plug it in.
Nice.
- Browning hesitated.
Took a couple extra swings there.
- That 10-inch height advantage,
it's not helping out here.
- Well, you see how the small moves, the extra swings
will add up... - Whew.
- But Boss closes it there.
- Oh, big moves by Lache.
- Watch this transition.
Got it.
- Nice! - To the middle.
- Boy, he is wicked with that cane.
- Well, here it is.
It's the Hourglass Drop.
- But here comes Browning.
- Here comes the Boss.
Can Lache get it?
- [screams] - And Jay misses.
- Oh!
- And Elijah can steal the win.
And he grabs it.
- Wow.
What a turnaround.
- A huge win for Elijah Browning
showing why you can never give up in these races.
- Love you, Jay.
- Love you, brother.
- Both went for a deep grab on the board,
but Jay's only 5'4",
so he came up a few inches short.
Elijah, on the other hand, is 6'2",
so he had plenty of reach.
He made the grab and got that win.
- The Boss is now 2 and 0.
Jay Lewis falls to 1 and 1 with one more race to go.
Coming up, you're invited to another ninja wedding.
- I now pronounce you husband and wife.
- A special look at reigning champ
Kai Beckstrand's big day,
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back.
Minutes ago, group 9 ran their second round of races.
Kai Beckstrand is our reigning champion,
so rookie Daroch Wilmoth fanboyed out at the start.
- Wow. He's asking for his autograph.
Don't get that shirt wet now.
- Once the race began, Beckstrand showed
why he's one of the favorites to win it all again.
He absolutely crushed the course.
- Kai looked like he might beat his time.
- He finished even faster than his first race.
Wilmoth, the long-haired musician from Virginia,
was an obstacle behind.
- Oh.
- He failed on Hourglass Drop for the second straight race,
and he falls to 0 and 2.
Rookie Max Salebra lost his first race to Kai Beckstrand.
So he was looking to get back on track
against California's Xzavian Ochoa.
- Max Salebra, watch him here against Xzavian.
- Ochoa got hung up on Swinging Peg Boards,
and Salebra, a former "Ninja Junior" champion,
took advantage. He ran away with the win.
- Great technique.
- He finished in under a minute
to even his record at 1 and 1.
Ochoa also made it to the end, but not fast enough.
He's also 1 and 1.
And now we move over to group 8 for more round 2 races.
And this is the match-up of the two women in this group,
with Florida's Olivia Lopez
taking on Massachusetts' Akshara Pappu.
These two teenagers have made it to the National Finals
in their rookie seasons, but they have different ways
to train for Ninja.
[upbeat music]
As a flag football QB and varsity weightlifter,
Olivia spends a lot of time pumping iron.
She can bench a whopping 175 pounds,
125% of her body weight.
- In weightlifting, everyone's focused
on you, which I feel like is similar to Ninja
because all eyes are on me on the course
waiting for me to hit the buzzer.
- "Snack-shara," as her coach and teammates call her,
is motivated by the promise of pizza,
ice cream, and peanut butter cups.
- I do love sweets.
I guess it helps me be better at Ninja.
I think in Ninja, there's no race that's a guarantee.
So we have to go out there and do our best
and see who hits the buzzer first.
- Akbar, we should be forthright in saying,
we don't have peanut butter cups up here for "Snack-shara."
- No, none of that. Get that out of here.
That's sugar will slow you down.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Ooh!
- You can see Akshara really bounding out.
- She doesn't need peanut butter cups.
Use that momentum.
Drive it.
There it is.
That's the catch, and here's the release.
Nice.
- We showed you how much Olivia can weightlift.
Also has those football skills.
Let's see her flexibility here on the Swinging Peg Boards.
- Olivia has got 5 inches on Akshara.
So that longer reach should help her here
on the Swinging Peg Boards.
- And Lopez first to make the dismount.
Well, a good even race.
Both these women looking for their first W.
- Get that W.
- Both of them fell on Hourglass Drop.
You know they'd like a rematch.
And look at this, Olivia slowing down.
And here comes Aka, pretty much dead even.
- Both of them can go now.
They've got the upper body strength.
Now, it's just the technique here.
- Both make the move over to the second rail.
Now Olivia's off.
And here comes Akshara.
She makes the dismount.
But this is it.
Hourglass Drop, it's going to be the differentiator.
- Nice.
- And Aka pulling ahead.
- Oh, scoot, scoot, scoot.
Right at the tip of that first board.
- Aka! Oh! - Gah! Wow!
- And Olivia Lopez! - Oh!
- Aka comes from behind and gets the W.
- Yeah! Yes!
- Well, what a moment for this rookie.
Olivia Lopez led most of the way,
but couldn't close it out.
So it's the other rookie, Akshara, who gets the win.
She's now 1 and 1.
- Way to do it.
- Aka learned from her mistake.
In round one, she jumped too far left,
and her right hand couldn't catch the board.
This time, she overcompensated and went to the right,
but she went high enough so she could still make the grab.
- She's having a tremendous rookie season.
Dad's got to be so proud.
Well, now we roll on to start the final races for group 9.
And stepping up for them right now is
California's Xzavian Ochoa who's 1 and 1
and badly needs a win.
Unfortunately for him,
he's facing the reigning champion
of "ANW," Utah's Kai Beckstrand.
Already been a special year for Kai
since the season started. He got married.
- I now pronounce you husband and wife.
Kiss that bride.
[cheers and applause]
- So we got married at a ranch in Santa Clara,
hundreds of people in attendance,
family, friends, even ninjas.
And it was everything I could have ever asked for.
Honeymoon plans?
After competing,
we'll be home for a little bit,
and then we're going to go on a cruise.
Some people might think it's tough on her
not doing Ninja marrying into this
ninja family of Beckstrands.
But at the same time, she brings this good balance
of other hobbies, like pickleball,
going on hikes, and just being outdoors in general.
You know, I couldn't be more happy
to be married to not only an amazing person,
but my best friend as well.
- Lexee's over there with the rest of the Beckstrands.
At this point, Kai's 2 and 0.
He is guaranteed to move on.
So he may go all out trying to get
the fastest time and the top seed in the next round.
For Xzavian Ochoa, he either needs a win against Kai
or finish with a fast time
and get a wild card as the fastest
third place finisher.
