- Hey! [clicks tongue twice]
- Huh? Bello!
- Tonight on "American Ninja Warrior..."
- This obstacle can be very tricky.
all: Minions! Minions!
- We're doing something despicable.
[Diana Ross & Tame Impala's "Turn Up The Sunshine"]
- * All around the world *
- Those Despica-Balls have been diabolical.
- * Turn up the sunshine *
* We got to turn up the sunshine *
- That ball was despicable.
- [pops lips]
- We're teaming up with the Minions.
- Kevin, you're live.
- Oh. Okay, uh--
- * All around the world *
all: Minions, Minions! Minions! Minions!
- * Turn up the sunshine *
- Oh, banana! - Ba-na-na.
In honor of their upcoming movie,
we let the little guys run wild on our set...
- [screams] - [cackles]
- And they threw themselves into it.
- [grunts] Whoo-hoo!
- * A long night, waiting for the light *
* Waiting for the light *
- It's gonna be another night to remember at the Alamodome
as we head into week four of qualifying
on "American Ninja Warrior."
Hello, everyone, I'm Matt Iseman.
- And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.
Matt, not only will we see lots of ninjas tonight,
we're going to see lots of Minions.
- That's right, big man.
The new film "Minions: The Rise of Gru"
arrives in theaters July 1st,
but you're going to get a sneak peek of them
on our course tonight.
- We're going to see those little guys everywhere.
In fact, they're even taking over one of our obstacles.
- It's going to be ba-na-nas. [Akbar laughs]
For more on that, let's go down to Zuri Hall.
- Yeah, guys.
Those little Minions
have come up with a big, new balance obstacle
which they call the Despica-Balls.
As one of the options at Split Decision,
our ninjas can choose to run across the heads
of Otto, Bob, Stuart, and Kevin.
To get there, the ninjas will have to survive
the new obstacle, Shattered Panes,
with boards that rotate, drop, and twist.
Also debuting tonight in the number five spot
is Final Frontier,
a balancing act between planets.
[cheers and applause]
Guys, it's going to be a fun night.
- Thanks, Zuri.
Well, the Minions may be movie stars,
but we've got plenty of ninja stars too.
- Yeah, that's right. Check out this all-star lineup.
We've got the runner-up
from the past two seasons, Austin Gray.
He's annihilating this course!
Along with his Colorado roommate,
the 5'2" Ninja Hero, Gnarly Nate Hansen.
And the crowd erupting!
Plus, Barclay Stockett is back,
and the six-time veteran from Houston
has some big news to share.
And leading the teenagers is the Fly Boy,
the 16-year-old from Texas, Isaiah Thomas.
Fastest time of the night!
[cheers and applause]
- Well, put your seats in the upright position
and get ready for takeoff,
because up first is a 15-year-old
from Greenwood, Indiana, Jess Wombles.
She's got the aviator glasses and her own toy plane
because this ninja is ready to soar.
[dramatic music]
- I'm kind of an adrenaline junkie.
I love to fly through obstacles in the air...
And I love to fly planes.
[airplane engine droning]
* *
- Most kids are learning to drive cars at 16,
but Jess is learning to fly planes anddrive cars.
- Ready to get started? - Yep.
All right. - Pre-flight checklist.
[upbeat music]
- My dad is an international airline pilot,
but when me and my dad fly, we fly a Cessna 152.
- Are you all set?
- Ready for takeoff. - All right.
- It's a small, little airplane.
We have four seats in there,
and that's where I first learned
how to cruise in the sky by myself.
* *
Flying gives me a sense of freedom.
Whenever you're up in the clouds,
you leave all of your problems down on the runway.
- Being able to share a passion
for flying with Jessica is really special to me.
It's hard as your teenager is growing up.
They don't want to spend as much time with their parent.
But this bond between the two of us
really gives us some great father-daughter time.
- Whenever I fly,
I have control over the whole airplane.
So whenever I get up on an obstacle,
I have to remind myself that I'm fully in control.
And I've been Ninja training for 3 1/2 years now.
- Come on. Up, up, up, up, up, up, up.
Yeah. There you go!
- I'm so excited to finally show everyone
what I've worked so hard for.
[dramatic music]
- Yeah, Jess! Nice.
- As a pilot, I fly through the sky.
But tonight, I'm gonna fly through this course.
* *
- This is your host teller
telling you to fasten your seatbelts.
Jess is ready, her parents are ready,
and so are we.
Sky Ninja, you are cleared for takeoff.
[countdown clock beeping]
She is now free to move about the course.
- Let me tell you, I love her energy.
[cheers and applause]
- She's going to give us our first look
at this new obstacle, Shattered Panes.
This first one will rotate as you run up it.
- Uh-oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay.
There you go. - A little turbulence.
- Now she's going to make this big move.
This second one will drop.
- She's got her sister and friend
watching from Nashville.
Nice.
- A little bit of a rough landing,
but she's still going.
- Let's go! Let's go!
- Watch the tilt here on this third pane.
- All right, smooth landing.
Nice. - Ooh.
- That was smooth enough, that was smooth enough.
- She regripped.
And Jess Wombles, the Sky Ninja's,
on to Split Decision.
- She can go left to Log Runner
or right to our Minions obstacle,
the Despica-Balls.
all: Minions! Minions! Minions! Minions!
- And the crowd is chanting, "Minions!"
She's going to do it!
She's going to try the Despica-Balls.
- Oh, that's what I'm talking about.
She knows she wants to run on the heads
of Otto, Bob, Stuart, and Kevin.
- Now, those heads will spin and rotate.
Can the pilot navigate her way through?
- Right, now-- - Oh!
[air horn blares]
The Minions get their first victim.
Jess Wombles is grounded.
- Well, take a look at this.
She was fine running across Otto and Bob,
but on Stuart, her left foot was too far inside,
and she crash-landed on Kevin.
- Whoo!
That was so fun!
It was literally the best moment of my life.
- Well, Jess Wombles is a fly girl,
and up next is the Fly Boy, Isaiah Thomas.
The now 16-year-old from Garland, Texas,
who actually blew us away last season.
In his very first run in Tacoma qualifying,
he not only hit a buzzer...
- He's a bad boy! Look at him go.
- He had the fastest time of the night.
- I'm built different! - Oh!
He said he's built different.
I like the swag from the young gun.
- After the show aired, it's felt like people,
mainly on social media,
found me as cocky or overly confident,
but I was just a normal, teenage boy living his dream.
I'm super excited to come back.
Ready to show everyone what I have to share.
- Well, Matt, I love this kid.
He's got a little swag, but he backs it up on the course.
- His mom's on the sideline,
and he's got a big group of friends watching
back in Texas where he trains.
[all cheering]
[countdown clock beeping]
Got the nickname Fly Boy
because he just sails through obstacles.
Just like that.
[cheers and applause]
Goes right in to Shattered Panes.
- You asking yourself, does he look a little different?
Yup, because he grew. He grew a lot.
He's now 6'1".
And back on "Ninja Junior," he was only 5'7".
- Made it to stage two in Vegas last year.
And he's quickly through two obstacles.
Now he's got a choice at Split Decision.
Just saw Jess Wombles fall on the Despica-Balls,
and he's going with Log Runner.
High school basketball player, got long legs.
- Yeah, nice.
[cheers and applause]
- Now another new obstacle, Kickboards.
He needs to use his feet to knock the boards up,
then swing up to those big, red disks.
- There you go. Kick it. Nice!
- Just like that.
Now got to do the same thing on the second board.
- Man, Fly Boy is flying through this course.
- He's going to use his feet to line up the disk
before he kicks it out.
- There you go. Kick it.
- Powerful kick right into place.
- Another good transfer.
He is just looking so solid.
Nice.
[cheers and applause]
And he has flown through these first four obstacles.
- What's up, man?
- Come on, baby!
- Now the last of the night's new obstacles, Final Frontier.
Has to use that bar to balance his way across these planets.
- Nice. Oh, watch out. Watch out, watch out now.
- This is a different kind of obstacle.
You really have to shift your weight,
and that's going to create problems.
- You can see his-- he's even on the bars, Matt.
That can be a little bit tricky.
He's got to make sure he transfers it over,
lean heavy to the right. - Oh!
- Lean heavy to the right, Matt!
- Fly Boy splashes down. [audience groans]
[all groaning]
- I'm built different!
- Oh, he's built different.
He's still having fun, Matt.
- We'll have to wait and see, but with his fast time,
he's still got a good chance of moving on.
- Watch as he tries to make the shift
over to that small planet.
Hejust missed.
This obstacle is a tough one.
- Tonight...
the Minions are here.
- [speaking Minionese] - Whoo-hoo-hoo!
- Plus a whole lot more.
- Flybird on "American Ninja Warrior."
- [laughs] - Yeah!
- We've got some of the most
inspiring athletes of the season.
- Oh, look at that! Come on!
- Along with old friends,
and even a visitor from the North Pole.
- Ho, ho, ho, ho! - Okay, Santa.
- It's going to be out of this world...
- One large step for man.
- When we light the candles and pop a cork.
