[dramatic music]
- My mom is my hero, my role model,
and she's been by me through all the bad moments.
- "American Ninja Warrior" qualifying was extraordinary.
- I got chills.
I got tears welling up in my eyes.
- Highlighted by some of the most inspiring runs
in the show's history.
- I decided, right then and there,
that this was not gonna beat me.
- Hold on, hold on, fight, fight!
This dude is a fighter, Matt.
- I'm so proud of you.
That was so amazing.
- Tonight, the heroes from qualifying
continue their journeys as we begin the semifinals...
- Now this is where it gets real.
- With a ticket to the national finals on the line.
- To hit a buzzer on the extended course
would mean everything to me.
- Being the youngest female up the Warped Wall was awesome,
but I want to be the youngest female to make it to Vegas.
- And at the end of the night, we crank up the juice
as the top two competitors go head-to-head
on the newly redesigned Power Tower.
- This season, the Power Tower looks like something
that we've never seen in Ninja, and I can't wait to take it on.
- My goal is to get that Safety Pass.
You have to want it more than that person next to you.
Let's go!
- It's semifinals, and it's time to hit some buzzers.
- All right, this is your time.
- LA, Phoenix is ready to fly.
* *
[upbeat music]
- Welcome to Hollywood, Ninja fans.
We're on the backlot at Universal Studios,
our home for the semifinals
on "American Ninja Warrior."
Hello, and thanks for being with us.
I'm Matt Iseman. - And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.
Matt, we are on the biggest movie studio lot in the world.
And you better get your popcorn ready,
because it's about to be popping.
- Well, we'll have action, drama, and maybe even
a little comedy as top Ninja athletes fight
for a spot in Vegas at the National Finals.
- But Matt, I got to keep it 100,
the semifinals is never easy.
- Speaking truth, big man.
For more on the course they're gonna be facing,
let's go down to Zuri Hall.
- Guys, it is Hollywood, so we're adding
some special effects to the course.
You may even see some ghosts.
That's because the eighth obstacle tonight
is the hauntingly high-flying Ghost Town.
- I don't mess with ghosts.
- Other new obstacles include the grip-grinding
Kaleidoscope at number five.
Split Decision is a choice between the dangerous
Dragonback or the new balance test, Spin Zone.
- Ooh.
- The tenth obstacle is the 35-footclimb
up the Spider Trap to the buzzer.
Guys.
- Well, we're in Hollywood, so we're gonna start
the semifinals with a star.
This is social media sensation Bob Reese.
He's got millions of followers.
In fact, fellow ninja Brett Sims
is filming him right now.
- What? - Oh!
- He just flipped out of his sweatshirt.
[cheers and applause]
It's goofy stunts like that that have
made him beloved by his fans.
- Here are six ways that you can
use rollerblades on trampolines.
Number one, don't.
On TikTok, I have over 3 million followers.
And I've gotten over 100 million views on my page.
Ever since I was a kid, I've always been the one
in my family that was doing these crazy things.
My mom and other people think it's kind
of crazy that that's my job.
I like to post parkour, extreme stunt type videos.
- Oh!
- [screaming]
Stuff where I'm falling and screaming
and doing a lot of chaotic things.
- Uh, Bob, this is not a good idea.
Don't do that.
- No, dude, it's fine.
And I just get reposted on meme pages.
A niche internet micro-celebrity.
That's what my friends call me.
Ah, ah, ah!
I'm not gonna do any TikTok dances
on the course tonight, but I am gonna hit a buzzer.
- cheering Bob on tonight are his wife
and his sister, Becca, who competed in San Antonio,
and Ninja buddy Brett Sims.
And watching back in South Carolina
are his parents.
- Just imagine what he was like as a kid.
[countdown clock beeping]
- We saw his skills in qualifying.
Not only did he get a buzzer,
he got up that Mega Wall, 10 grand.
- Whoa, he didn't even take a swing.
Went right to the second ledge.
Matt, he's in ludicrous mode right now.
- And he's flowing.
On now to Air Surfer.
Got to fly with that
upside-down snowboard from pad to pad.
This is where you can't go too fast,
have to be precise with this board on those small cradles.
The smaller one here, but looking locked in.
This the biggest jump, though,
4 feet over to the landing pad.
- Get it. Ooh, nice, OK.
- The surfer's riding the wave.
Got it.
Up next is Spinning Bridge.
Doesn't want to have one of his famous falls here.
Oh! - Oh! Oh, okay!
- Yeah!
[cheers and applause]
- He is moving quickly, and he's gonna give us a look
at this new obstacle, Kaleidoscope.
You have to rotate these windows
so that the next window has the ledge
on the bottom, then swing over.
- Like that.
- And those ledges go from an inch deep
down to a quarter of an inch on the last one.
But he lands it and now has to rotate this one around.
- Bob Reese is 190 pounds.
How is he landing softly on these ledges?
- This is the transfer. Only a 1/4 inch ledge.
Got it! - Yes!
- Oh, he's fully extended. Just needs the dismount.
- Oh, boy, his hands are starting to slip.
- Got it! - Oh!
- And even he looks a little bit relieved.
And he's gonna climb down to get ready for the Warped Wall.
- He doesn't mind a fail video, but not at that point.
Now he's fine. - Oh, what's he taking out?
Oh, he's getting-- - He's getting a banana.
- He's getting potassium. He's starting to cramp up.
He needs some banana.
And he's putting it back in his pocket.
- Bob Reese is recharged for the back half.
- Oh! A 360.
- A reverse 360.
- This is a very difficult semifinals course,
and Bob Reese is treating it like a playground.
Oh! - What?
- He's flipping and 360ing all over the course.
I mean, take a look at this, a 360 on the wall
during the semifinals? Come on!
And then whatever flip this was.
This dude is an entertainer.
Matt, ya boy needs to save
some of that energy for the course.
He's got four more obstacles to go.
- First up is the Salmon Ladder.
You can't tell by looking at him.
He's so agile, but he is a bigger guy
out here in the Ninja world.
6 feet, 190. - Here you go, Bob!
- It's impressive he's gotten this far,
especially while doing all of the tricks along the way.
Now ready for obstacle eight.
And this is a brand new obstacle, Ghost Town.
It's an unusual motion.
You can see those ghosts stay horizontal.