Jackson Erdos set the time to beat for that last week
at 49 seconds.
- If I'm Xzavian Ochoa, I'm putting
that X on Kai Beckstrand.
I'm putting it right on his back.
Go for him.
[countdown clock beeping]
Here we go.
- Well, staying ahead of Kai Beckstrand
in a race, no easy task.
- The faster you go on this course,
the riskier it becomes.
- Well, Xzavian, doing a good job keeping pace.
- Come on, Kai. - Whoa!
Look at that big move by Kai.
And that's why he's the reigning champ.
- That is as well as we've seen anyone
do the Swinging Peg Boards.
- I feel at some point, Kai might be able to do
the Salmon Ladder in one move.
- Well, just a dominant performance.
- Ooh, OK, X ain't giving up, though.
- Kai's got a shot at the fastest time
on this course set last week by Isaiah Thomas.
Got to make the grab.
Kai just needs the dismount.
Oh, no! - What?
- How did he save it? - What?
What in the "Cobra Kai" was that?
- Oh, my goodness.
- That was some "Cobra Kai" magic.
- And despite the stumble, still got the fastest time.
Ochoa just couldn't keep up.
Time won't be fast enough for a wild card,
but after overcoming epilepsy, what a season for him.
- Matt, we gotta rewind that.
Let's see that one again.
Kai was racing to get the fastest time,
so he tried a quick dismount.
His feet landed on the wall and he fell backwards,
barely saving himself with his hands,
and we almost lost it in the booth.
- We're going to check in for radioactive spider DNA.
We got to talk about what just happened there
at the end on Hourglass Drop. Take us through it.
- I just kind of wanted to get a little more practice
on that one pop and go.
So I threw it right here.
Didn't have as much power as I thought.
Got on top of the wall, my feet kind of
slipped out from under me.
Luckily got a hand on the wall to hold on
and came out on top still.
- Despite that, you lowered your time.
You went even faster on that one, 43.32 seconds.
Kai, congratulations again.
- Thank you.
- What a great moment.
- He slipped and still got 43 seconds.
Wow.
- Coming up, Lucas Reale was Addy Herman's first coach.
- Now she might be ending his season.
The good friends go head-to-head
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- We're burning up the finals course tonight.
Moments ago, it was the final races for group 8.
Jay "Lache" Lewis needed a win to guarantee his spot
in the next round, and he came out strong
against rookie Olivia Lopez.
- Whew, that get-off by Jay Lewis.
- Jay "Lache" fell on Hourglass Drop
in his last race. - He's got to get it here.
Big.
- But not this time.
He finished in a fast time and secured
his spot in the round of 32.
[cheers and applause]
Olivia Lopez reached the final obstacle
in her previous races and couldn't make the grab.
- Yes.
- But on her third try, she did.
Her season is over, but she ended on a high note.
- OK, I see you.
- Elijah "Boss" Browning had yet to lose a race
in the group stage, but he was pushed
by teenager Akshara Pappu,
who stayed on his heels throughout the run.
- She is fearless.
And that's what you want out of a competitor.
- The Boss made the final moves
and secured his third buzzer.
He's moving on to the round of 32.
Pappu didn't get the win...
- Nice.
Oh, she did that with authority.
- But she finished the course for the second straight race.
She ends her season with 30 obstacles completed,
which currently puts her in the top four
of our women's obstacle tally.
So it's Jay Lewis and Elijah Browning
who advance to the final 32 bracket from this group.
Now it's the final race for group 9,
with two rookies facing off.
It's Daroch Wilmoth, better known as D-Rex,
doing his best dinosaur impression,
chasing down Max Salebra, having some fun.
They're still teenagers after all,
but they come from very different backgrounds.
Cadet Ninja, we salute you.
- I went to a naval military academy
when I was in school, and we were called cadets.
And then I did Ninja, so I was the Cadet Ninja.
[martial music]
[rock music]
- I've always been, like, a hard rocker,
getting in the metal and stuff.
So the hair goes along with that quite well.
Let's go!
I'm always, like, flipping the hair
and tossing it around. It's so fun.
And I like to stand out, you know?
- Rock on with your bad self, man.
- That ponytail is definitely really scary.
♪ ♪
And I know that I just have to run my best race
if I have to keep up with Daroch.
- There it is.
- Fly to success.
- We're going to rock this course tonight.
- The stakes are simple.
With a win, Max will move on.
Daroch needs to beat Max and finish faster
than one minute to save his season.
[countdown clock beeping]
- It's all or nothing for D-Rex
or he'll be extinct like a T-rex.
- Well, you know these two are going to be pushing it,
big man.
- Uh-oh.
Daroch is a little caught up there.
He's got to catch it and then release.
- Well, Max does not want to let off the accelerator.
Salebra looking real fluid, but here comes D-Rex.
- Yeah, D-Rex is going to have to really make up some time.
- Max Salebra is only 14 years old,
but he's handled the pressure in these races.
- And here comes Daroch.
He's got to start taking some chances.
- And it's closing the gap.
Max makes the transition. - Oh, big, aggressive move.
- And he's up on Hourglass Drop.
- And this is big for Salebra.
- Can he nail the move?
- Daroch has got to go.
Nice, he's got it. - Got it!
- Oh!
- D-Rex splashes down as Max gets another buzzer.
He's going to the bracket at just 14 years old.
- Wow.
- Daroch Wilmoth's memorable rookie season comes to an end.
He's eliminated, but Max Salebra is moving on.
He and Kai Beckstrand are the two ninjas
who advance to the bracket stage from group 9.
Earlier, group 7 started their final races.
Luke Beckstrand needed a win to guarantee
his spot in the next round.
He was facing Alaska's Nick Hanson,
who's been battling an injury.
- He's playing hurt, but he's making no excuses.
- Luke's known for going fast, and he didn't disappoint,
sprinting through the course.
- He's going to go sub-50, keep this pace up.
- He finished in just over 48 seconds,
which should give him a high seed in the next round.
- Let's go!
- Hanson couldn't match that speed,
but he kept battling... - Yes!
- And was able to finish the course.
- Let's go!
[cheers and applause]
Pulled something on my first race,
and I just had to fight through it.
And that's what being an Alaskan is all about, dude.
It's all about grit. - Man, you are a true warrior.