- Toast.
[glass dings]
- On "American Ninja Warrior."
- It's Minions Night here on "American Ninja Warrior."
[Strauss' "Also sprach Zarathustra"]
But some other creatures have invaded the course.
That's because minutes ago,
the Space Ninja, Adam Naids, landed at the start line.
- One large step for man.
- Naids works for NASA
and is developing a toilet that works in space,
so he was ready to potty.
The four-time veteran had lift-off at the start.
- Okay, I see you!
- And he made it to the end of Shattered Panes
before splashdown.
- Oh no! [air horn blares]
Looks like the potty is over.
- New Mexico's Megan Jarmosevich
is a flight nurse.
She flies in a helicopter,
bringing critically-ill patients to hospitals
every day for work.
Yet at the top of Shattered Panes,
the 39-year-old seemed to have a fear of heights.
- Oh! [air horn blares]
And she just... [air horn blares]
Splashed down.
[applause] - That was a big jump.
- Then Tyler Yamauchi awakened the dragon with a shishimai.
He had two of his kids
inside a traditional shishimai costume
to bring him good luck.
- Okay, Yamauchi.
- And it seemed to work as the 5'1" veteran
survived Shattered Panes.
- Did you see the way he threw his body?
- At Split Decision...
all: Minions, Minions, Minions!
- His wife wanted Despica-Balls,
and Mama knew best.
- Nice!
- He reached Final Frontier,
but that's where Yamauchi's good fortune ended.
- Oh! [air horn blares]
- But it may be enough to get him into the semifinals.
- Whoo! That was fun though.
- Well, it may be summer, but our next competitor
is already thinking about Christmas.
It's 21-year-old Tristan Wyman.
And guess where he's from. - I don't know, where?
- The North Pole.
This is a real place.
[upbeat festive music]
Now, for most of the year,
this town of 2,700 people is ice cold.
Temperatures sometimes dip to -60 degrees.
But that doesn't stop this Ninja fanatic
from training on his homemade obstacles
with some unusual spectators.
[reindeer grunts]
But the coolest thing about this town
is that it's basically Christmas all year round.
[sleigh bells jingling]
- There's a Santa Claus house, reindeer all over the place,
and we got candy cane street lights.
* *
Santa delivers every Christmas,
so it's my turn to deliver on the course tonight.
- Well, Tristan's got a VIP guest to watch his run.
That's right. Santa is here.
The most famous North Pole resident
has come down to watch Tristan.
- We got Santa in the house!
- Let's go! Yeah!
- Some other friends and family are watching
from back in Alaska.
Tristan's family on the sidelines,
everyone wearing Christmas colors.
I think it's time to find out if Tristan
has been naughty or nice.
[countdown clock beeping]
Santa and Tristan traveled over 3,000 miles
to be here tonight.
- Matt, for a kid, it's got to be pretty cool
to grow up in the North Pole
where it's Christmas all year round.
- Tristan's trying to get traction on Shattered Panes.
Now he's okay.
Got to jump to the second pane.
- Oh, I think he hit his head on that one.
- Now this third pane has a 60-degree tilt.
- If you don't land in the right place,
it could be lights out.
- Well, Tristan looks like
he's okay with these reindeer games.
[cheers and applause]
On to Split Decision.
- Whoa, Matt, before we get there,
he almost split his head right here.
- Ooh! - Took a shot to the dome.
- And looks like he's going for Log Runner.
Santa's good at going down chimneys...
and he's going to run right through the logs.
[cheers and applause]
Let's see what's in his stockings,
if he has the power to move these kickboards.
5'11", 160.
- Yeah, he's got to kick this first door like he's naughty.
- But for Tristan, it's such a dream to be here.
A superfan of the show,
been training for this moment for nine years.
Says he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the show.
And now this second disk spins.
Got to turn it 90 degrees so it's easier to grab.
You see him reaching out with his foot
to make the adjustment there. - Strong! Yeah.
- And it looks like Rudolph's nose there.
He's got to grab on to it on this kickboard.
- Matt, he's a student at the University of Alaska,
and he's done his homework. He knows how to do it.
[cheers and applause]
- Trying to get that dismount,
and what a rookie effort this is.
Well, he is spreading Christmas cheer
for all the crowd to hear.
Santa is pleased.
And Tristan Wyman's been moving quickly.
He's on the fifth obstacle already, Final Frontier.
Oh. - Oh, boy. To Jupiter.
- You see how he's turning around?
- How is he hanging on?
- He's twisting up like a pretzel.
both: Oh!
- Ho, ho, ho, ho! What happened?
- Ho, ho, ho!
- Let's go! - Tristan Wyman still elated.
Will he move on?
He's going to have to wait and see what's under the tree.
- Man, he made the North Pole proud.
This 21-year-old knows how to spread the Christmas cheer,
and he made it all the way to the fifth obstacle.
A great run for the rookie.
- We'll have to wait and see if Tristan and Santa
are moving on to the semifinals.
[bell jingling]
- Coming up, she can light up the course.
- And she's done it!
- And after some rough years,
the sparkle is back for Barclay Stockett.
She's up next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Minions Night on "American Ninja Warrior."
Minutes ago, Houston's impressive mom,
Sabrina Tamraz,
showed why they call her Little Rowdy.
- Look at them abs.
- With her four kids watching at home,
the 5'1" 39-year-old looked confident
on the Shrinking Steps.
Look at that!
But the rookie wasn't quite ready for the Shattered Panes.
- Oh, no! [air horn blares]
[upbeat country music]
- Louisiana's Andrew Naquin
catches bullfrogs down in the bayou,
and the Cajun Zeus brought us a frog named Francis.
- [ribbits]
- He's saying, ribbit, ribbit, ribbit.
- [ribbits]
- On the course, Naquin lost his hat early.
- He lost his crown, and I'm about to lose Francis!
- Naquin has fallen on a balance obstacle
three out of the four years he's competed...
- Hop, hop, hop. Nice.
- But he survived tonight.
One obstacle later,
Naquin couldn't make the leap on Kickboards.
No! [air horn blares]
- Zoom in on this! Francis is smiling!
- [ribbits]
- In his trademark three-piece suit,
the Classy Ninja, Donovan Metoyer,
looked sharp on the course.
- He's dressed for success!
- Two years ago,
Metoyer went 360 on the Warped Wall,
and tonight, he was promising something special
for the 18-foot Mega Wall
- And he always impresses us!
- But to get there, he'd have to get past Final Frontier.
- That's my ninja right there.
Oh! [air horn blares]
- So he didn't get a Mega Wall,
but it was still worthy of a mic drop.
- What were the plans
if you made it up the Mega Wall today?
- Oh, sorry. - [laughs]
- All eyes are on the start line
as one of our all-time favorites steps up.
It's the Sparkly Ninja, Barclay Stockett,
This little firecracker from Houston, Texas,
has had a couple of rough years,
but this season, Barclay is healthy and happy.
[soft dramatic music]
- I met Tee Jackson in 2017 at a Ninja competition.
- We became friends
and bonded over our love of Ninja
and caring for people.
Nice job!
- Tee and I were friends for about two full years.
Best friends.
* *
Whoo!
That's awesome.
- And then my mom got sick, and Tee moved from Kentucky
all the way to Texas
to help take care of her during hospice.
* *
That was the worst time of my life.
I think the only reason I survived my mom passing
is because I had Tee.
- * Say hello like it's the first time that you met *
- And, um,
that's when I realized we weren't just best friends.
We're actually completely
and totally in love with each other.
- * I'm finally seeing who I am *
* *
* I feel the power coming back *
- [claps] Let's go! - Oh, shoot!
So we bought a house, we got a puppy.
- Yes. - We have a bazillion plants.
- Plants, plants, plants, plants, plants.
- And we got engaged.
- Ooh! [both laugh]
[upbeat music]
- When we first started dating,
I was afraid of, like,
what will my family say, what will society say?
But the best thing I've ever done in my life
is allow myself to love you.
- Same here.
* *
- We want you to know that
if you don't have someone in your life
that will embrace you...
both: We will.
- * I feel the power coming back *
- It's so good to see Barclay with that sparkle again.
And Tee will be cheering her on as always.
[countdown clock beeping]
Always love seeing this woman on the course.
- She's only 5 feet tall,
the shortest competitor tonight,
but she can do big things.
- In the past, she's made it to the National Finals.
She's been part of Team USA
in our USA vs. the World competition,
went up against the men in our skills competition,
trying to regain that form.
- But at her size, 5 feet, this is a long jump.
- You can do it! Let's go!
- She's got it. She doesn't care.
The intensity on Barclay Stockett, I love it.
- She's got that sparkle in her eyes, Matt.
She's back.
- And that was the thing we love about Barclay.
Sparkly on the sidelines, but intense on the course.
And a little roll.
Lots of friends supporting her on the side lines.
She's always been a fan favorite.
So great to see that smile again.
[cheers and applause]
- Matt, think back to her first run on "Ninja Warrior."
She fell on Log Runner, so she's staying away
and going to try her luck on Despica-Balls.