- Yeah, and they looking at you too.
Look, that's weird,
having somebody look at you like that.
- And this third move,
the next cradle is 18 inches higher.
You really need some power.
- Yeah, a lot of power, a lot of up.
Don't get ghosted by Ghost Town.
- Got to launch it.
Oh! [air horn blares]
And the trickster is taken down by Ghost Town.
We'll have to wait and see if that is far enough,
fast enough to get him to Vegas.
- This run right here was made for TikTok.
The hoodie flip, the banana, the reverse 360,
and another flip on the back half.
Come on. What a run.
- And apparently, he's still hungry.
- [groans] - A pretty fun course.
- That's not hygienic.
- Tonight, we're in Hollywood.
So who's gonna be the breakout star?
- All right, here we go.
- Will it be the masked man
or the Weatherman?
- This is the year.
- The record-breaking teenager...
- Let's go!
- Or the high-flying veteran?
- Good to be back.
Bring on these obstacles. Let's go.
- It's gonna be an action-packed night.
- Oh, oh! Oh, my goodness--
oh, he gets thrown out of the ring!
- On the semifinals...
- Oh, he hacked everything.
- Of "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to the bright lights
at Universal Studios Hollywood.
And moments ago, software engineer
and self-proclaimed computer nerd Ryan Hermstein
showed what he can do off the course.
He hacked our system.
- No, he didn't. Oh, he hacked everything.
Oh, shoot, he hacked my phone.
We got hacked, and he looks jacked.
- When it came to his Ninja skills,
the 26-year-old rookie
was able to avoid a total crash on Shrinking Steps.
- Oh, oh!
- And on Lunatic Ledges.
- He's about to go down with the mainframe!
Oh, my gosh!
He felt that impact in his colon.
- But couldn't avoid a shutdown on Air Surfer.
- Oh!
#SeeYouNextSeason, homey.
- New Jersey's Darion Bennett was styling, rocking a pair
of genie pants given to him by the Genie Ninja,
six-time veteran Thomas Stillings.
- Do well. I'll take the magic with me.
- And the pants seemed to give the 30-year-old a lift,
as he got big air on Air Surfer.
- Bennett is in it to win it. - And on Spinning Bridge.
- I think his pants saved him, Matt.
- But on Kaleidoscope, he just couldn't hang on.
Whoa!
- I had fun though.
- Up next is one of the most exciting young ninjas.
This is Pennsylvania's 16-year-old Cal Plohoros.
And you never know what Ninja Cal
is gonna do on the course.
Back in qualifying, he hit a buzzer,
then played matchmaker.
- My Spanish teacher has
the biggest crush on you, Matt Iseman.
- Oh, sí?
- So if you'd like to say hi to Señora Meyer.
- Señora Meyer. Hola. Como estas?
- Oh, yeah!
- Well, guess who's watching? Señora Meyer.
- Hey, I just want to say, meet Mr. Matt Iseman.
- Hi. - Hi, Mr. Iseman.
- What do you have to say to Ninja Cal,
in Spanish, as he's getting ready to run?
- Hi, Cal.
[speaking Spanish]
- I don't know what that means, but thank you.
[laughter]
- All right, let's see how Ninja Cal does on the course.
- Go get 'em, Cal. You got this, buddy.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Well, here we go, Ninja Cal.
We saw him on "Ninja Junior." We know Cal likes to go fast.
Oh, little stumble out of the gates there.
Only the top 15 will move on to Vegas.
- Well, in the semifinals,
you're not gonna get 15 finishers.
So it often comes down to a race
to that eighth or ninth obstacle.
Ninja Cal knows that.
And Matt, get this-- his mom said
if he makes it to Vegas this year,
she gonna buy him his first car.
- Well, that's some good motivation,
and there's Mom in the middle of Cal's sideline group.
Dad and sister also here.
Just got his driver's license.
Putting it in drive on Air Surfer.
[cheers and applause]
5'6", 145, and he is launching.
- Ooh, that boy got some bounce.
- Just needs the dismount.
-Que bueno!
- Whoo!
- Yeah, stay on top, stay on top, stay on top.
Nice. OK.
- Now sizing up the fifth obstacle, Kaleidoscope.
Look at that!
He jumped right out
to start that rotation.
A smart, efficient move out of Ninja Cal.
Oh, he wants that car badly, Matt.
- Got it.
And wasting no time over to the third window.
He is looking strong.
- He's about to line it up, though, Matt!
- Look at that long reach.
- I don't even speak Spanish, but my goodness, bueno, bueno.
- This high school student is acing Kaleidoscope.
Just needs the dismount over that Tilting Wall,
and he's done it! - OK!
En fuego. Did I say that right?
En fuego. - En fuego, indeed.
all: [chanting] Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- On now to the Warped Wall.
- Muy fuerte, Cal, muy fuerte.
Hey, en fuego.
- That's right.
- We'll worry about that later.
You worry about a buzzer.
He just paused to check in
on that little hookup that's going.
- He's saying, get her number, dog, get her number.
- He should be more worried about
the back half of this course.
- Come on, Cal, let's go!
- Starting with the Salmon Ladder.
- Well, Matt, he's got to go.
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
[cheers and applause]
- Now the eighth obstacle, Ghost Town.
- He fell on the eighth obstacle last year.
If he gets through this, he'll have
a much better shot at being in the top 15.
- Yeah, he's got to keep his grip though, Matt.
Oh! - Oh!
Popped right out of the cradle, and that is it.
La meurta, death.
En finale.
- I think Ghost Town is gonna be a tough obstacle tonight.
As you generate swing,
it's easy for the bar to slide out of the cradle.
And that's exactly what happened to Ninja Cal.
- And he's down with Zuri.
- Cal, awesome job out here.
How are you feeling out there? - The course was so much fun.
I'm really glad that I made it this far.
Hopefully it's enough to hold out for Vegas.
- Yeah.
- But that eighth obstacle, man.
I got to get past it. - Yeah.
I hear your mom is giving you a car
if you make it to Vegas. Is that true?
- Yes, I'm hoping to make it. Let's go.
- All right, let's get you that car, okay?
We'll see if you went far enough, fast enough.
Great job. - Thank you. I appreciate it.
- Of course. Guys, back to you.
- Thank you. You digging the curls? Same.
You got a good head. - Let's go, let's go!