- Luke's moving on.
The other ninja to advance will be determined
by group 7's final race.
Guys, with a win in this race,
Addy Herman can punch her ticket to the next round,
but to do it, she will have to beat
her very first Ninja coach, Lucas Reale.
He's even giving her last minute advice
about one of the obstacles before their race.
These two go way back.
[bright orchestral music]
- I was so excited when I figured out that Addy
was going to be in my group.
Addy was one of my first students.
Grab it, grab it, grab it.
Nice.
I talk about her as one of the most talented kids
that I've ever had walk into my gym.
♪ ♪
- He got me into Ninja nine years ago.
And he's been coaching me ever since,
even still to this day.
- From the day that she started,
I knew that this was going to be her future.
And to see her, like, live out her dreams
on the show has been such an awesome experience
for the last few years.
Nice, Addy. Let's go.
[applause]
- We're both going to go out, give it everything we got,
and we'll see who wins, coach or student.
- Despite the friendship, or because of it,
the stakes are high for this race.
Whoever wins moves on. Whoever loses is out.
- Confident, Addy!
[countdown clock beeping]
- Even though she's 2 and 0, Addy's times have been slower,
so still needs a win here.
- Whew, look at this!
It looks like synchro Ninja.
- She's a little ahead.
- Yeah. Oh, yeah. She is ahead.
- And she was the first to dismount.
- All right.
Now, this is a little ballet on Swinging Peg Boards.
- Oh, my.
She's looking strong.
- Nice. - Smooth moves.
Lucas pulls ahead on the dismount.
Addy right behind him.
Akbar, what a race.
- Well, Lucas Reale knows exactly what
she's capable of because he taught her.
- Well, Addy Herman, keeping the pressure on.
- Oh, no! - Shoot!
- Lucas is down.
- Oh, man.
- But Addy must complete Cane Lane to get the win,
Akbar. Her season's on the line.
- Come on. Come on.
- Great transfer there.
She can join Isabella Folsom as the second woman
to go undefeated in the group stage.
Just needs the dismount.
Addy Herman does it.
- [cheering]
- And she gives a nod to Lucas, who's now eliminated.
- Right here, Addy. - Come on!
- Just remarkable what she can do.
- Man, she is doing it.
She is doing it big.
- Well, Isabella Folsom, the first woman ever
to go 3 and 0.
She's now joined by Addy Herman.
- Look at that.
Here we go.
The math is adding, Matt.
- Oh!
Well, doesn't matter.
She still gets the win to go 3 and 0.
She and Luke Beckstrand are the two moving on from group 7.
Heartbreak for Lucas Reale.
His season is over.
- You can see right here,
Lucas hit the bottom of the cane
on the second track, and couldn't get the hook
around in time to catch himself.
Addy gets the win but didn't get enough bounce
off the trampoline to make the grab on Hourglass Drop.
- Addy, first of all, congratulations.
Normally, when I talk to people and they're wet,
bad vibes, very sad. This is quite the opposite.
You are undefeated in the group stage.
How does it feel?
- Honestly amazing.
This is definitely my redemption year from last year.
I'm here to show people that setbacks don't define you.
Persistence over perfection always.
- Congratulations on tonight's performances.
- Thank you, Zuri.
- And Addy now has 29 obstacles completed,
and she'll be able to add more when
she races in the bracket stage.
The four ladies with the most obstacles
at the end of the season will race to be
this year's Women's Champion.
Now we're on the move.
When we come back, we'll be on our other race course.
- And we'll see the other Beckstrand,
little sister Baylee.
Can she make it 3 from her family in the final 32?
- Plus, can both of the Behrends brothers move on?
It's all coming up on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to night two of the National Finals.
We've moved over to our second race course,
which is slightly different than the first.
For the details, let's go down to Zuri.
- Yeah, guys, here's what the ninjas will be up against.
The second obstacle on this course is Sky Hooks,
and there are two ways to get through it.
The longer route requires grabbing
an extra ring in the middle,
but the moves are shorter and safer.
But if ninjas want to go fast,
they can try the quicker but riskier route.
But they'll have to pull off a longer leap
and a reverse hook.
In the third position on this course
is Beehive, which requires sideways laches
and a spin in the middle.
The other obstacles are the same as the first course.
The top two in each group will move on.
Guys.
- Getting things started on this new course will be
group 10 with James "The Beast" McGrath
facing Jason Behrends.
And the difference in these two is obvious
as they come to the start line.
James, the 14-time "Ninja" veteran from Massachusetts,
is 6'2", and Jason, the Iowa high schooler,
is only 5'2".
Oh, he's turned back the clock.
James "The Beast" McGrath.
- Jason Behrends, I have the height advantage,
but that's kind of where it ends.
- He's got a small stature, but that's not a problem,
especially here on Ninja.
- He might be small, but he is fast.
- He's got the shot to get that first W.
- Let's go!
- James McGrath, super confident on the course,
has been competing for a long time,
but despite my size, I'm feeling pretty confident.
- Beating him is going to be a tall order,
and I don't know if I'm that tall.
[dramatic music]
- James will be cheered on by his fiancée,
Ninja great, Allyssa Beird, who's watching from back home.
- Let's go, James.
- Jason has the always loud and proud
Behrends family on his sideline,
including his brother, Ben, who runs next.
- Come on, Jason!
- I gave Jason Behrends the nickname Biggie Smalls.
That's because despite his size,
he comes up big on the course.
[countdown clock beeping]
- McGrath, a former track athlete.
- Wow!
- Dead even.
Will anyone sell out with the more dangerous route
on Skyhooks?
- The best thing to do here,
strategically, is keep with the safe route.
- Both going inside.
McGrath a couple extra swings.
- Nice, and he's out in front, using that long body,
6'2", to reach out.
- But Biggie Smalls keeping it close.
- Ooh! - Who can rotate it?
- Ooh, uh-oh, a little sticky right there,
but sweet like honey on the Beehive.
- What a good match-up this is.
McGrath seeming to slow down.
And here comes Biggie Smalls.
Both of them flying up the Salmon Ladder.
Well, it looked like Biggie Smalls
was the first on Cane Lane.
But McGrath pulling ahead.
And James is hung up.
I think he's trying to make a big move here, Akbar.
He's hung up.
And Behrends is going to go past him.