- You could see Otto giving her the stink eye.
- Come on, Barclay. Come on.
[Matt chuckles] - This ain't easy.
- Ooh.
- Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop.
Ooh, I told you!
[cheers and applause]
It's in her eyes. Look in her eyes.
She is intense and ready.
- Now on to the Kickboards.
If she gets through this,
she'll have a very good shot at moving on.
We know she's got power.
Going to need to be explosive
to get these 50-pound boards up.
- Boom!
- Come on, babe! Lock it in!
[cheers and applause]
- Now she's gonna need a big lache up
'cause she didn't get that board close and horizontal...
- Nice. - But she can fly.
Barclay, we've seen her on the Super Salmon ladder.
We know she's got grip and power.
Doesn't have long legs,
but still able to rotate that disk.
- So much power, but look at that reach.
Really has to stretch out, Matt.
Doesn't have a lot of real estate there on the legs.
- Come on, babe!
[Barclay grunts] - Nice. Oh, wow!
- I don't know that she can get out there at 5 feet.
- Oh no, she can. She can. - Find a way down, Barclay!
- But she's got to stretch it a little bit.
That means she's going to have to hang on a little longer,
but you know what?
If anybody has the upper-body strength, it's her.
- Well, here she goes.
Locked in.
And she's smiling, she is pumped.
[cheers and applause]
- Matt, there's only one thing that sparkles in space,
and that is a star.
Barclay Stockett's going to be a star in this obstacle.
- Hey, Barclay, you're back.
- I'm back, baby!
[cheers and applause]
- Yeah, she is back, and the best way to show it
would be to get her first buzzer ever in qualifying.
- She's going to have to get through Final Frontier,
and we've already seen some top ninjas fall here.
- She's going to go one ring. Nice.
- She's got the power. - Yep.
- She got to get into Jupiter's orbit there,
the bigger planet. She's on Jupiter.
- Got the handles in her hands there.
- All right, okay.
There's a shiny star right there.
- And looking very comfortable.
Really using that control stick well.
- Now change the weight over.
Nice, nice. - Got it.
Oh, no! [air horn blares]
Slips off.
The Sparkly Ninja doused, Tee coming to hug her.
- I love you!
- And you can see the joy back on her face once again.
[applause]
- This looked like the Barclay of old,
powering through obstacles
and flashing that smile on the course.
She made it to the fifth obstacle before falling,
and that's her best run in years.
- * I feel the power coming back *
- Barclay!
- Whoo!
- I am so proud of you.
- [sobs]
- You--oh, my God.
You have had the roughest few years.
That was so-- that was so amazing.
How are you feeling?
- I'm, like, completely overwhelmed
because I just came here with no expectations.
I just wanted to have a good time.
I just wanted to, like, take Ninja back.
- Yeah.
- When I lost my mom, I just--
I felt like I lost Ninja too, and--
- Girl, I'll tell you one thing right now,
you did not lose Ninja.
You showed us just how much you have it.
What do you say to the folks at home
who are watching and seeing this triumph over tragedy?
- It's just incredible to see
that you can find happiness after a tragedy,
and I just never thought I would have that.
- Well, I am so happy for you.
We are clearly so happy for you.
We love you, Barclay.
You are such an inspiration, girl.
All right. Oh, one more small thing.
We'll see you in Los Angeles. You're heading to semifinals.
[cheers and applause]
- Coming up, she's a world-class climber
bringing her skills to Ninja...
- All right.
- But there's something special about Katie Bone.
- Type 1 didn't end my life.
It just changed it.
- Her inspiring story
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back to the Alamodome,
where the University of Texas San Antonio
cheer squad is showing our ninjas some love.
Minutes ago, Texas mom Christie Brophy
had a big group cheering her on,
including her husband and four sons.
This 41-year-old air force veteran
looked smooth on takeoff...
- That's what I'm talking about!
- But it was a rough landing on Shattered Panes.
- Ooh!
Check this out again.
Boom! [air horn blares]
- Then it was active duty army soldier Nick DeMore.
The 34-year-old father had to fight for every inch
with close calls on the second...
Whoa!
And the third obstacle...
- Ooh! Hell of a save right there!
- Before it finally slipped away on the fourth.
- No!
I want to see that one again!
Oh, boy. That looked like that hurts.
- College sophomore David Tomassoni
turned 20 tonight,
and some of his Ninja friends were ready to celebrate.
The rookie from Boulder, Colorado,
made it a night to remember.
- He's got a lot of potential here as a rookie.
- In his first time on the course,
Tomassoni made it all the way
to the fifth obstacle, Final Frontier.
- Oh, there's the black hole!
- He didn't get a buzzer, but it's likely good enough
to move on, and that's reason to celebrate.
- Go ahead, blow out your candles, man.
[cheers and applause]
- Up next is one of this season's
most promising young rookies.
This is New Mexico's Katie Bone.
She's only 16, but she is a world-class rock climber,
and she's done it while facing the challenges
of being a type 1 diabetic.
- All right, you ready, Katie? Go for it.
You got it. Come on, Katie.
That's perfect.
- I have been a competitive rock climber
since I was eight years old.
- You're doing awesome, Katie.
[upbeat music]
- I love getting to push my limits
and train hard and see what I'm truly capable of.
[cheers and applause]
I found what I want to do for the rest of my life.
- Come on, you got it, Katie.
All right.
- My dream would be
to make the 2024 Olympic climbing team.
But in 2017, I was at a big competition,
and felt super sick.
A couple days later,
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Seeing the look on my parents' face,
on my doctor's face was so scary for an 11-year-old.
[soft dramatic music]
- Her first question to the doctor was,
"When can I climb again?"
I was just thinking about how to keep her alive,
and she wanted to know
when she would be able to go to the gym.
- Diabetes has really affected my life.
I have to wear an insulin pump
and a continuous glucose monitor.
It's a never-ending battle, but type 1 didn't end my life.
It just changed it.
- * Oh, we all get one moment to shine *
* Ah *
* This moment is mine *
* Oh *
- Being on the show this year is such a dream come true.
I hope I inspire a little kid
who is afraid to wear their pump on their arm,
and know that it is okay to have it visible,
and it doesn't make you weird.
It makes everything that you do that much more amazing,
and that much more special.
My motto is, I don't need easy, I just need possible.
- * This moment is mine *
* This moment is mine *
[cheers and applause]
- And you can see the insulin pump on one arm,
glucose monitor on the other.
Doesn't slow her down.
She's got her family on the sidelines
along with some top ninjas,
including her coach, Austin Gray.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Only 5'2" and 110 pounds, but she is powerful.
- Good balance.
[cheers and applause]
She always has to be aware of her glucose levels.
Here's a better look at the pump
and monitor on her triceps.
If her glucose drops too low,
it could affect her balance, her eyesight.
She could even lose consciousness.
The insulin helps keep it at manageable levels.
- This is where she can use her climbing skills
right here on Shattered Panes.
- Come on. Get it! - Watch the drop.
You don't have drops like this in rock climbing.
- But she got them vice grips though.
- You got it. - Watch this.
Look at her. Look at Katie Bone.
That's an easy move. That's an easy move for her.
- She seems solid. Well, it's amazing.
She's been an elite rock climber for a long time,
but when she was nine years old,
she was asked what her dream was.
She didn't mention the Olympics.
She mentioned "American Ninja Warrior,"
and here she is living out that dream.
A little tight there.
- 16 years old. Nice. - Whoa.
- She was not letting go, Matt.
When she locks on--
I shook her hand earlier, Matt.
She almost crushed my hand.
[cheers and applause]
- Now it's Split Decision.
- She's looking over at the Minions.
She's--is she going to go with Despica-Balls?
No, she's going Log Runner.
- Keep running, keep running. - Stay forward!
- Her motto is, "I don't need easy.
I just possible."
- Yeah!
- And she's showing what's possible.
[cheers and applause]
Now on to the Kickboards.
And she's going to muster up some power for this obstacle.
As we said, only 110 pounds,
one of our lightest competitors,
and these kickboards each weigh 50 pounds.
- Boom! Just like that!
Big kick right out of the gate!
- Well, she's always up for a challenge.
She and her family travel around the country
to climbing competitions almost every weekend.
- Come on, you got it! - Got it!
- Nice. Look at that.
Look at how she's just transferring her body.
It's easy to her. - Good transfer.
- Come on, Katie.
- Keep breathing, keep breathing.
- Like you said, hopes to be in Paris
for the Olympics climbing.
It's a new sport. We saw it last year, Akbar.
We were there in Tokyo.
Let's see the power here.
- All right, big kick.
- You're good. Come on, you got it!
- She could probably hang there for days, Matt.
Oh, yeah. Nice, big kick.
- Good, good.
- The handle is a little uneven.
- Yeah, all right.
This yoke will start to spin.
It's a spinning yoke, but she's got it.
- What control. That's just impressive.
This 16-year-old looking like a veteran.
- She ain't messing around.
[cheers and applause]
- A 16-year-old rookie with diabetes,
and she's staring down the fifth obstacle.
That's impressive.
all: Katie, Katie, Katie!