- Coming up,
she's the youngest woman ever to hit a buzzer.
- Herstory was just made tonight.
- Jordan Carr tries to make more history
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back to Universal Studios.
Minutes ago, South Carolina's Brett Sims,
who's known for his experience
and his trusty beard, got his shot at the course.
- This is the most famous beard in all of Ninja.
- The 35-year-old Sims competed
in our very first season,
and he hit a buzzer in last year's semifinals.
- Yeah, he's an OG, Matt.
- But even this 11-time Ninja veteran
was tripped up early tonight.
both: Oh!
- That's a shock right there.
- Steve Donnelly dressed to represent dads everywhere
with tucked in shirt,
jeans shorts, tube socks, and dad shoes.
Even his sidelines embraced the look.
- Let's go, Steve!
- Come on, big fella.
- This father of three is the night's
biggest competitor at 6'5" and 225 pounds.
But Big Daddy can move.
- You don't mess with that daddy strength.
- And after getting that big body through Air Surfer...
- Let it fly, Big Daddy!
- He was ready for some refreshment.
- Whoo! Come on, give me one more.
Let's go. Come on.
- He's providing one heck of a show right now.
- But at Spinning Bridge, Big Daddy went out in style.
- Oh! Oh, he was just thrown out of the ring!
- Luckily, he was OK.
- Just kind of rolled off, but awesome course.
- But we've already got another ninja
on the course right now.
Finishing up obstacle five is rookie Matt D'Amico.
The gym owner from the Boston area
has been wicked fast so far.
- Ooh! - Oh, my! [laughs]
- OK. This kid has style.
He's been sprinting through the first half of this course.
Now headed to the back half.
And he's well known in the Northeast,
where he's been winning local competitions,
but first time on the big show.
- And his motto's on his shirt.
Every course is a speed course.
That's his mindset. He goes all out.
- Girlfriend and mom on the sidelines.
- If he can keep this speed up,
he's got a shot at the Power Tower.
- And you win that Power Tower, you get
a Safety Pass, a do-over in Vegas.
He does seem to be slowing down
a bit here on the back half. - Oh, yeah.
[cheers and applause]
- Ten obstacles is a long time to go full bore.
- Matt, he's never done this many obstacles.
This is new territory for him.
- And this obstacle, Ghost Town, is brand new.
Two ninjas have reached it so far,
but neither made it through.
- And I'm concerned about this 18-inch rise
here on Ghost Town.
- And you can just see those cradles.
It's an unusual move there, counterweighted.
- That's not enough power, Matt.
Oh, got it, got it!
- Well, he may be unknown outside the Northeast,
but Matt D'Amico is making a name for himself.
[cheers and applause]
D'Amico the first tonight to get past Ghost Town,
and he'll be the first to face Split Decision.
On one side, he's got the new balance obstacle, Spin Zone.
On the other, the upper body test of Dragonback.
- Do this one.
- His girlfriend says Dragonback.
Spin Zone would be faster.
Dragonback may be safer, and that's where he's headed.
- Matt, I think he's made the wrong decision.
- He is looking gassed.
And this obstacle is almost impossible on tired arms.
You have to jump the bar up the notches
of the dragon's back.
Right up. Oh, oh. - Wow.
[air horn blares] [both groan]
- Matt D'Amico just had nothing left
for the ninth obstacle, but a great run to that point.
- D'Amico was the first to get past Ghost Town,
then made the decision to go with the Dragonback.
It didn't work out, but that run may get
the rookie to Vegas.
- A few weeks ago in San Antonio,
our next athlete made Ninja history.
15-year-old Jordan Carr became the youngest woman ever
to hit a buzzer.
It was a big moment, one she admits
she wasn't prepared for.
all: [chanting] Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- 15-year-old Jordan Carr trying to break that record.
[dramatic music]
[cheers and applause]
- Let's go!
It feels amazing to be
the youngest woman to hit a buzzer.
- Let's go!
- I've been watching the show for years and years and years,
so it's crazy to be, like, part of history.
When I hit that buzzer, the first thing that, like,
went through my head was, like, what do I do?
Because I'm kind of, like, awkward person
when it comes to all that.
- Jordan!
Jordan!
All right, she's having a little rave.
Come over here. - Get over here.
- You come over here.
- And then I realized I had to celebrate.
So then I was like, oh, let's go. Like, yay.
- We'll see you in LA.
- Crazy. Yeah.
It definitely adds some kind of pressure
because you have to live up to those credentials.
But no matter what happens... - Look, she's going for it.
- It's more admirable
to have failures that everyone sees.
- No!
- I promise, you're gonna do much better next time.
All right, good job. All right? OK, all right?
- "Ninja Junior" didn't exactly go my way.
- Beat that wall!
- But when you get back up, it feels
more rewarding when you work for it.
- You got this.
- Nice, Jordan. - You got it.
- It's totally crazy to have beaten a record
that has been held for four years.
- Nice. Go Jordan!
- But I'm definitely not stopping now.
There's a lot more buzzers to go.
- Jordan's parents on the sideline.
- Let's go!
- Along with her coach, Flip Rodriguez.
[countdown clock beeping]
Set the record as the youngest woman
to hit a qualifying buzzer.
Tonight, she's aiming to be the youngest woman
to hit a semifinals buzzer.
- Matt, you talk to any of the ninjas out there
that's around Jordan Carr, and they'll tell you,
she's constantly asking questions
about how to get better.
- Do you see the power she's generating
here on Lunatic Ledges?
- Yeah, it's power and technique now
because that's not easy to do.
Not everybody has the technique on that.
- Good job, J! Let's go.
- She doesn't show a lot of emotion on the course,
but she is a fierce competitor.
She worked so hard for this. - Hey, confidence, confidence.
You got this, J.
- Flip's keeping her pumped up as she takes on an Air Surfer.
- You got this, J. You got it.
- This obstacle's taken out a lot
of good ninjas in past seasons.
Very easy to overshoot or undershoot that board.
- Perfect. Come on.
- Oh. Watch that left side. - Good correction.
That left side of the board almost missed.
- Oh, big power with authority, too, Matt.
- Let's go, J! - Power, poise, everything.
Jordan Carr, she is rolling.
- Let's go! Let's go!