He's going to dismount first.
[cheers and applause]
Behrends steals a peek back at McGrath.
- Oh! - McGrath is down.
- Oh.
- No.
- So Jason Behrends gets the win,
and now he's going to try to finish.
- He's not that much, 115 pounds.
Let's see how much energy returns on that one.
Hey! - Got it!
- Boy-- - That was perfect.
You saw the hang time there.
- He looked like he was having fun at Skyzone.
- Let's go!
- A big win for Jason Behrends, all 5'2" of him.
Gets a buzzer, and he's now 1 and 0.
- McGrath got hung up on Cane Lane.
His body was swinging this way,
and he needed to go that way to the second rail.
Then he tried to make a big move
all the way down here on the second track,
but he came up short. He falls to 0 and 1.
- Now Jason's brother, Ben,
is going to head to the start line
to lead off races for group 11.
He'll be facing Payton Myler.
The Utah teenager is part of the Ninja Kids
and has millions of loyal followers on YouTube.
And Ben Behrends has a loyal group
of supporters too. It's his family.
As we just saw in the last race,
they are an energetic bunch,
and the loudest may be little sister Lia.
- You're good, Ben! come on!
- Relax!
- Our family kind of has a sideline legacy.
My brother has always been
the Hype Guy, cheering on my dad.
- Yes, Dad!
- Then I got to be the sideline
for my brother and my dad.
[all cheering]
- And now Lia gets to cheer on all three of us.
- Come on, Dad! - And look at his daughter.
She's pretty hyped up too.
- [cheering]
- She's like, the loudest person ever.
- Come on, Dad! Let's go!
- I can hear her out of anybody when I'm running that course.
- Yeah! Let's go!
Come on, Ben!
When they get an obstacle, I'm so excited.
I'm so proud of them.
And I hope I can be like them when I get older.
Let's go!
- Buzzers are cool, but making
my little sister proud is even better.
[all cheering]
- Payton and the Myler family
are also well represented in the finals.
Her brother, Ashton, punched his ticket
to the next round last week.
She's trying to join him tonight.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Here we go.
- And good pace by Payton.
Both these athletes, 5'4".
We'll see if anyone takes the risky route.
Ben going inside.
Payton matching him.
And links it.
Real smooth by Ben Behrends. - Let's go!
- He's up on the Beehive.
Payton is being careful.
Wants to avoid an early fall.
- Payton Myler is a performer.
She's used to performing under pressure
in front of the big crowd.
- And Ben got about an obstacle lead.
But it's never over in "Ninja Warrior."
- Let's go!
- The Hype Guy, Ben Behrends, big speed up the Salmon Ladder.
He's all about that hype, and he ain't all hype.
- Well, that Hourglass Drop can be a time equalizer.
Ben Behrends, though, progressing through
Cane Lane looking strong.
- Ooh, but Matt, he's towards the bottom of that cane.
Be careful.
This track, 10 feet long on that second track.
- And got the dismount.
One obstacle remains for Ben.
Payton Myler still working. - Go!
- Focus! Focus!
- Ben's only 5'4".
He needs a good bounce off the trampoline.
- Shoulders, Ben. Shoulders.
- Let's go, Ben.
- Watch the drop.
- Whoa! - And there it is.
The door is open for Payton Myler.
Ben Behrends, the latest victim
of the diabolical Hourglass Drop.
- Look, Ben took his time, and he lined himself up,
but his momentum shot him forward,
and he didn't get enough height to make
the grab on the second board. Oh.
- Well, Payton Myler, in addition
to being a second-degree black belt,
also a high-level gymnast.
So if she can make it to Hourglass Drop,
we'll see if that trampoline body training serves her well,
but has to survive Cane Lane.
Big transfer here.
- You got to be a little concerned
about the grip strength here. Oh!
- But she got it, Akbar.
- She's strong, Matt. She's strong.
- That was real good handwork with the caning.
Close to the dismount.
Well, here it is.
Payton Myler can get the W
if she completes Hourglass Drop.
- You got this, Payton!
- Well, this really is a unique obstacle.
- This trampoline works a lot different than the ones
you see at the trampoline park.
- And it's about how your body is aligned,
how you hit that trampoline.
- And you're trying to keep that board balanced
while keeping your core tight.
It's a lot to think about.
It's some muscle confusion.
- Oh!
She just can't pull it off.
So it's Ben Behrends who gets the win.
He goes to 1 and 0.
Still to come, we'll see some of
"Ninja's" best make their debut in the final.
- Don't take that suit to the dry cleaner.
- Can they keep their season alive?
- There you go. Nice.
- They're just ahead on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Whoo! Let's get hype.
- We interview our ninjas throughout the season...
- I'm coming for you, Joe.
[chuckles] What am I saying?
- Whoo! Yes!
- Sometimes it gets a little wacky.
- Ah! - Oh, goodness.
- So yeah. Hitting my 27th brother--
brother?
- These moments are presented
by the Active Cash Credit Card
from Wells Fargo, giving you unlimited access
with this behind the scenes look.
- You ready to hit some buzzers?
- All right.
[laughter]
- I dive once a week,
and I forgot the rest of your question.
- Wait, what was the question?
- If I win the title, I'll take the shoe--
- Hey, R-- hey, RJ Roman.
OK, yeah. What's up, me?
- Wait. What?
- Wow. That's a lot of words.
[laughs]
- It's been an exciting night of National Finals action
here in Vegas.
Minutes ago, it was the first race for group 10's
Matt D'Amico and Jaleesa Himka.
The Colorado high schooler
faced a tough test against D'Amico,
the professional dunk team member from Massachusetts.
D'Amico's known for speed,
and he jumped out to a quick lead over Himka.
- Yeah, he fast.
- The four-time "Ninja" veteran
cruised through the course.
- D'Amico works for the Celtics
on the trampoline team,
so he knows how to use a trampoline.
There you go. Nice.
- He got the win to go 1 and 0.
- Yeah!
- Himka couldn't match D'Amico's speed,
but did make it to Hourglass Drop.
- Whoa.
- She's now 0 and 1.
Then it was the start for group 12.
Leading it off was New Jersey's Josiah Pippel
facing Tennessee's Hunter Ogden.
And this one was over before it started.
- Oh!
Oh, no.