- But no one has gotten past Final Frontier tonight.
So we haven't had a finisher,
and only three women have hit a buzzer all season long.
- Nice! There you go!
- Yeah, come on! - Just keep hopping.
Keep hopping! - Hopping, hopping!
- It does come down to Ninja technique.
This one's a little tricky.
You got to be able to see it and map your way through here.
All right.
All right, now go from one ring to the next.
- Yeah, she may need to put her hands on both handles
for this transfer.
There it is. - Nice!
- Good move! - You solve it with authority!
- Oh, that was precarious.
Come on, Katie!
- Oh, she's trying to fight it and get it.
She's trying to wiggle it. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.
- Watch it. - Okay!
- Are you kidding me? - Okay!
- One more move to bring it home!
- You got it! Come on!
- Katie, come on! - Come on!
- Look at Bone, look at Bone.
- Well, she might win a gold medal in 2024,
but right now, she's winning over the hearts of America.
- [indistinct] puts her mind to it at 16!
- Are you kidding me?
- How sweet is this at 16?
[cheers and applause]
Are you kidding me?
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- And now 14 and 1/2 feet away from her first buzzer.
Hey, Katie! You got this!
- Come on, Katie.
Oh, fingertips.
- She's getting a feel, she's getting a feel.
- She just needs fingertips up there and she'll be good.
- You got it, Katie.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- She gets two more attempts,
but how great would it be
for this rookie to get a buzzer?
- All right. Look up, see it.
Look up, get it, grab it!
Yes! - Yes! Yes!
Katie Bone!
Oh, my goodness!
[cheers and applause]
What a moment!
[upbeat music]
- * This moment is mine *
* Whoa *
- Yes. Let it out, let it out.
- Oh, my God.
- Celebrate and let it out. - I'm getting emotional.
- Come here. Come here.
Don't you have me up here crying.
Why the tears?
- I've been through so much, and it's such a proud moment.
- Yeah.
- Now you're out here as a rookie with diabetes.
You got your buzzer, Katie!
You got your buzzer!
- * This moment is mine *
- She was the first to conquer Final Frontier
and had the crowd chanting her name.
At 16, Katie Bone, a type 1 diabetic,
gets the first buzzer of the night.
- * This moment is mine *
- Your dreams came true, and I love what you say.
You don't need easy. You just need possible.
What does it feel like right now?
- It's such an unexplainable feeling
to hit my first buzzer.
- I have a feeling we're going to see you in Paris in 2024,
but we know for sure we're going to see you in LA!
[cheers and applause]
Katie Bone, go celebrate with your family, sweetie.
- Thank you so much. - You are awesome.
- Matt, I am holding back my tears right now.
- I am too. - I got chills.
I got tears welling up in my eyes.
That was such a powerful run.
- And such a powerful message she has.
- * This moment is mine *
- Well, it looks like a ninja
has camped out on the start line.
What's that about?
And later, he became a true ninja hero.
- Whoo!
- 5'2" Nate Hansen tries to amaze us once again
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back!
Minutes ago, Wyoming's Parker Hewes
was one happy camper when he woke up at the start line.
- Yeah, time to break camp. You got to run the course.
- The 28-year-old is an avid outdoorsman,
and he climbed the peaks of Shattered Panes...
- Okay!
- And hiked across the Despica-Balls.
- Nice!
- The chiropractor from Jackson Hole
made all the right adjustments
until he reached Final Frontier.
- Oh! [air horn blares]
- The Hawaiian shirt came off, but the Wyoming doctor
may have gone far enough to move on.
[cheers and applause]
New Orleans' Kristen Brickner is a safety officer
at an oil refinery,
so we were extra careful for her run.
- Wearing this suit is what's hazardous.
- The Brick, as she's known,
had her family on the sidelines
and co-workers watching from back at the refinery.
But Brickner ran into trouble right away.
- Matt, look at her.
She's spinning. She's breaking bad.
- And the Shrinking Steps were hazardous to her run.
[Kristen screams]
[air horn blares]
Then Tennessee's Mike Eckert pulled up to the start line.
- Save some of that for the course, I'm telling you.
- This staff sergeant in the Marine Corps reserves
broke the world record four years ago
for most pull ups in 60 seconds with 58.
Tonight, the 31-year-old marine
marched though the first two obstacles
and then decided to try the Despica-Balls.
- Oh, oh, oh! He's spinning, Matt!
Kevin got him!
- But he did inspire Akbar
to see how many pull ups he could do.
One,
two,
three.
- I couldn't hold on anymore.
- They couldn't hold him up. They said he's too fat.
That's what they just said.
[whistle blows]
All right, everyone out of the water
because we've had a shark sighting.
Heading to the start line is Mark the Shark.
Inside that costume is 35-year-old Mark Antioquia.
- Mark the Shark can dance!
- And that T-Rex can dance too.
That's actually his fiancée
and fellow competitor, Heather Petty.
They are a fun couple brought together by Ninja.
[upbeat music]
- We like to scuba dive, travel the world...
- Whoa.
- And dress up together in our inflatable costumes.
* *
- Hi, guys. - Hi, guys.
High fin, high fin.
- We're kind of an easy-to-spot couple.
- Hello, miss diver. [Heather laughs]
When we're in our shark and T-Rex costumes,
we feel unstoppable.
[laughter]
- People laugh, people smile.
- Do you want a flower? - I do want a flower.
- There you go. - Thank you.
- Have a great Friday. - You too.
- So if you can do something small
that just makes their day a little bit better, why not?
- Heather got me into scuba diving.
And recently, we went 75 feet underwater
to explore a sunken shipwreck,
and I asked her to be my wife.
- I have to say it probably took my breath away
for a second, but thankfully, I had an oxygen tank on.
[chuckles]
* *
To share so many hobbies
and to be able to compete together is so magical.
- Mark the Shark is coming out of the deep
and is ready to attack that course.
[imitates roar] [Heather laughs]
- Mark's taken off the suit,
but his friends back in Massachusetts
are going to keep the shark attack going.
The crowd here in San Antonio is also behind him.
all: Mark the Shark! Mark the Shark!
- And you can hear it, that Mark the Shark chant.
- I know sharks are great swimmers,
but Mark the Shark is not trying
to go swimming on this course.
And you can see Heather's gonna keep the T-Rex suit on.
That's dedication.
- Well, theirs is another Ninja love story.
Mark was a science teacher in New Jersey
when he met Heather at a Ninja competition.
- Let's go, let's go.
- They dated long distance for a while,
then he gave up teaching
and moved to be with her in Massachusetts.
Well, just like a shark,
the secret of Ninja is keep moving.
- Let's go!
- Oh.
- The Shark had some good traction there.
- You got it, buddy. It's right there.
It's right there, it's right there.
[cheers and applause]
- Babe, you look so good!
- He tells Heather she looks good.
I think that's what every T-Rex wants to hear.
- Now he's got the mother of all Ninja decisions:
Split Decision. all: Minions! Minions!
- The crowd's chanting Minions.
They want him to try Despica-Balls.
- The Shark looks hungry.
If I'm a shark, I'm going with Despica-Balls.
Go ahead, go Despica-Balls.
- A shark versus the Minions.
- Nice, nice.
- The Shark prevails!
- Mark the Shark ate that up.
- And this crowd's really rooting for this guy.
He's kind of an underdog.
Didn't have much of a sports background,
discovered Ninja,
feels like this is his first opportunity
to show his athleticism.
- Only 5'6", not a big guy.
- But he's coming up,
powering his way through the fourth obstacle.
Watch the transfer here.
- All right, Matt. Here he goes.
- The Shark is really moving
like a predator hunting his prey.
That prey is the buzzer.
- You got it. Go.
- He competed once before four years ago,
fell on the fourth obstacle. Looking much stronger now.
He'll make a big transfer here.
Oh! - Oh, buddy!
Oh!
Hold on, hold on! - Got to get the dismount!
Got through it.
- The Shark got some bite, and the crowd loves it.
- And Mark Antioquia's
diving right into the fifth obstacle,
Final Frontier.
We've never had a Shark in space until tonight.
- He's put in a lot of work, Matt.
He trains seven days a week.
- Going for a world record in muscle-ups,
so we know he's got that upper-body strength.
- Yeah, Matt, he's going from planet to planet right now.
He's planet hopping. Hop, hop, hop.
Nice.
- Well, Ninja literally changed Mark Antioquia's life.
Led him to his future wife, changed his career.
Getting a buzzer would be a great addition to his story.
all: Mark the Shark! Mark the Shark!
- Nice! - One more move here.
- This crowd is about to erupt!
- And look at this! A Shark made the journey!
[cheers and applause]
all: Mark the Shark! Mark the Shark!
- It's good to see you guys!
- You definitely are a ninja shark.
- It's been a long time!
- Here we go.
14 and 1/2 feet away from his first buzzer.
- Well, Ninja brought him his fiancée.
Can it bring him to LA?
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- Yes, it does!
[buzzer blares]
- Yeah, baby!
- The Shark gets his buzzer!
- Whoo!
- Unbelievable!