- Matt, if it was me at 15, I'd be freaking out,
but Jordan Carr is keeping it cool.
- Taking a long look at Spinning Bridge.
What kind of traction does this Carr have?
- OK, watch this. Watch the horsepower here.
Nice. OK.
- Got through it, got through it.
Wasn't as pretty as she was hoping,
but she knows, she survived.
Looks a little shaken up.
- Let's look at it again.
She started falling forward towards the end
and landed right on her face.
Ooh, Carr with a fender bender.
- Looks like she took a blow to the nose,
but she's gonna fight through it.
Unfortunately, though, the next obstacle
is the very tough Kaleidoscope.
- You got to take it, J. You got to take it. Come on.
- Well, look, you are shaken up.
Something always goes wrong.
Now she really has to regroup and push through the pain.
- Nice, J. Come on.
- Again, a rock climber, has the grip strength,
but how will that fall impact her?
[cheers and applause]
- Nice swing.
Nice. Here we go.
- Just looking so at ease here.
- Up, up!
- But here's where it gets tough.
Big reach.
Wow! Oh, no!
- No!
- The left wrist gave out.
Now she's gonna have to wait and see
if that gets her through to Vegas.
- Jordan Carr looked in complete control early
until she stumbled on Spinning Bridge.
And then, trying to make that big reach
up on Kaleidoscope, she just couldn't hang on.
- I'm sure she's disappointed,
but still an incredible run for a rookie.
And Flip's letting her know it.
Well, a Phoenix is about to fly.
We'll see Najee Richardson run next.
And remember, the night ends over there at the Power Tower.
- It's like Thunderdome.
The two fastest ninjas enter.
Only one will come out with the Safety Pass.
- We're in Hollywood,
where everyone wants a good love story.
And we had two of them while we were away.
First up was Ohio's Jennifer Stefano
and Ryan Sanders, high school sweethearts
getting married in September.
Stefano overcame crippling anxiety in qualifying
to earn her first trip to the semifinals.
- Come on, Jennifer Stefano.
- The thrift store owner looked good
through two obstacles but came up short on Air Surfer.
- Oh! Hit the front end.
- Then the roles were reversed,
and Sanders hit the course.
And he was able to make it past Air Surfer.
- Look at that hair flowing through, Matt.
- Along with his fiancée, the long-haired rookie
had some long-haired friends cheering him on.
And Sanders was impressive as he conquered Kaleidoscope...
[cheers and applause]
And headed to the back half of the course.
The groom-to-be made his way
to the eighth obstacle, Ghost Town.
- Come on, get up there. Oh!
- Though he didn't get through,
he's still got a good shot at moving on to Vegas.
- That was so good.
- Another ninja couple, Joe Capo and Abby Clark
have been dating for more than ten years.
Capo led things off.
- Let's go! - Come on, Joe!
- The 28-year-old from New Jersey has made it
to the National Finals in the past.
- Yeah! - Yeah!
- But on Spinning Bridge...
- Failed to--oh, oh!
- His run came to a shocking early end.
Then Abby took her shot at the course.
And the former gymnast at Springfield College
came out strong. - All right, come on, Abby.
- Along with boyfriend Joe, the five-time veteran
had her Jersey Girlz training partners cheering her on.
And she was able to get past the Spinning Bridge.
- * Oh, happy day *
- And she became the first woman
to get past Kaleidoscope.
- Dear Abby, you are a beast.
- But just like during last year's semis,
she failed on the Warped Wall
on her first, second, and third attempt.
- Wow!
- But she's still in good position to move on to Vegas.
- Guys, I've got a bird's eye view for this run
because it is time for the Phoenix to fly.
I'm talking about Ninja favorite Najee Richardson.
The seven-time Ninja veteran
is a leader in the Ninja community.
A hero to many, but his own hero
is his grandfather, a civil rights pioneer.
[solemn piano music]
- Back in 1967, my grandfather was part of a student walkout.
Thousands of Black students all across the city
marched to the Board of Education to demand
better resources
for Black students and neighborhood schools.
- * Nobody else can tell you *
* *
* Where your life is gonna lead *
- Here we are, 2022, and it's finally
being recognized with a historical marker.
My grandfather had no idea,
so I decided to take him to the spot
and show him that what he did really mattered.
Check this out, Grandpa.
You are a part of Philadelphia history.
- You didn't know this was up here, did you?
- Uh-uh.
- Black student walkout, 1967.
You were just a teenager.
- I was a teenager, just turned 18.
- * Oh, what would we be *
* If we could be anything? *
- The amount of students that walked out
was over 10,000 students.
They had never seen anything like that before.
It was a real call for change.
- I love this city.
Get out and make sure your voice is heard.
People my age are kind of making sure
that what you guys did didn't go in vain.
Thank you for being an inspiration to me.
During 2020, I went and I protested in Philadelphia.
Now I'm someone that can do my part
to change whatever needs changing now.
- To have a grandson
to even think that this is important--
I can't tell you how much this meant to me.
- Good. Oh, that makes me so happy, Grandpa.
That makes me so happy.
- And Najee's gonna have Grandpa
watching this run back in Philadelphia.
- Go ahead now.
- Along with his fiancée and his parents.
- I love you! Let's go!
[countdown clock beeping]
- You got it, Naj!
- Missed last season because of a severe ankle injury,
but he's coming back strong so far this year.
Hit a buzzer in qualifying.
- Well, there's a reason why they call him
the Phoenix, Matt.
Because he has risen from the ashes.
He's come back stronger.
And he's actually put about 15 pounds
of muscle since we last saw him two years ago.
Nice.
- Looking to get back to the National Finals
for the sixth time in his Ninja career.
- Let's go!
- He's got Joe Moravsky and other Ninja friends
down on the sideline.
And the man always has a smile on his face.
He is a stud. - There you go.
- Watch him here on Air Surfer.
The guy can lache.
- Holds the record for the longest lache.
But here comes the big move, Matt.
Oh, my--oh, my goodness.
- Did you see that? Did you see the ease?
- Let's go, Naj!
- Yeah. There you go. That's what I'm talking about.
- Grandpa liked that move. Now it's Spinning Bridge.
And no one likes balance obstacles.
- Especially when you've suffered an injury.
- Right through.
- You see, he was a little tender
through Spinning Bridge.
- You got it, man! Let's go!