- Ogden lost his balance
and missed the rope on Slide Surfer,
a heartbreaking early fall for him.
So Pippel had the easy win,
but didn't take his foot off the gas.
- Nice.
- He put up a good time as he made it to the buzzer.
He goes 1 and 0.
Then it was the other two from group 12,
as the Classy Ninja, Donovan Metoyer,
took on Baylee Beckstrand,
the third finalist from her family.
- That's a "Ninja" legacy family right there.
- Baylee is hoping to join brothers Kai and Luke
in the next round, but she fell behind Metoyer,
the well-dressed "Ninja" veteran who made
a steady march through the course.
- Don't take that suit to the dry cleaner,
not right now. - He made it to the buzzer...
[buzzer blares]
While Baylee was knocked out by the Salmon Ladder.
- Oh!
- Now it's the first race for a couple
of ninjas from group 11.
This one features the top seed in this group at number 15,
Sam Folsom, who has a world-class
training facility in his barn.
He's facing rookie Rai Flores, who's a 45 seed
and has trained mainly on his home island of Guam.
Now he's going to be tested by one of the sport's best.
- When I heard who I was competing against,
first thing I do is search them up on Instagram.
I had to figure out who these people were.
[upbeat music]
When I saw the barn. I was impressed.
I thought to myself, this is another level of skill
we're dealing with now.
- In the barn, we have a ton of obstacles,
more than most gyms in the entire country,
5,000 square foot.
And in an average day, we are probably
spending around eight hours training...
- Yeah. - Building, getting ready.
- I feel very prideful representing the island.
Seeing all these great gyms and all that come
from a small island, it feels a little overwhelming
sometimes, but no matter how much pressure,
no matter how many people are thinking about it...
- Hey.
- It's just me and the course. And that doesn't change.
[energetic music]
- His name, Rai, means "king,"
and he's made the propeller hat his trademark this season.
So the king's wearing his crown,
along with his parents and mentor, Deren Perez,
the other ninja from Guam, who made it
to the National Finals.
Sam's trying to match his wife, Isabella,
who punched her ticket to the next round last week.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Rai Flores has had a great season,
but this is different.
There's a lot more pressure running in these races.
- Let's see if these guys go for the shortcut on Skyhooks.
Sam does, but he's hung up.
And Rai pulls it off! - Whoa! OK, king!
- And Sam's still hung up.
Now he gets it.
Finally gets the dismount.
- Uh-oh, King Rai needed to make that move,
going up against Sam Folsom.
Now he's got him a nice, healthy lead.
But here comes Sam.
- Akbar, you just see it.
It's like a rubber band connects these ninjas.
And now Sam Folsom was the first to dismount.
- Wow. - Oh, it's back and forth.
What a race.
- Oh! - And Flores blinks.
- Oh, the king is down.
- Misses on the Salmon Ladder.
Credit to Folsom for putting the pressure on him.
- Yeah, Sam Folsom checkmated the king, Rai Flores.
- Well, Rai Flores is smiling.
He knows Sam got him this time.
- Well, Matt, it was the pressure.
After he got the nice little lead,
he lost the lead to Sam Folsom.
And Folsom coming back from behind
put the pressure on Rai,
and Rai pushed it
and lost it on the Salmon Ladder.
- Well, you give credit.
That might have been just some experience,
the veteran calm of Sam Folsom.
Can he handle the Hourglass Drop?
- You got to commit.
Nice.
- It is such a unique obstacle in the history
of "Ninja," where it really comes down
to that trampoline transfer.
Sam Folsom handles it. He goes to 1 and 0.
He'll face Ben Behrends in his next race.
Coming up, Payton Myler
was already a star on social media.
- All right, time for a quick change.
Don't look. All done.
OK, we're about to go back on stage.
- Now she's making a name
for herself on "Ninja Warrior."
- That's what I'm talking about.
- Her race is next on "ANW's" National Finals.
- The action doesn't stop here on "Ninja's"
National Finals.
While we were away, we had the round two races
for group 10 with Matt D'Amico
taking on Jason Behrends.
D'Amico's known for speed,
but Behrends, the 5'2" Iowa high schooler,
kept it close.
- They're about tied up now.
- In the end, D'Amico was able to hold him off.
- Nice.
- He reached the buzzer for his second win.
[buzzer blares]
Behrends finished a few seconds behind.
He's now 1 and 1.
Then it was the other two from this group,
the 43 seed James McGrath
took on the 48th Jaleesa Himka.
This one came down to the Hourglass Drop.
Himka reached it first,
but the Colorado high schooler missed the grab.
- Ooh!
- Oh.
- So McGrath, the 14-time "Ninja" veteran,
had a chance for the win. - Whoa!
- No. - But he also missed.
He's now 0 and 2, while Himka goes to 1 and 1.
Then we started round 2 races for group 12,
with Hunter Ogden facing Baylee Beckstrand.
Beckstrand is hoping to be the third member
of her family in the round of 32,
along with brothers Luke and Kai.
- She's got to get out of there.
- But she fell behind Ogden, the teenager
from tiny Churchill, Tennessee.
He made it to Hourglass Drop.
- Oh! But he's up, yeah.
- And made the grab.
He got the win, and goes to 1 and 1.
[cheers and applause]
Beckstrand kept battling
and took her shot at Hourglass Drop.
- Oh!
- She came up short and falls to 0 and 2.
Well, now it's the other two from group 12
with one of the top contenders to win it all,
New Jersey's Josiah Pippel.
He's taking on the Classy Ninja,
Donovan Metoyer.
Both these ninjas won their first races,
but that's about all they have in common.
[upbeat music]
- I'm only 5'7", and Josiah is,
like, 6-something, so he definitely
has the height advantage, but he's going to need
more than that to beat me.
- I'd say the only advantage Donovan has
over me is that he looks a little classier,
one might say.
- Well, it's time to get classy here
in Vegas with Donovan Metoyer.
- I'm going to look over and be like,
I think I'm underdressed for this.
Like, he's going to look so dapper.
And I'm just there in my t-shirt,
like, I'm ready to go.
- The Classy Ninja always looks good.
But Josiah Pippel, in his first race,
went 35 seconds faster than Metoyer.
So Donovan is going to need to pick up the pace
or hope for a miracle.
[countdown clock beeping]
- All right, ooh!