- Mark, you stepped away from Ninja for a little bit.
What did you do during your off time?
- I was in the deep,
I was finding the love of my life
all right here with Ninja.
I'm just out here living my best life.
- Hey, buddy,
that's the best performance by a shark
since Katy Perry's halftime show.
[laughter] Buddy, you're going to LA!
- Let's go! Yeah!
- He found love, and he found a ticket to LA.
- Whoo!
- Coming up, this firefighter lost his leg
but never lost his fire.
The amazing Gary Weiland is going to run the course
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- * All around the world *
- Welcome back to a special "American Ninja Warrior"
as we team up with the Minions
and their new movie, "The Rise of Gru,"
which hits theaters on Friday.
We are about halfway through tonight's qualifying,
and what a night it's been so far.
Aspiring actor Chris Adkins was ready for his closeup.
And besides his family,
he had special guests watching him...
- Bello.
[speaking Minionese] - Minions Otto and Stuart.
Action Adkins had no problem early on...
- [speaking Minionese] - Hey, hey!
- And with Otto and Stuart watching,
he knew he had to try the Despica-Balls.
- Go, go, go!
- The 5'2" Adkins skated through
and reached the fourth obstacle,
but couldn't handle the Kickboards.
[air horn blares]
- [speaking Minionese] [Stuart grunting]
Hey, buddies! [laughs]
- Arkansas teenager Owen Dyer
came out with his trademark flamingo hat
and some killer flamingo shirts.
- I like this, Matt.
Owen Dyer knows how to win the hearts of the hosts here, huh?
- When the 17-year-old reached Split Decision,
he paid tribute to the Minions.
- Uh-oh, what-- what's going on here?
Oh, bananas!
- But he wasn't about to run across them,
so he went over Log Runner.
- Take the banana. Don't mess with me.
- Dyer got a buzzer last year
in qualifying as a rookie,
and he was overjoyed to get another one tonight.
[cheers and applause]
- Can I get a picture with you guys up there?
- Come on over here, man. - Yeah!
- Boston's Heather Petty ditched her T-Rex costume
for her shot at the course
with her fiancé, Mark the Shark,
cheering her on.
The 30-year-old medical researcher
mastered the steps... - Okay.
- But just like a T-Rex, her arms were too short
to handle the Shattered Panes.
[air horn blares]
- Thank you guys so much.
- Well, we've had some amazing individuals
tackle our course over the years,
and another one is about to join that list.
This is Texas firefighter Gary Weiland,
a 42-year-old father of four, and as you can see,
this man's come a long way after losing his leg.
[siren wailing]
- I've been a firefighter for ten years,
but following a routine knee surgery,
I had some rare complications
that led to my left leg being amputated in 2018.
[soft dramatic music]
My kids were in the hospital, and I remember laying in bed.
And the way that they, all four of them,
were looking at me, I decided right then and there
that this was not gonna beat me.
- * Whoa-oh-oh *
- I got out of bed and started moving,
and I got physically stronger and mentally stronger
and thought, "Okay, how can I get back on a fire truck?"
So I had some very serious conversations with my chief.
- * I know we set this all in motion *
* But we live to fight another day *
- Gary outperformed all our expectations.
Within six months, Gary was already asking
can he return back to full-duty status.
- My first shift back was the greatest day of my life.
- * It's never too late for second chances *
- I rappel out of buildings, I climb ladders,
I cut holes in roofs, I go to car wrecks,
I use the Jaws of Life.
I do all these things as a firefighter,
and I do it on one leg.
* *
- I'm so proud of my dad.
He's impacted so many other people.
My dad has always been my hero,
but now he's a hero to a lot of other people.
* *
- After I got back on the job,
I wanted to challenge myself in other ways,
so I've been doing Ninja for about two years now.
It challenges my leg, which helps me on my job,
and I fell in love with it.
[grunts]
Hopefully, I give people hope
that no matter what you're going through in life,
you can absolutely do anything you put your mind to.
- * Second chances *
* *
[cheers and applause]
- Yeah, you can see he's saying, "Mind blown."
Well, my mind's blown that he's out here doing this.
- And check out his buddies back at the firehouse
cheering him on.
- Let's go, Gary. You got this. Let's go.
- Along with his wife and family members
watching from home.
Well, just to be here is a triumph.
And if he can get through this first obstacle
with that prosthetic leg,
that would truly be something special.
- Oh, look at that!
Come on, tell me that's not impressive!
- Whoa, that's amazing!
- Whoo!
[cheers and applause]
Whoo!
- Got a big group on the sidelines,
including his son, who's holding a sign that says,
"My dad's an amputee.
What superpower does yours have?"
- Now, that's big-time right there.
Tell me that didn't give you chills.
- Let's go! - What can he do here?
Can he climb the Shattered Panes?
What a test this will be.
Come on!
This is a tough obstacle. Those panels are slick.
Think about the agility it takes for this.
And he's doing it with a prosthetic leg!
- Big grip, big grip.
- What are your limitations, folks?
- Come on, make it. Nice.
Nice!
- What's your excuse? Look at Gary Weiland.
- This firefighter is fighting here on Shattered Panes.
And don't forget he's 42,
one of our older competitors tonight.
[cheers and applause]
- Yeah, saved! - Come on, come on!
- This guy is cool under fire.
- Gary! Let's go!
- Gary Weiland!
Oh! And he saves it again!
- Matt, this is courage under fire.
- Are you kidding me?
- And even he's saying, "Are you kidding me?"
- Yes!
- Gary Weiland is wiling out right now.
- But Split Decision's going to be a real test.
Which one of these options is best with a prosthetic leg?
- He's choosing Log Runner over Despica-Balls.
- Pointing to his shirt.
The AO stands for "adapt and overcome,"
and Gary Weiland's definitely doing that.
- Wow.
- Look at him. He's high stepping.
This would be incredible.
And the entire crowd on their feet.
- Hold on, hold on! Fight, fight, fight!
- Well, he's on the log.
- Matt, I swear on my mama,
if he makes it out of this one,
I'm going to jump out of this booth.
- You got to reach your legs back.
- This dude is a fighter, Matt.
If he's wet or dry, the dude is a fighter, Matt.
- 5'10", probably has the length to get back there.
And he's doing it. He is doing it.
- He makes no excuses.
This is what it's all about.
When your back is up against the wall, what do you do?
You try to figure it out.
- Look at this.
- He says adapt and overcome.
You got to fight now.
- Everything you got. Dig deep.
- Well, you can see Gary is giving it everything he's got.
- At 42-- - Oh, and he's getting up!
- He's going to go Superman!
- Get out of there!
Just got to leap it.
- Don't think about it. Just do it.
- This a guy who chose not to wallow in self-pity,
but chose to fight. - Oh!
- And that was one of the greatest runs we have seen.
- Matt, that was phenomenal. That was phenomenal.
- Ask yourself what is holding you back.
When you see Gary Weiland, you got to rethink it.
- As a firefighter, Gary saves lives.
And on the course, it was save after save.
On Log Runner, he made it to the last log where he slipped,
but he gave it everything he had
and fought to the very end.
- Gary, what message do you hope to send to your son
based on what you pulled off here tonight?
- I just hope that he can see
that no matter what happens to you in life,
you can absolutely get through it.
You can adapt and overcome,
and make the best of a really tough situation.
So I hope he learns that.
- Oh, I love it, I love it. Well, y'all hug it out.
Congratulations on an amazing run.
Guys, back to you.
[cheers and applause]
- Stick around...
- [babbles]
- 'Cause we've got a sneak peek at the new Minions movie.
- [screams] - [cackles]
- Coming up...
- [grunts] - Hmm?
[screams] - Whoo-hoo!
- On "American Ninja Warrior."
- [whistling]
- Welcome back to the Alamodome
where we've got big guys doing big things.
Minutes ago, 32-year-old Ben Evert
came to the start line wearing his welding mask
and a luscious beard,
a look that's not easy to pull off.
- You look ridiculous. [laughter]
- The rookie from Lubbock, Texas,
looked okay on the Shrinking Steps,
but on Shattered Panes,
his 174 pounds caught up to him.
- Oh, right on his back.
Check this out again.
Boom!
- Another one of larger ninjas is break dancing
software engineer Mark Farrell.
- This guy wakes up with passion.
- What?
- Though he's almost 200 pounds,
the mohawked 39-year-old from Utah
showed he's got plenty of muscle.
- Wow.
- Great mobility... - Ooh!
[Mark shouts]
- And some questionable fashion choices.
- It's got to be the jean shorts for sure.
- [shouts] Let's go!
- The rookie made it all the way to the fifth obstacle
where his over-the-top energy
caused him to overshoot it on Final Frontier.
- Oh! [air horn blares]
Skinny jeans don't work in space.
- But the biggest impression was made by the Big Dog,
6'6" Jody Avila.
The tallest ninja of the night showed amazing agility.
- Boy, he looks like a tall Spider-Man.
- And though he struggled on balance obstacles in the past,
it was no issue tonight.
- You see that? He's excited about that.