- Taking a deep breath before he takes on Kaleidoscope.
This has been the biggest roadblock tonight.
- Matt, he's a former top-level gymnast.
We know he can lache.
It's the landing on these small ledges.
- Come on, man. You trained for real.
- This guy just flies. - It's like nothing to him.
- Just needs to hang on and turn this last wheel.
- That's that gymnast background,
that Ninja experience, right there.
- And he makes that last grab.
- Matt, that's the easiest anyone has made it look.
- And the Phoenix flies through.
- Whoo! - Here we go.
- Let's go, Naj.
- Halfway to a buzzer.
These semifinals courses are a beast.
- We saw even some of the young ninjas gassed now.
- He knows how to pace himself.
- And he's headed to the Salmon Ladder.
[cheers and applause]
Uh-oh.
Looks like he's stopping to stretch out that ankle.
- Stretch it out. - There you go.
- Well, his injury last year was bad.
He was on crutches for two months.
But looks like he's gonna keep going.
- Yeah, he's got to block that out, though, Matt.
He's got to block that because he's got to make
that jump on that trampoline to get on the Salmon Ladder.
- The crowd looking concerned, but he's smiling now.
I think he's gonna be OK.
- Can't nobody keep the Phoenix down.
- No problem with the trampoline, though.
That's a good sign.
Seems to be all right,
and no problem with the Salmon Ladder.
- Right, all right. Come on.
- You know there's no quit in Najee Richardson.
This course is tough tonight,
but if Najee can get through Ghost Town,
he'll have a good chance of getting to Vegas.
No finishers so far.
Najee would love to be our first.
- Nice. Great connect right there.
- One more big swing here on Ghost Town.
both: Oh!
- Just flew right out of the cradle.
- What?
Sha na na.
- And he's looking up like, what just happened?
Now he'll have to wait to see
if that's gets him through to Vegas.
- That's good. That's good.
- All right, so here's how it went down.
He was trying to build up momentum,
and the bar just slid right off the front.
When you enter Ghost Town, you better come correct.
- Can you talk to me about what
went wrong on Ghost Town here?
- I think I just underestimated
how light that bar was.
And honestly, I'm coming into this
15 pounds heavier than I've ever come into a competition.
- I noticed you packed on a couple of pounds.
It looks good.
- I've always been used to just being able
to throw my body around on these obstacles,
and I guess being a little heavier this year,
I got to dial it back a little bit.
So I just--yeah, just pulled it right off.
- OK, fair enough.
We'll know soon if you went far enough, fast enough.
Great work out there, Najee.
Matt, Akbar.
- Up next, Flip Rodriguez is bringing the mask back.
We'll tell you why when
"American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- While we were away, two different generations
of ninjas took their shot at the semifinals course.
16-year-old Addy Herman was trying
to earn her first trip to Vegas.
And she moved quickly through the early obstacles.
- Great timing, great pace.
- Last year in the semifinals, her rookie season ended
on the fourth obstacle, Spinning Bridge.
- No, no, no, no! Oh!
- Tonight, the Massachusetts teenager
faced the same obstacle.
- All right. Here we go, Matt.
Come on, come on. Nice. You go, girl!
[cheers and applause]
- And she looked like she might
conquer Kaleidoscope.
- Hold on, Addy. Oh!
- But her fast time means
she's still got a good shot of moving on.
Then it was a competitor over twice her age, Dave Cavanagh.
And he used his eight years of Ninja experience
to conquer Kaleidoscope.
- Cavanagh is like, no, I ain't
about to let these teens push me out.
- With his wife Jenny hanging on every move,
Cavanagh became just the second athlete
to get past Ghost Town.
- This dude's a Ghostbuster.
- At Split Decision, he gave Spin Zone a look
but opted for the upper body test of Dragonback.
- Gather yourself.
Oh!
- It may still be early, but that strong run
puts him in good position to move on to Vegas.
- And we've actually got Cavanagh's
old student on the course right now.
It's the five-time veteran Lucas Reale.
- Nice.
- He is one of the most popular ninjas.
Look at his sideline.
So many ninjas he's coached or trained
up in Massachusetts,
and they're all showing their support.
Love seeing the smile on his face.
What a joyous young man Lucas is.
23 years old.
Amazing.
23 and a seasoned veteran.
- There's his grandparents and one of his aunts
watching back in Connecticut.
[cheers and applause]
He's one of the most influential coaches
in the country.
And there are more of his students
watching back in Boston.
- He had no problem on the first six obstacles.
What does he have left for the final four?
- He's finished a semifinals course before,
and he gets through Salmon Ladder.
[cheers and applause]
Facing this brand-new obstacle, Ghost Town,
which is unlike any obstacle we've ever had before.
These counterweighted cradles.
- And Matt, I'm afraid of ghosts, believe it or not.
- I do believe in them.
- I don't like ghosts. I don't mess with ghosts.
- He's making like Pac-Man. He's eating up these ghosts.
[cheers and applause]
And look at him sticking the tongue out.
- Matt, he out here playing with these ghosts.
- He's having a blast.
Now it's Split Decision.
It looks like he's waving off Dragonback.
He's telling his friends he's gonna try Spin Zone.
- Let's go.
- No. - Yes, yes.
- Is he gonna be the first... - Yes, he's doing it.
- To attempt the Spin Zone?
- He's a brave man to try it.
both: Oh!
- Did the splits!
- But give him credit, he was the first
to give Spin Zone a try, but comes up just short.
Still, he made it to the ninth obstacle.
He's got a good shot at going to Vegas.
- This is why everyone's scared of Spin Zone.
As soon as you touch them,
they start rotating, and you need big strides.
Reale barely got to that fourth one.
- Man, this is a hard one.
There's a reason no one's done it.
- Our next ninja is used to being
on movie sets like this.
Flip Rodriguez is a Hollywood stuntman
who is very busy, but that's not all he's been up to.
Flip is now an author.
His book is called "The Man Behind the Mask."
As you can see, Flip is wearing a mask tonight,
a throwback to his early Ninja days,
and a reminder of what he's overcome.
- * Can you feel it? *
- I started "American Ninja Warrior"
as the Masked Man.
- * Can you feel it? *
- The mask for me was like a security blanket,
in a sense of, can't see emotion.
People's faces would tell you how much pain they're in.