- A little start for Josiah. - Josiah, my goodness!
Sprinting out there like a gazelle.
- Well, Donovan tried the shortcut
to get an edge over Josiah, and it looks
like he's giving it a go.
- Oh! Metoyer's down!
Oh.
- He knew he'd have to sell out to keep pace with Pippel,
but couldn't land the shortcut on Skyhooks.
- Oh, man.
To keep up with Josiah, he went for the fast route.
He got the ring on the hook,
but his fingers peeled right off.
- With Donovan down, Josiah can go all-out
and go for a fast time.
And he is absolutely flying.
Just has to survive Hourglass Drop.
- Just because you hit it once doesn't mean
you're going to hit it again. Nice.
- But he does.
And Pippel just had the fastest time on this course.
He beat Kaden Lebsack's time from last week.
- Wow.
- Hey, Josiah.
- Oh, there's that smile.
- How's it feel being back racing?
- I felt good.
It was tough again to see Donovan fall early,
but I knew I could go, and I think there's still
more time to be found.
- Can you go faster? - Yeah.
There's more time.
- Well, we can't wait to see it, buddy.
Go celebrate, Josiah.
A great race.
- He didn't even blink, Matt.
He said, yeah, I can go faster.
- Well, now we kick off round 2 races for group 11.
We've got the propeller hat-wearing teenager
from Guam, Rai Flores.
He'll be going against social media star
Payton Myler of Ninja Kids fame.
She competes alongside her brother,
so she's not afraid to run with the boys.
- We do know this about Payton Myler.
Every single time she stepped on the course,
she's gotten better.
- This season has gone better than I could
have ever expected, honestly.
I got a buzzer in round one in the Regional Finals.
- Yes!
And she's done it.
- And I got another one in the Tripleheader.
- And here comes Payton Myler.
- I am so excited to be in the National Finals,
but racing a bunch of boys is definitely scary.
[bright energetic music]
I've been training with my brothers,
and I race with them in our Ninja gyms at home.
So it's kind of prepared me for this.
- Oh.
Yeah.
- I feel like boys, they try to go fast.
Sometimes they make some mistakes.
So we'll see.
- Well, both Payton and Rai lost their first race.
So whoever loses this one is all but eliminated,
a lot riding on this race.
[countdown clock beeping]
- We've talked a lot about Rai Flores having a great season.
So far, he's hit two buzzers, but his back
is against the wall.
He needs a win here.
- Payton Myler hoping to join her brother,
Ashton, in the next round.
Rai Flores, looks like he's going for the risky move.
- Oh, that is.
He's going to try it now.
Good. - Got it.
An aggressive start out of Rai Flores.
He's got a half obstacle lead on Payton Myler,
but he seems to be hung up on the second honeycomb.
And Payton Myler keeping it close.
Rai Flores taking a lot of time on Beehive,
but no one wants to rush and make a mistake.
- Let's go! Move it. Move it. Move it.
- This is where Rai Flores fell on his first run,
up on the Salmon Ladder.
- Got to recalibrate.
Get accustomed to it.
- Giving himself a little cushion here.
And you can see him watching that bar placement, checking.
And he is through.
Payton Myler trying to keep it close,
as Rai starts Cane Lane.
- Oh! - [screams]
- Rai Flores down on Cane Lane.
And Payton Myler has a chance to get the win.
Well, Payton knows what she has to do,
complete this obstacle, which she did earlier tonight.
[chanting together] Payton! Payton! Payton!
- It's a tough position to be in,
Akbar, sitting, waiting, knowing your fate
is out of your hands. - Skip over that.
Skip over that dip. Yeah.
- Myler progressing.
Those arms pretty extended though.
Big transfer. - Come on.
110 pounds. She can carry her weight now.
- Come on, Payton.
- Nice! - Nice!
Come on.
- Just needs the dismount.
An extra swing.
And Payton Myler has done it.
She gets her first win.
- She's not just a social media sensation.
She is a "Ninja" sensation.
- Facing Hourglass Drop for the second time tonight.
Well, Akbar, she couldn't deliver on this before.
She's already got the win.
What did she learn from her last attempt on Hourglass Drop?
- Keep your body straight. Nice.
Get straight-- oh!
- Can't close it out on Hourglass Drop,
but Payton Myler gets her first win.
- Look at this.
Rai was trying to get close to the edge of that first rail
on Cane Lane and just overshot it.
Payton made it back to Hourglass Drop,
but she still hasn't quite figured out the trampoline.
- Payton, getting through Cane Lane,
walk me through that process mentally where you were.
And how did it feel when you realized you won this thing?
- I mean, it was definitely tiring.
It was definitely hard, but I knew I did it before,
I knew I could do it again.
And I was super happy when I won.
But I knew I had another chance at this obstacle,
and I didn't make it. But I have one more shot, so...
- That's exactly it. Well, you go ahead and dry off.
You've got one more race. Payton, Congratulations.
- Thank you. - Of course.
Oh, there you go. Guys, back to you.
- So good.
- Coming up, two ninjas battle for one spot.
Jaleesa Himka and Jason Behrends race
to keep their season alive,
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- "Ninja" has always been a family affair.
That's especially true this year.
Of the 60 who made it to the finals,
we've got three Beckstrands.
That's matched by the Folsom family,
who also have three.
The Mylers from Utah have two siblings competing,
and so do the Behrends from Iowa.
And two members of those families
are about to face-off for the top two seeds
in group 11, Ben Behrends and Sam Folsom.
Sam's wife, Isabella, and brother, Phil,
have punched their ticket to the next round.
And Ben's brother, Jason, is hoping to advance.
He'll be racing again next.
He's on the sideline with Lia, their lead cheerleader.
- Let's go, Ben.
- Both these guys got wins in their first race.
If they get another here,
they're almost assured of moving on.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Sam's the 15th seed and Ben's at 16.
So this race is going to be very close.
- And these two, very even start.
- I mean, they look like twins.
- Both go for the high risk.
- They both went for the high-risk maneuver.
- But Ben Behrends needs an extra swing,
and that gives Folsom a half obstacle lead.
- Oh! All right.
The second honeycomb right here, does a 270.
Big lache.
- Very close race.
- Whoa.
- Sam Folsom keeping that half obstacle lead on the Cane Lane.