- And despite weighing 215 pounds,
he defied gravity on Final Frontier.
- Oh, he's showing off! He's showing off!
- And the seven-time veteran
became our fourth finisher of the night.
[cheers and applause]
- Let's go, baby!
- [barks] You know who that was.
- [barks] - Big Dog right there.
- Well, we need a drumroll for our next ninja.
This is 17-year-old Jonathan Godbout.
Just graduated from high school,
and he's the drummer in a prog rock band
he has with his brother.
- Let me see what you got, Matt.
[drumsticks tapping]
- You know, it's-- it's a little rusty.
- Uh, a little?
- Well, let's talk about Godbout.
He had a sensational rookie season,
hit three buzzers, and made it to stage two.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Let's see what Godbout can do in his sophomore campaign.
Bop, bop, bop. Nice beat, nice rhythm.
[cheers and applause]
- So impressive.
He was 16 years old, hit that qualifying buzzer,
semifinals buzzer, stage one buzzer.
- Matt, he's really upped his training for this season.
I mean, some intense workouts
like running four miles every four hours
for two straight days!
- Ooh, I think he banged his head there.
Good thing that edge is padded.
- He's been doing Navy SEAL workouts,
and that's made him tough.
- Let's go! Keep it going.
- He just wants to get off this obstacle right now...
and he does.
Oh, and he's feeling it.
- I bet he is, 'cause he caught the left side
of his face right on the top of that pane.
- Now it's Split Decision.
Looks like he's going with the Minions.
- Oh, yeah. I like it.
Just graduated from high school.
Showing he's a grown man now.
both: Oh, no! [air horn blares]
- And the Minions get another victim,
and Godbout was someone we expected to see in Vegas.
- Oh, man. I'm in shock.
- And so is Bob.
This just went wrong right from the start.
He didn't get his feet high enough,
and he tripped right over Otto's head.
And Godbout's season is over.
Well, after a disappointment like that,
we need a superhero to save the day,
and we've got one.
Coming to the start line is Flybird, AKA Ernesto Perez,
a landscaper from the New Orleans area.
We told you his story last year.
He and his close friend Jude Boynton
make YouTube videos about superheroes
who are on a mission to stop bullying.
- It's all over.
- [claps] Good job, Flybird.
- Thanks, man.
- The superhero Flybird represents people
who are getting bullied just like me.
- Jude's actually played hero to me at times
because I've seen videos of him doing Special Olympics,
and he kept falling down,
but he kept getting back up as well.
- Don't stop, Jude!
Go through the line! Let's go!
Let's go, Jude! Pump it up, boy!
- And it made me realize that a hero really is
not just those who can punch really hard,
but those who can take those hard punches
and keep getting back up.
[upbeat music]
Watch out, Batman and Robin.
There are two new superheroes in town.
- Together, me and him are an unstoppable force.
- And as Flybird is on the course,
Skybird joins us, and we've been told...
- Hey! - We can reveal his name.
Jude Boynton in here.
- Hey, what's going on, man?
You excited to be here? - Oh, yeah. I'm excited.
He's going to hit that buzzer
and get past that dangerous fifth obstacle.
- Yes. My goodness! - Yes!
- Well, let's get your buddy Flybird going on the course.
- Flybird on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Yeah! - Oh!
- Yeah! - You're doing it there!
[countdown clock beeping]
Here comes Flybird.
- Oh, look at that!
And he's doing it with this cape on too.
He's flying. - Oh, yeah!
He's flying through it.
- But now we've got this brand-new obstacle,
Shattered Panes.
- Shattered Panes.
It's going to be a pain to get through.
- [laughs] - Yes, it is.
- You're awesome, buddy!
He's better at puns than we are!
Ernesto competed last year in Tacoma,
made it to the fourth obstacle.
- Okay, here we go.
- Let's see how he does on the transfer.
Can he fly?
- Getting ready to--
- Oh!
- Oh, no!
- I can't believe it, Skybird.
- Flybird has fallen, but Skybird...
- Oh, man.
- What message do you want to share
to the other children out there
who maybe feel that they're alone
or they're being picked on?
What would you tell those kids?
- Hey, make a difference out there,
and go fight for what's right.
- Yes.
- That is an awesome message, and I know you and Flybird
are going to continue to fight bullying.
- You're a awesome superhero, and guess what?
You're an awesome host. All right?
- You are. - Don't come taking our job.
- Stick to being a superhero, all right, buddy?
- I won't, I won't.
- Earlier tonight,
martial arts instructor Devon Collins
lit it up outside the Alamodome.
And minutes ago,
he brought the fire inside to the start line
as he showed off his flaming samurai swords.
- Is he nuts? Look at that!
- With his students and family watching
from back in Tuscaloosa, Alabama,
the 25-year-old rookie blazed through the Shrinking Steps.
- Got it, Coach.
- But his hopes were extinguished
on the Shattered Panes.
- Oh! [air horn blares]
The rotation got him!
- New Orleans' Elijah Levée tore it up at the start line,
showing why he's known as the Louisianimal.
Levée and his family rescue and rehabilitate wild animals.
- Yeah, he trains all sorts of animals, Matt.
He even taught a raccoon how to swim.
- [chittering] - Good job.
- And tonight, Levée let loose on the course.
And with a wild cheering section behind him,
he manhandled the second obstacle.
- Oh, my goodness!
- But the Louisianimal was no match for the Minions.
- Oh! [air horn blares]
And he took one to the kisser.
- Those dang Minions!
- Another rookie,
former college basketball star Liv Hackmann,
came to play.
- Ooh, great handle.
- The former shooting guard
from Southeast Missouri State University
dominated on the boards.
- Okay!
- Then used her 5'9" frame to jump past the Log Runner.
- She just dribbled her way through Log Runner.
- Though she didn't have the hops to handle Kickboards...
- Oh! [air horn blares]
- She's still got a shot to move on,
continuing a string of strong runs by the women tonight.
Well, here comes another rookie competitor.
This is 17-year-old Anabella Heinrichs.
She lives in Colorado, but she loves the ocean.
And if she's not Ninja training,
you'll find her scuba diving.
[upbeat music]
- I'm a senior in high school.
My day-to-day is kind of average,
but I've been able to do some really cool things.
* *
I've been scuba diving since I was ten years old.
I've seen, like, massive manta rays 10 feet wide.
I've seen whale sharks,
which are as long as a school bus.
When you're scuba diving,
you have to stay just really calm under pressure.
Like, mental pressure and also literal water pressure.
That kind of translates into Ninja
where you just stay calm no matter what happens.
I love exploring underwater,
but I have no intention of touching the water tonight.
[water bubbles]
- She got into diving
because her dad's an underwater filmmaker.
And there he is along with Anabella's mom and sister.
On the sidelines
with some of the Colorado ninjas she trains with.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Oh, she coordinated, Matt.
I like the pink hair and glasses.
- Nice.
5'4", 118 pounds,
ready to take a run up the Shattered Panes.
Well, she's looking real confident out here.
Her rookie campaign-- watch the drop.
- Yeah, dude. Trust. Come on.
- Come on! - Confident!
- Come on! - Trust, trust!
- Ooh.
Has really been working hard on her upper-body strength,
and it's showing.
I'm just impressed with the confidence coming out here.
17-year-old rookie looking solid.
- Nice, throwing herself on there.
[cheers and applause]
- And she is through.
[cheers and applause]
On now to Split Decision.
Let's see how those sea legs work on a balance obstacle.
- Uh-oh, I think she's going to go Minions.
- Is she going Minions? She's chose the Minions.
No, she's going for the Log Runner.
- Nice. Look at that. Ooh!
- Great footwork.
[cheers and applause]
Let's see what kind of power she has on the Kickboards.
You have to learn how to swim with a kickboard very often.
- Absolutely, Matt. - A little different here.
- Pink hair don't care.
She changes her hair color every month.
She's thinking about becoming a hairstylist.
- No hesitation in her motion.
Good execution. - And great adjustment.
You see how she bobbed her head to the left
to avoid that first spinning disk?
- Up high! Here we go!
Yes!
- Now she's got to kick.
This next one is-- you can see--
the spinning yoke.
- What it's got to be like for a parent watching your--
your teenager on this course doing so well.
Bit of trouble getting it moving.
- Yeah, she didn't get that right in the middle,
but she did make the adjustment.
Here we go.
- Got to get those handles,
and yeah, I think that'll work.
- Come on. - Come on! You got this!
Come on!
- Looking really comfortable
with that upper body, Akbar. - Ooh! Okay, look at that!
That's perfect form right there, Matt.
Okay, Anabella!
[cheers and applause]
Anabella Heinrichs made it all the way to Final Frontier.
- Let's go! Make it 30.
- And she's the third woman tonight
to reach this fifth obstacle.
Only Katie Bone made it through.
Now another teenage rookie, Anabella Heinrichs,
looking to do the same.
Oh!
[air horn blares] - Oh, no.
- The scuba diver goes for a swim,
but not before lodging an impressive rookie run.
[cheers and applause]
- The pink-haired teenager looked impressive,
powering her way through the first four obstacles.