[soft pensive music]
So the mask was kind of like a way
for no one to really see it.
- * I'm gonna be what I want *
* When I want, when I want, yeah *
- One season, the mask came off.
- That is a bold statement.
- I felt comfortable enough to talk about my story.
Um, from about the ages of 9 to 15, I was sexually abused.
How do you--how do you tell somebody that--
what's happening behind closed doors?
Like, you're afraid for your life.
Talking about my story helped me understand
that vulnerability is a strength.
It's not a weakness.
Now I'm writing a book to tell my story.
It's called "The Man Behind the Mask."
In order for me to write this book,
I had to relive everything again.
* *
- * Can you feel it? *
- But I knew it was worth me going back
into that dark place in hopes that it
helps somebody else realize that,
if he did that, I can do it too.
- * Every chip out on the table *
* I'm gonna leave it *
- I'm wearing the mask at the start line
to show the symbol of hope and to be fearless.
12 seasons in a row I've been on "American Ninja Warrior."
Just shows how far and reminds me how far I've come.
- * Can you feel it? *
- And whatever happens, there's always hope.
* *
- And Flip's already started his run.
Now on the fifth obstacle.
And Akbar, we have such admiration for this guy.
Telling his very personal, painful story,
it takes so much courage,
and he's helped so many people.
- Everyone loves Flip Rodriguez.
- And he's through five obstacles.
- And there's a big smile.
Matt, we know that Flip's been training with RJ Roman,
getting ready for this season.
- Now 32 years old, he's twice as old
as some of the teenagers.
- That's crazy when you say it like that.
- I know.
- I mean, because, remember, it wasn't that long--
- He was the young gun.
- he was the young gun. - Oh, my goodness.
- And now you talk about he's twice as old as somebody?
- Let's go, Flip. You got this.
- There are a couple of those new young ninjas,
Cal Plohoros and Jordan Carr.
They're watching backstage.
Flip coached both of them.
- Everyone wants Flip to get back to Vegas.
He missed out last year for the first time
since season six.
- Been a few years since he's hit any buzzer.
Should be OK on Salmon Ladder.
- Boom.
Boom shakalaka, just like that.
- Go, Flip! Let's go.
- But now it's Ghost Town.
The eighth obstacle frequently decides
who gets into the top 15 and who goes home.
If Flip can get past it, he'll have
a much better chance of getting back to Vegas.
- Nice.
There's a guy that has reached stage two
in Vegas six times in his career.
So he has the experience to go far.
- You can see, measured up a foot and a half up here.
- Nice. - Got it.
- You know, with these ninjas,
especially the veterans, they like these new obstacles.
- And Flip definitely likes this one
because he's through!
- Yes! Let's go! Come on, Flip.
- He's now the fourth athlete to reach Split Decision.
Will it be Dragonback or Spin Zone?
- Matt, he fell on Dragonback two years ago.
- No!
- So we know he doesn't like that one.
But Spin Zone just looks like "Mission: Impossible."
- Lucas Reale just fell here. But Flip's gonna try it.
- I know Flip Rodriguez.
He wants to play on the new toys.
He wants to test his skills. - Great shot there.
You can see how they're angled,
and the steps are very small up front.
- And he's got the skills to pay the bills.
Oh, yes!
- Let's go!
- Oh, shoot! Oh, my gosh! - Flip did it!
I can't believe it! He did it!
- The first to get through the Spin Zone.
- Let's go! Yes!
- He worked so hard with RJ Roman
to get ready for this, and it is paying off.
He's got a chance to be our first finisher.
Up now on Spider Trap.
- It's been a long time since Flip hit
a semifinals buzzer, hit any buzzer at all.
- Wow. - Three years in the making.
all: [chanting] Flip! Flip! Flip! Flip!
- He brought the mask back and turned the clock back.
Flip Rodriguez is going back to Vegas!
Our first finisher.
[buzzer blares] - Yeah!
Let's go!
[cheers and applause]
Hard work pays off. Let's go!
- Matt, I think we just woke up a sleeping giant.
- * Can you feel it? *
* Can you feel it? *
- And Jordan Carr is so emotional.
- J! - Oh, wow. Oh, come on.
I'm getting emotional now.
- Can't believe I'm back, baby!
[cheers and applause]
- Flip, what did it mean to you to bring
that mask back out with your book coming out,
"The Man Behind the Mask?"
- You know, writing the book felt
like I needed to bring the mask back as a protection
of who I am because this book is gonna be very vulnerable.
It's gonna talk about my past and what
I went through in order to come to the man I am today.
And it feels good that he's back.
I got to be honest with you.
- Spin Zone looked unbeatable, but Flip found a way across,
took big strides, and tumbled through,
then climbed his way to our first buzzer of the night.
- Yeah!
- Hit that buzzer one more time.
[buzzer blares] - Yeah!
Whoo!
- * Can you feel it? *
- Coming up, he made it to the Power Tower
last year as a 15-year-old.
- Look at this! And Pippel moving up!
- Can rising star Josiah Pippel
get back there again this season?
His run's next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to New York Street
on the Universal Studios backlot,
where we're about halfway through
our first night of semifinals.
- But this course is running rough and tough,
especially this new fifth obstacle, Kaleidoscope.
- Just in the last few minutes,
we saw New Jersey's Alex Begolly spin out.
- Oh!
- Then Boston area police officer
John Uga just gassed out.
He needs backup. - Oh!
- 16-year-old James Sannella looked
like he had Kaleidoscope conquered
for a second.
Oh!
- Sannella, the latest victim of Kaleidoscope.
- New York City's Xavier Dantzler played running back
on his high school football team.
And with his mom cheering him on,
the 17-year-old showed some of that toughness
as he took a blow on the second obstacle.
- Hard fall.
- Then had to tumble through the fourth.
- Oh, survives.
- And all those hits seemed to catch up to him
on the fifth.
Wow. Oh, no!
Oh!
As he too was brought down by Kaleidoscope.
- Well, we've got another one of our teenagers up next,
budding superstar Josiah Pippel.
This 16-year-old from New Jersey
amazed us last year.
He hit three buzzers.
But turns out, Ninja's not the only thing
he's a natural at.
[upbeat rock music]
* *
Josiah Pippel!
Yes! Are you kidding me?
- I love Ninja so much, obviously.