- But then Ben Behrends shotguns through Salmon Ladder.
- Ben did a real good job getting through Cane Lane.
And it's even.
Folsom, one move ahead.
It's coming down to the Hourglass Drop.
- It's going to come down.
Now you got to get good body control.
If Folsom can get his body to stay calm--
he gets right up.
- And Folsom delivers. - Ooh! Oh!
- Ben Behrends just can't get it.
Folsom gets the win.
[cheers and applause]
- I think that--
- Sam Folsom goes to 2 and 0,
in good position to join his wife,
Isabella, in the next round.
Ben Behrends made it close, but couldn't close it out.
He falls to 1 and 1.
And now we'll start round 3 races for group 10,
and Ben's brother, Jason, is going to lead it off,
taking on Jaleesa Himka.
Well, big stakes for this one.
Both these Ninjas are 1 and 1.
So whoever wins this battle of the teenagers
will be moving on.
Jaleesa being cheered on by her mom,
watching back from Colorado.
- Yeah. Come on, Jaleesa.
- Jason's family on the sideline there,
they're wearing his signature glasses.
- I call him Biggie Smalls.
He needs a big run here.
There's a lot of pressure here, Matt.
Fighting for that survival.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Good quick start by Jason Behrends.
Well, Jaleesa, three-inch height advantage.
- Wow.
Jason almost didn't make that grab.
- He's only 5'2".
May have to make a few extra moves here.
Biggie Smalls, though, figuring it out.
On to Beehive.
Both athletes playing it safe so far,
Himka taking extra swings on Skyhooks.
And there it is.
He has a full obstacle lead, does Behrends.
- And we've seen this from Jaleesa before.
Just hoping for--
- Jason Behrends is down on the Salmon Ladder.
- I didn't even get to finish my thought
and exactly what I was about to say just happened.
- Himka needs to get to the top of the Salmon Ladder
and she will send him home.
- Jaleesa, you got this.
- Oh, what a turn of events.
- What the what?
- But there's a reason we run the races, big man.
- Whoa, this is not clocking for me.
I'm still having a hard time comprehending
what just happened.
- One more rung, and Jaleesa Himka has done it.
- Yeah.
- She's now the third woman to advance
to the final 32 bracket this season,
joining Isabella Folsom and Addy Herman.
And this year, the ladies who complete
the most obstacles throughout the season
will race for the women's crown.
By going to the bracket, Jaleesa will compete
in at least one more race.
So she can add to her obstacle total.
If she gets through Cane Lane here,
she'll be up to 28 obstacles for the season.
And she does it.
- Let's go.
- Well, in her first race, had a chance
on the Hourglass Drop. Could not complete it.
Second race, same thing.
Third race, can she break through?
- Third race, different story.
She nails it.
Ah, sha-nah-nah! I jinxed her!
- But it doesn't matter.
Jaleesa Himka is going to the next round.
She's part of our final 32 ninjas.
- Let's go.
I'm coming to Vegas. I'm coming to Vegas.
- Coming up, his brother, Jason, was just eliminated.
- Ooh!
- Now Ben Behrends runs to keep his season alive,
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- It's already been an electrifying night
here at the National Finals.
And minutes ago, we had the last race from group 10,
with Matt D'Amico taking on James "The Beast" McGrath.
D'Amico was 2 and 0 and had secured
his spot in the next round.
McGrath's only hope was to get the wildcard
as the fastest third place finisher.
So he took the shortcut on Skyhook.
- He's moving quickly.
- "The Beast" left it all on the course,
taking chances... - He's skipping rungs.
- But he couldn't outrace the speedy D'Amico,
who grabbed his third win.
[cheers and applause]
McGrath still had a shot at the third place wild card.
- He's got to go. Oh!
- But his fall ended his season.
So it's D'Amico and Jaleesa Himka
who will advance from this group.
And now we move on to the final round of races
for group 11, with Sam Folsom,
who is 2 and 0, taking on Payton Myler,
who's 1 and 1.
But beyond the records,
family pride is also on the line.
Last week, Sam's wife, Isabella,
defeated Payton's brother, Ashton.
[air horn blares]
Now Payton has a shot at revenge.
- Ashton raced a Folsom, and he lost.
So now it's my turn.
I am going against Sam.
I'm definitely nervous, but I kind of need
to get redemption, and for the Mylers,
I gotta win this one.
- Both Ashton and Isabella survived the group stage.
They'll be racing in the bracket.
For Payton, she must win this race
to have a chance of moving on, while Sam's 2 and 0,
and virtually guaranteed to advance.
So you know he's going to go all out to try
and improve his seed in the bracket.
[countdown clock beeping]
- You know he's got that speed.
And there it is right there.
But Payton Myler's not backing down.
- Sam's taking the shortcut.
He's not holding back.
- No! - Oh!
And Sam Folsom is down.
- Oh, oh, oh, oh.
So Payton can get the win,
but still has to finish this obstacle.
- Get that W then.
- But she needs to make this dismount.
- Get that W, Payton.
Oh, she's going around in circles.
- And Payton Myler is 2 and 1.
Let's see what happened with Sam.
- Sam was trying to go for a fast time.
He took the risky route right there,
but as he went for that reverse hook,
he just missed.
- But now it becomes important to hit that buzzer.
We're going to have more than one ninja
in this group at 2 and 1.
So whoever goes the farthest the fastest
will be the tiebreaker.
Because Sam had the fastest time
in an earlier race, he's definitely moving on.
Battle for the other spot comes down now to Payton
and Ben Behrends, who races next.
She's also adding to the obstacle total,
which keeps her in contention
to be this year's Women's Champion.
- Matt, she's got six million subscribers
on her YouTube channel alone.
She's probably picking up a few more
with the season she's having.
- Watch the transition.
She got her first buzzer a few weeks ago
and made it to the National Finals
in her second year competing
and conquers Cane Lane once again.
- One more!
- Well, Payton Myler is so consistent.
Her third race, her third time making it to Hourglass Drop.
But can she get through? - You got it, Payton!
- It would greatly improve her chances of moving on
if she can conquer it and get a buzzer.
- Come on now.
All you gotta do is hit that red star in the middle.
Oh!
- Doesn't get a buzzer,
but Payton Myler does get a win.