She just missed on the first big move on Final Frontier,
but she's got no problems with the water.
- And Zuri's about to share some good news.
- You should be very happy with your run,
because it secured you a place in the semifinals.
We will see you in Los Angeles.
Congratulations. - Thank you so much.
- Of course. Guys, back to you.
- Last year, Austin Gray came up just short
of climbing for $1 million.
both: No!
- But this veteran's ready to hold off the teenagers
and win it all this season,
and he's next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Plenty of Minions in the Alamodome tonight.
College student Erick Zamorano was wearing the Minion colors
when he hit the course minutes ago.
But on just the second obstacle,
the course hit back.
- Takes it right on the bridge of the nose.
- But the 18-year-old recovered
only to take another hard hit one obstacle later.
- Oh! Oh, my goodness.
Did the scorpion on that one.
- And he became the second casualty of the night
on Log Runner.
Kansas dentist Devin Harr juggles six kids at home,
so juggling toothbrushes is no problem.
- I'll brush my teeth later.
- With his wife and one child on the sideline
and the other five watching back home,
the dentist dad fought tooth and nail
on one obstacle...
- Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa!
- After another...
- Yeah, just don't fall in between.
Oh! - After another.
- Whoo!
- And made it all the way to Final Frontier.
Oh! [air horn blares]
Which put a smile on his and his six kids' faces.
Colorado's Jaelyn Bennett is a rookie,
but she's been training with one of the best,
her boyfriend Austin Gray.
Bennett's a 22-year-old
mechanical engineering student,
and she made quick work
of the first few obstacles, including the Despica-Balls.
- That's how it's done!
- The former gymnast flew through Kickboards...
- Oh, nice!
[cheers and applause]
- And made it to Final Frontier.
- She's trying to get to a safe space.
Oh! [air horn blares]
Despite the fall,
she's safely in the top 30,
continuing a strong night for our women competitors.
- I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you.
- That was minutes ago.
Now it's Austin's turn.
Zuri, get him started.
- Guys, our next ninja has been awfully close
to winning $1 million.
Austin Gray has been the runner-up on "Ninja Warrior"
the past two seasons.
He is definitely one
of the favorites to go all the way this year.
Only 25 years old, but he's considered a veteran.
He's one of the guys the other ninjas really look up to.
- And he's got a lot of fans here tonight,
but they're his two biggest:
his girlfriend Jaelyn, who just ran,
and his roommate Nate Hansen, who runs later.
[countdown clock beeping] - Let's go! Let's get this!
- Here we go, here we go.
- Austin's so talented and so generous.
Wears that Share Your Spare T-shirt
to promote kidney donation.
A few years ago, he gave one of his kidneys
to his friend Kaylee.
- Nice and easy, Austin.
- She's watching there with her sister,
and Austin helps spread that message with every run.
- Another ninja making a difference.
- Well, like Zuri said, he is capable of going all the way.
He's got the skills to do it.
And he's through Shattered Panes.
- Come on, Austin.
- He already told us he's going to go fast.
He's not even stopping to look at Despica-Balls.
- Those Despica-Balls have been diabolical.
- Go through it, go through it.
Oh, nice job. Right on to the pad.
- Awesome balance.
And you see some of the ninjas he trains.
Austin Gray has become a very sought-after coach.
Let's see if the coach
can kick his way past the Kickboards.
- He is so comfortable on these obstacles, Matt.
Look at him just kicking it.
[cheers and applause]
- He and Nate Hanson have built
obstacles in their basement,
even a replica of stage three in Vegas.
- It just shows you how dedicated those two are
and how hard they work at it.
- Come on, Austin. Easy!
Easy, come on.
- Nice. - Just needs the dismount.
- You see how easy it looks for Austin?
- He's hopping up to Final Frontier,
and don't look now, but he's got a shot at the fastest time.
That's currently held by Owen Dyer
at 3 minutes, 2 seconds.
- Good. Nice. We like that.
- Yeah, come on!
- Good progress. - There we go.
Now take that weight and move it up to the other side.
Nice. Just like that.
- Oh, you can see how it rocks.
- Let's go. Come on. Keep going.
- You're good, you're good. Come on.
- You're good, you're good! - You got this!
- And you can see the challenge
in trying to get the control stick to move
without rolling out of orbit.
Leaning in on that right side, nice.
And then get back to center.
- Well, look at what you can do with one kidney.
- Come on, Austin! - Come on, Chief.
- Whoo!
Save a life and complete a course.
- And he's got a shot at the fastest time.
Will he take it or go for the Mega Wall?
- Oh, he ain't messing around.
He going for the fastest time.
- And he's going to do it!
[buzzer blares]
[soft dramatic music]
- Whoo! - Whoo!
[cheers and applause]
- You didn't even look at it.
I thought you might give it a glance, Austin.
- I gave it a glance. I thought about it.
- Why not? [Matt laughs]
How come you didn't do it?
- Man, I've only hit one qualifying buzzer.
Let's just--I just want to get it done.
- Last year, you made it to stage three.
Could this be your year?
- I think this is my year.
- Well, you're off to a good start.
You've got the fastest time of the night.
- Whoo!
- Hit that buzzer one more time!
[buzzer blares]
- Let's go!
- What a run!
We got no shortage of excitement tonight,
but get ready for even more action with the Minions!
"The Rise of Gru" in theaters July 1st.
- Here's an exclusive sneak peek at the film.
- Welcome back to Minions Night
on "American Ninja Warrior."
When Megan Rowe, the Axe-Throwing Ninja,
hit the start line,
it inspired us to give it a try.
- All right, here we go. Let me show you how to do this.
- What could go wrong? - You got to go just like this.
[glass shattering]
- I think you just killed one of our cameramen.
[Akbar laughs]
Rowe, the three-time veteran,
was a lot smoother than we were...
- Flip mode! Come on now.
- Rolling through the early obstacles.
- She's got great form, Matt.
- The graphic designer made it to Vegas last season,
so it was a bit of a shock...
both: Oh!
- When she fell on Kickboards.
And she'll have to wait and see
if it's good enough to move on.
Hip hop musician Emmanuel Aouad
got the crowd on its feet.
- * Mind over matter *
* A machine clank-clank when I'm going up the ladder *
* Take a few spills while you elevate your skills *
* Ain't for the fame, it's for the thrills *
- As we're laying down some of his original lyrics,
the 34-year-old from Plano, Texas,
laid down an impressive run.
- That's my ninja right there.
- He made it all the way to the fifth obstacle.
- Nice--oh! [air horn blares]
Too aggressive.
- Despite the fall, that run was good enough
to earn him a trip to the semifinals
and a kiss from the wife.
Isaiah Wakeham also had something to celebrate.
He turned 21 today.
- Guess we should give him a little toast, huh?
- We had the champagne waiting,
but first, the two-time veteran
had to get through the course.
- He made that look easy.
- The artist and filmmaker was almost flawless...
- Balling!
- And tried to give himself a 10-grand birthday present
on the Mega Wall...
- Oh, my gosh!
He could touch it! - Oh!
But he regrouped and got his buzzer...
- Let's go!
- And savored his first glass of champagne.
- Cheers. Happy birthday, man.
Toast. [glass dings]
- Well, now it's time for the other Wakeham,
Isaiah's kid sister, Isabella.
She just graduated from high school
and is on her way to Texas A&M this fall.
And if her first year of college
goes like her first year of Ninja,
she's going to be just fine.
In her rookie campaign last season,
she was the top woman in her night of qualifying...
- Ooh! Look at that!
- And semifinals--
where she made it all the way to the ninth obstacle...
- Oh, yeah!
- And when she and her brother both qualified for Vegas...
- You're both headed to Vegas. [both cheering]
- Their mom followed through on a promise
and got a tattoo of us.
- That's a really good forearm right there, Matt.
- Then Isabella had a stellar performance on stage one,
going farther than any female rookie in history.
- Oh!
- Leaving the season knowing
that I left my mark as a rookie and as a female
was phenomenal.
But I know I can do better this year,
and I'm so excited to show that.
[cheers and applause]
- Isabella's mom and brother on the sidelines as always.
Now, shockingly, it turns out
those tattoos of us were just temporary.
But she's still getting a tattoo, just not of us.
- Oh, man.
- Isabella's dad and other ninjas
watching back in Houston.
Plus her grandparents are watching with a Minion friend.
- Who is that? Is that Kevin? [laughter]
[countdown clock beeping]
- Last year, Isabella and her brother
made it to the same spot on the course
in qualifying and semifinals.
- That bodes well for her
'cause we just saw Isaiah hit a buzzer.
- 5'5" and so strong.
- Watch that tilt, 45-degree tilt.
- And just rock solid.
You can see her anticipating it.
- All right, girl!
- And again, one of the things I love is she has such focus.
She's been watching the ninjas,
formulating her plan of attack.
- Yeah, that's right--
oh, she's had a slip!
That's a great recovery right there.
- Great recovery.
- Matt, that's the way you got to do it.
Let's look at it again.
Her left foot slipped as she was making the jump.