But I have started to pick up new hobbies.
Like racing...
Woodworking,
and after my fall last season...
- Blind grab, blind grab.
both: Oh!
- I knew I needed to work on my hand-eye coordination,
so this year, I actually learned piano.
[Pachelbel's "Canon in D"]
* *
But obviously, with piano, there's all the keys,
and some of the keys are very small.
But also, I cannot read music.
I would just, like, feel it out, what it sounds like.
I'll just go through the whole thing, and then
hit the next key and be like, oh, that doesn't sound right.
Do it again, hit a different key.
- He's totally self-motivated, always trying to learn
something new, always trying to conquer something,
always trying to master a new song.
It's pretty impressive for a 16-year-old.
- All these hobbies are something that is helping me
in some way in Ninja because the end goal is to be
racing on stage four for the million dollars.
- * The best is yet to come *
- This kid's got all kinds of talent.
There's Mom and siblings back in New Jersey.
Josiah's dad on the sidelines
along with training partner Najee Richardson,
who ran earlier.
[countdown clock beeping]
The sky's the limit for Josiah Pippel.
- Nice. - 6 foot and 150.
We met him on "Ninja Junior." Blew us away.
And he's gotten bigger, stronger, and better.
- And richer, Matt.
He got that 10 grand from taking down
the Mega Wall in qualifying.
Just amazing, going into junior year.
- Yeah, that's just crazy to me.
Junior year in high school. Come on, man.
- Wasting no time getting on to Air Surfer.
Really is amazing seeing this young man
grow up before our eyes.
- Ooh, nice.
- Great moves, linking it together.
Wow!
- First person we've seen do that.
- Just a next-level move from the 16-year-old.
And he's going right into Spinning Bridge
and gets that too.
- He didn't spend a lot of time on Air Surfer,
and that should help him here on Kaleidoscope.
- Well, this guy loves speed, loves racing,
and he has the pedal to the metal here.
- But this is the obstacle that's
put the brakes on so many runs already.
- Here's where that piano playing comes in handy.
Fingers are very important on this obstacle.
- But at 6 feet, that long reach
is made a little easier with those long arms.
Great control.
- Yeah, and you can see him using them Ls.
- A 1/4-inch ledge now to catch himself.
- Nice. - No problem.
Pippel is flying.
- Boy, Pippel can propel himself
all the way to the top like he did last year.
[cheers and applause]
- He's got to be thinking about the Power Tower.
Got there last year but lost his race
to Vance Walker,
so he didn't have a Safety Pass in Vegas.
- You got it, buddy! - Whoo!
- Yeah, a Safety Pass could have saved him
when he fell on stage two.
- Come on. Let's go, Josiah.
- Right now, gotta focus on
getting past the Salmon Ladder.
- Nice.
- And again, what we're seeing is,
he's so efficient on these obstacles.
His shirt says, "Sometimes you've just
gotta lick the stamp and send it."
That's his style.
- He definitely did that back on Air Surfer.
Don't think he's gonna try that move here on Ghost Town.
This is where his buddy Najee fell just minutes ago.
Easy to make a mistake here.
- Yeah, and the moving apparatus makes it
a little bit more challenging. That adds to the difficulty.
But these ninjas are so prepared.
Big ups, right there.
- Up 18 inches. No problem for Pippel.
Just needs the dismount.
And he's through.
[cheers and applause]
- Let's go!
- Split Decision.
- He's going Dragonback.
- I'll bet he slays the dragon.
- It's just a bar. Let's go.
- We saw Dragonback end so many runs
when it made its debut in St. Louis.
And no one's made it past this obstacle tonight.
- Easy. Nice. - Good slide down.
- Got a buzzer last year in semis,
and getting very close to another one.
- Pippel using that bar like it's a sword.
He wants to slay the dragon.
And he did. - Oh, my goodness!
This kid is impressive!
- Come on! You got this!
- And he's not slowing down,
goes right into the chute to start the Spider Trap.
Well, no one had gotten past Dragonback all night,
and this 16-year-old just made it look easy.
- Ooh, Matt, he's right there. He's 20 feet up right now.
- Each set of these doors is 100 pounds,
but Josiah Pippel still has enough left
to power through them.
And the teenager who taught himself to play piano
has given us a virtuoso performance.
- Uh-oh, uh-oh. Get it! - Josiah Pippel does it again!
- He is gassed.
[cheers and applause]
[chuckles] Matt, that's what I call
leaving it all out on the course.
[upbeat music]
He has nothing left.
He could barely hit the buzzer.
And he's just laying right out.
- [laughing]
- We knew this run was gonna be special
when he flew through Air Surfer without a break.
Then he was the first to conquer Dragonback
and climb to the buzzer.
And we could see him on the Power Tower
later tonight.
- Josiah!
Man, you made that look easy.
Last year, it was just one obstacle away
from making it to stage three.
How far can you go this year? - Stage five.
- Stage--we don't even have it!
That's how far he's going.
- Hey, he's going to the moon.
- Yahoo!
- Coming up, it was an epic race
between teacher and student.
Will Joe Moravsky and Jay "Lache" Lewis
have a rematch on the Power Tower tonight?
And Joe Moravsky does it!
We'll find out soon on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to "American Ninja Warrior"
at Universal Studios Hollywood,
where you can soar over Hogwarts Castle,
journey into Jurassic World,
or let loose on Illumination's
The Secret Life of Pets Off the Leash.
- And let's not forget the world famous studio tour,
where you'll go behind the scenes
on your favorite film sets. Make it your best day in LA.
- And moments ago, Florida's Jay Flores
showed off some wizardry of his own,
having liquids magically change colors.
- What the what? Wow.
- The 32-year-old hosts a science show
on YouTube with crazy experiments
and has millions of views.
- Nice! - Let's go, Jay!
- And the Ninja rookie pulled off
some impressive tricks on the course.
- Oh! He lost his grip.
Oh, my goodness. What a save.
- But seconds later, gravity caught up to him.
- Science, technology, engineering, math
cannot save him on this one. - No.
And Zuri had some questions.
- So what happened at the start line?
That was some magic. I'm very impressed.
- It's not magic, it's science.
- Then it was Sophia Lavallee, known as the Wandering Ninja.
She's traveled to 25 countries, and she's only 17.