Now she'll have to wait and see what happens
in the next race with this group.
- I don't really know what happened.
I think I won, though.
So that's pretty awesome.
- Well, Payton's going to be cheering
for Rai Flores in this one.
If he can beat Ben Behrends, then Payton will advance.
But if Ben wins, he and Payton would both
be 2 and 1, so it would come down to
who went the farthest the fastest.
- These are going to be some anxious moments
for Payton Myler.
King Rai is putting that hat on backwards once again.
Ooh, and it's spinning.
It's spinning, Matt. It's spinning.
[countdown clock beeping]
All right, your hat's spinning.
You gotta start spinning.
- Wow. Good start.
These two are going to push each other the whole way.
- See Rai getting out.
- And Rai, he's going for the shortcut.
- But then here comes the Hype Guy.
- And Rai, that shortcut move is taking extra swings.
- Oh, boy.
You got to get you out there in front by 2 seconds.
This time it put him behind a little bit.
- Well, you see that shortcut.
It's supposed to shave time off,
but it backfired on Rai Flores.
- Yeah, if you're efficient with it.
You got to be efficient with it.
- Uh-oh.
- He's a little crooked on Salmon Ladder.
And there goes the Hype Guy.
Hype me up.
- You got it, Ben. Let's go. Let's go.
- But Ben has failed on the Hourglass twice.
And Rai Flores is still alive.
Well, Ben's fate is in his own hands.
If he gets through the Hourglass Drop,
he moves on.
- I like the way that he kind of walked it through.
He took mental reps before he got on Hourglass Drop.
- You got it, Ben!
- Big-- - Got it!
- Whoa! - Launched out.
- Whoa, he had some distance on that one.
- Oh, that was close.
He's moving on.
Payton Myler's going home.
- Yay!
- Ben Behrends delivers.
- Let's go, Rai.
- Oh, not enough height off the trampoline.
- Nice try, buddy. - Way to go, Rai!
- Ben, your fate was in your hands,
third time on Hourglass Drop.
Take us through that grab,
'cause you got launched, brother.
- Oh, my gosh.
I mean, I had already lost it twice.
Oh, I took that time before.
- And we could see, you were taking
the mental reps before you got on.
- I had probably ten minutes of visualizing.
Chest up, chest up, please.
And I got it.
Oh, my gosh, I'm so thankful.
- Hype Guy, you delivered, brother.
Go celebrate, man.
- Let's go, baby.
- Well, for the Behrends,
a disappointing night for Jason,
but Ben salvages it.
He and Sam Folsom are the two moving on from this group.
We'll see them competing in the bracket,
which starts next week.
Coming up, it's a do-or-die race
for Hunter Ogden and Donovan Metoyer.
Whoever wins moves on. The loser goes home.
And it's next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Las Vegas, where we're wrapping up
night two of our National Finals.
Minutes ago, it was the third and final races for group 12.
Up first was New Jersey's Josiah Pippel,
a top competitor,
facing Utah's Baylee Beckstrand,
looking for her first win.
Pippel had the fastest time of the night on this course,
and was guaranteed to move on,
so he could afford to go for broke
and try to improve his seed in the next round.
- No!
- He went for the shortcut on Skyhooks,
and his hands peeled right off the ring.
So Baylee just had to finish the obstacle
to secure the victory.
- She gets the W. That's a Beckstrand for you.
- Because she lost her two previous races,
she had no chance to move on to the next round,
but she did want to finish strong.
[audience chanting] Baylee! Baylee!
- She battled through the course
to the final obstacle, Hourglass Drop.
It knocked her out in her last race...
- Yes.
- But not this time.
She ended her season on a high note.
- And look at that.
Her family, they're rushing the stage.
They're rushing it.
This is a big moment.
- Even with the buzzer, Baylee couldn't break
into the top four in the women's obstacle tally.
She's tied for fifth with 29.
But both Addy Herman
and Jaleesa Himka are moving on.
So they'll have more races to add to their total.
- And, guys, we've got one final race tonight.
The stakes are clear in this match-up between
Donovan Metoyer and Hunter Ogden.
Whoever wins will move on.
Whoever loses is going home.
They're both 1 and 1,
so this battle is for the second spot from this group.
- Well, it's simple.
It ain't about a buzzer or time.
Just beat the other guy on the course.
Who will be joining Josiah Pippel
in the bracket?
[countdown clock beeping]
- Donovan Metoyer is an 11-time "Ninja" veteran.
He can handle the pressure.
- Quick start for Donovan.
Hunter matching him, though.
Will either take the risky outside move?
No, both going inside.
- Yeah, the name of the game here
is to try to make sure you do everything
you can to get to that buzzer.
- Metoyer linked that dismount.
I'm not sure how.
- But Hunter's pushing it.
- Hunter keeping it close.
And he links it on the dismount as well.
He's going for it.
Well, the Classy Ninja always looks good,
but he's really looking smooth.
But Hunter Ogden keeping pace.
- Yeah, they're right neck and neck right now.
- Get it! Get it!
Let's go. Go, go, go, go.
- Well, Hunter Ogden 20 years younger,
and he's down! And Metoyer has the win.
He was there first.
- Finish it. - Nice.
- Donovan delivers.
- Sometimes you just gotta to dress
for success on "Ninja Warrior."
- The 11-time "Ninja" veteran will be
one of the most experienced athletes in the bracket.
And at 38, he's currently the oldest to move on.
- He did this once.
Let's see if he can do it again.
- Makes the grab.
- Ooh, nice explosive jump.
- Just needs the dismount.
Oh, and Donovan does it.
So the Classy Ninja looking good
as he moves on to the bracket.
- This was anyone's race midway through Cane Lane.
Hunter tried to make a big move down the track,
but didn't throw the cane far enough,
giving the win to the Classy Ninja.
- And that fall means Hunter doesn't have
a shot at our wild card.
His fastest finish is behind Max Feinberg,
who still holds the top time on course two
with three more groups to run next week.
That's when we kick the competition up a notch.
- Oh, boy. Oh!
- Our final 32 will be seeded
and placed into the bracket,
and we start nail-biting, sudden death races
until we crown a champion.
No! - Oh!
Next week, it's going down.
- That wraps up another night at the National Finals.
For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall,
I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you next time on "American Ninja Warrior."