Luckily, she was still able to make the grab.
- Well, the great ones know
something's always going to go wrong.
It's how you respond to it.
- And that's the sign of a great athlete
and a great ninja:
making the adjustments when stuff goes wrong.
[cheers and applause]
all: Minions! Minions! Minions!
- On to Split Decision.
And you know the grandparents are hoping
for the Despica-Balls,
but she's headed towards the Log Runner.
A nice smile to her family.
- She told family, "No, I'm not messing with the Minions.
No Despica-Balls for me."
- Great, great, great, great!
- Right through it.
[cheers and applause]
And the great night for the women continues.
Right now, 5 are guaranteed to make the top 30.
Got to get through Kickboards here.
This obstacle should be in her wheelhouse.
- Yeah, right there. Push.
- Ooh. - Go! Come on!
- The powerful kick, nice transfer there.
- Good lache.
- I love the wide angle and the adjustment there.
Good.
- You got it, girl. Straighten it out.
Fix it, fix it, fix it.
- Started ninja training eight years ago
when she was ten years old.
Part of this new generation of ninjas
that grew up on this sport-- they are so good.
I love it 'cause she is so smiling
and sweet off the course,
but you see the focus that makes her such a good ninja.
And she is through.
And with her time,
she's guaranteed a spot in the top 30,
but you know she wants a buzzer.
- It's good to see you guys.
- Hey, good to see you! - Good to see you too!
- You know, it might be easier to talk
if you get a little closer.
- Okay. [laughter]
I'll be there in a minute.
- That's what we figured.
Final Frontier, though, has been a roadblock.
Only six ninjas have gotten past it.
One of them was her brother.
- This is all you. Aim high, aim high.
[cheers and applause]
- Katie Bone, another teenager,
the only woman to make it through.
You see Isabella is really having to fight
to move that bar.
- Hop it, Bell, hop it.
- Easy, easy, easy. - There you go.
- Let it swing, Bell.
- Big transfer.
- All right, she's gonna beam to this other planet.
- Transfer.
- Watch that bar.
You could just--oh no! [air horn blares]
Sha-na-na!
- She didn't get the buzzer she wanted,
but still an impressive run by Isabella Wakeham.
- Belly!
- And her brother's jumping in to let her know it.
- You're still a badass. - You got me, bro.
- She looked very strong early,
but like so many others tonight,
couldn't make the moves on the fifth obstacle.
But we'll still see her in the semifinals.
- Well, Akbar, we are on the verge of history.
Right now, there are a record-breaking
7 women in the top 30.
But whether they stay there
will depend on our final runners,
one of which is the little big man,
5'2" Nate Hansen.
Gnarly Nate is always must-see TV,
and he's next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Some big drama here in the Alamodome
in these last few minutes.
Six women, the most ever,
have already secured a spot in the top 30.
They're guaranteed to move on to the semifinals.
And another woman, Megan Rowe, could make it seven.
She sat in 28th place with three runners left.
Minutes ago, she watched nervously
as teenager Christian Youst did the course.
The 17-year-old from Dallas is only 5'4,"
but it didn't stop him
from making big moves on the course.
[cheers and applause]
- He even tried to become the shortest ninja ever
to take down the Mega Wall.
both: Oh!
- But settled for the regular wall
and celebrated his very first buzzer.
[buzzer blares] - Let's go!
Let's go!
Whoo!
- But that run pushed Megan to 29th with two runners left,
including four-time veteran Elliott Jolivette.
Now, if he made it to the fourth obstacle,
that would prevent Megan from clinching a spot.
Jolivette has made it to the national finals in the past,
and he looked confident early on
as he lined up at Split Decision.
- All right, going through Log Runner.
Oh, no! [air horn blares]
- And that shocking fall meant
Megan Rowe was assured a spot in the top 30.
And even bigger history has been made!
- What?
- 7 women in the top 30 for the first time ever!
- Herstory! Herstory has been made!
- Well, now there's only one runner left.
You can see it on his shirt. He's Gnarly.
This is Gnarly Ninja Nate,
Colorado college student Nate Hanson.
He's only 5'2", but in his brief ninja career,
he has become a huge fan favorite.
[soft dramatic music]
- At the age of 12,
I was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency,
and so I had to take growth hormone
for about four or five years of my life.
* *
It didn't work as well as we thought.
I was supposed to be 5'8", only ended up being 5'2."
Now I realize that being 5'2"
is one of the biggest benefits in "Ninja Warrior"
that I could ever have asked for.
It's easier for me to fly between things,
all that weight that I don't have to hold up
makes it really beneficial.
- And he's going to set a new fastest time!
- You always bet on the Gnarly Ninja!
- Turns out there's a lot of smaller ninjas
like me out there.
- Come on. Yes.
Yes, good.
- After my first season, I got a lot of messages
from people wanting me to come out and teach Ninja camps
or speak to their Ninja students,
and really just influence them in a positive way.
We may be small, but are we strong?
- Yep.
- And if we fall down, what do we do?
- We always get back up.
- Growing up as a kid, I watched the show,
and I looked up to all the superstars.
And it's crazy that now I get to share my story with kids
and make sure that they know that nothing's impossible.
- Nothing is going to stop Gnarly Nate
from getting that buzzer!
[buzzer blares]
- It's a miracle that I am where I am today.
Whoo!
This is only the beginning,
and I'm ready to inspire thousands more.
[cheers and applause]
- Well, Nate's going to have folks cheering him on
from all over the country,
including his mom and three brothers.
Down on the sideline, his roommate Austin Gray
along with other ninjas he trains with in Colorado.
[countdown clock beeping]
And this dude is intense.
Always goes with his pedal to the metal.
- Yeah, that's right, Matt.
He's got--he's got a new look for this season, Matt.
Grown out his beard, got some new ink.
- And you can just see--
what I love about him, he's a business student.
He always has a plan, a plan of attack.
- Yeah!
- And he's been great at executing.
Made it to Vegas last year.
- Matt, he's not just an inspirational story.
He has made himself an elite ninja.
- Boy, he just looks locked in, Akbar.
He's anticipating all the moves,
going right to Log Runner.
- Yeah, he wastes no time, Matt.
Great balance.
Look at him go, look at him go.
He is really so efficient,
and it looks like he's going for the fastest time.
- Well, that's currently held by his roommate, Austin Gray.
You know that adds some extra motivation.
He would love to have bragging rights over his buddy.
- So many people doubted him growing up, Matt.
- And he uses that to motivate him,
and this guy works so hard to be this good.
Didn't get a chance to twist those handles.
Got to reach out.
Got it.
Look at this.
- Matt, that man is on a mission.
[cheers and applause]
- Not even breathing hard, Akbar.
- Come on, dude. Come on. - Breathe!
Heart rate down and breathe. You got this.
- Go Nate!
- Austin Gray and everyone else in the building
cheering him on,
but he's got to get through this difficult fifth obstacle,
Final Frontier.
The clock slowly ticking away, but he has to be careful.
Got to make small hops so he doesn't swing off.
- Keep doing that!
- Got to make a big move. - Keep that up.
- Nice. - Good move!
- Whoo-hoo!
Sounded like Gnarly just landed.
- And you can see how precarious these get.
Both hands on the inside.
[cheers and applause]
But now he's in there between Earth and Mars.
He's going to launch back to space station.
That's home. - All right. Park it.
Park it right there.
Do not let gravity win.
- Got it! - Nice!
- Just needs the dismount.
- It's got to be the beard, it's got to be the beard!
- Now just needs the wall, and he can do it.
And gets that buzzer!
[buzzer blares] - Let's go! Whoo!
- The fastest time of the night!
[cheers and applause]
- * Got it down, 'cause it's going down *
[Matt laughs] - Whoo!
- Nate, you know there are a lot of kids out there,
some who maybe get picked on for their size.
What would you tell them?
- You know, I grew up in a middle school
and high school getting bullied all the time,
and "Ninja Warrior" really helped me
find who I was as a person.
So find something that you truly are passionate about,
and you can really find your identity
and then spread the love and the passion with other people.
And that's what I'm doing here. - Oh, spreading the love.
Yes, you are, man.
- Hey, man, we are proud to watch you, Nate.
We'll see you in LA. - Thank you very much.
I love you guys. [chuckles]
- So Nate Hansen lands atop our final leaderboard,
just a few seconds ahead of his roommate, Austin Gray.
We had eight finishers in all,
including 16-year-old Katie Bone,
the night's only woman to hit a buzzer.
Among the non-finishers moving on are the Flyboy,
the 16-year-old from Texas, Isaiah Thomas.
In all, there are 30 competitors
who are advancing to the semifinals.
We'll see all of them in a few weeks
in Los Angeles at Universal Studios.
That includes this record-setting group
of seven women who made the top 30,
the most we've ever had.
- And we have to say a huge thanks
to the Minions for being here tonight.
- And be sure to get your tickets
to go see "Minions: The Rise of Gru"
in theaters July 1st.
- Well, that does it for tonight.
For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall, I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you next time on "American Ninja Warrior."
[cheers and applause]
[dramatic music]
* *