- Sophia Lavallee knows how to handle
the peaks and valleys of "Ninja Warrior."
- The Massachusetts teenager was the top woman
in her night of qualifying.
- Nice.
- Yeah, baby!
- But for the second year in a row,
she struggled in semifinals,
going out on the third obstacle.
- Big lache! Ooh!
- [groans]
- I undershot it. That was upsetting.
- Our next athlete always electrifies the crowd.
He's one of the most energetic ninjas.
Four-time veteran Anthony Eardley.
He's a welder, and Ninja fans love him.
[cheers and applause]
- Get ready! Get pumped!
This is what we do! This is what we do!
- No one gets pumped up the way he does.
And that passion and positivity
comes from his very unique family.
[peaceful music]
- Come and get your food.
It's ready. Ooh!
Get it while it's hot. Cheers.
What was the last time we've done this? Seriously.
- I was just gonna say, isn't it so nice
to have just about everybody together?
- I come from a very diverse and multicultural family.
I was adopted at two days old. And I am number two of seven.
My siblings range from 33 down to the tender age of 2.
Let's go! Whoa! - Whoo!
- We just adopted baby Andrew.
- Hold on tight. Whoa! - Whoa.
- It's just reminding me how much of a kid I still am.
[laughs]
I have been-- - Hey.
- Two more. Oh, miss. [laughs]
He looks at me like I'm a superhero.
And I have that responsibility for him to realize
how much of a superhero he can be himself.
Whoa! - Daddy, I won!
- I don't think I could do anything without my family.
- Can I get a super hug? Give me a super hug.
- Which is why I'm striving so hard
to show them how much they mean.
all: Go! Beat it! - Yeah!
[all cheering]
- Ah, you can just see how emotional
Anthony Eardley gets when he talks about his family.
And of course, they're watching back home in Oneonta.
[countdown clock beeping]
Anthony Eardley, 5'10", 155.
He is electrifying. - Yes, he is.
- It's because of that singlet.
- And he just needs to channel that energy
from the start line and use it on the course.
- Well, veterans know it's hard to hit a buzzer.
So you want to go as far, as fast as you can.
Only the top 15 will move on to the National Finals.
Right now, it looks like you have to get
to that eighth obstacle quickly to have any chance.
- Anthony Eardley knows, Eardley bird gets the worm.
- Feel it out. Feel it out. - He has been consistent.
Made it to the semis three of the four years
he's been here, but he's never made it to Vegas.
Now taking on Air Surfer.
- Yes. Yes, indeed.
And you see he took a pause to measure it.
He wants to see it, make sure he got the calculation right.
- Okay, wow. - Ooh.
- Looking real solid. Long throw. And he's safe.
[cheers and applause]
- Yeah, the crowd's digging it.
They're digging it, Matt.
- Now facing Spinning Bridge.
One missed foot, and your season is over.
- Nice. Great footwork.
[cheers and applause]
- The fifth obstacle, Kaleidoscope,
has been a tough one tonight.
Ended the runs of a handful of ninjas already.
- Come on, efficient, efficient, yes, sir.
- Good power out of Eardley.
Really controlling those windows.
- There you go, Matt.
As he progresses through Kaleidoscope,
the handles go from 3/4 of an inch to a 1/4 inch.
- And that one really tests the fingertips.
- Especially as you start to turn them.
- And watch on these rotations. - Oh, boy.
- You could see, you got to grab on the opposite end,
that high part of the curve as it rotates down.
- No pain, no gain.
- On now to just a 1/4-inch ledge.
- Don't think about it. Don't think about it.
- I think he's having trouble building up the momentum.
There he goes for it. Got it! - Nice.
I love how he calmed himself down
as you start to feel the buildup and the pain.
- Let's go! - And he is pumped!
[cheers and applause]
- Ah! - I love it.
- The man is putting on a show.
Just electrifying. - I don't hear nothing.
all: [chanting] Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- And now he's calling out the crowd,
Akbar, he's cutting a promo!
- He wants that cheer. Beat that wall.
all: [chanting] Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- And he is feeding off that energy.
He's headed to the back half. Enjoying the spotlight.
- All right. - Now I can see you better.
- All right, light it up.
- Now last season, Eardley got to this point
and only had to complete the Salmon Ladder
to earn his first trip to Vegas,
but fell, and it has haunted him.
- You know he's not tryna fall
two years in a row on Salmon Ladder.
Nice. All right.
- Let's see what he learned.
- One,
two,
three,
four.
You don't own me anymore.
- He gets his revenge.
[cheers and applause]
- This is what we do! - He says this is what we do.
- And he's made it to the eighth obstacle,
Ghost Town.
You can see the eyelashes on the ghosts there.
And you can just see these counter-weighted cradles.
- Nice.
- Little more difficult to get them to move.
It's like they're in molasses. - Matt, he's charged up.
- But it's 18 inches up on this third move.
- Not enough power, though.
Oh, excuse me!
Excuse me!
- And look at this, Eardley at the ninth obstacle.
- He is feeling himself.
He is feeling himself. - And now Split Decision.
And this is the challenge,
Dragonback, or he can try
the balance obstacle, Spin Zone.
But only two have tried it so far,
and Flip Rodriguez is the only one who survived.
- Go ahead, man. Take your shot at Spin Zone.
He's feeling himself.
- No, he's not.
- I got to do it. I got to do it.
- You got it!
- Going with Dragonback.
But this one's not easy, either.
Only one ninja, Josiah Pippel, has made it past it so far.
Got to control this bar.
And a long drop here.
- No!
- He slides off on Dragonback,
but still the best run of Anthony Eardley's career,
and he gave these fans a show.
- Much love.
- Right from the start, Eardley brought the energy
and got the crowd into it as he muscled his way
to the ninth obstacle, enough to earn him
his first trip to the National Finals.
- And Zuri's gonna give him the good news.
- Anthony, you know,
you've never been to a National Finals before.
What would it mean to you to make it to Vegas?
- Listen, that Salmon Ladder took me out last year.
That was the greatest I ever felt.
And it was good to come back here and, like,
just never take that offseason off.
Here we is.
- Well, we need these to be happy tears
because I've got good news.
You're headed to Vegas.
You're gonna to the National Finals.
Congratulations, Anthony.
[cheers and applause]
- While we were away,
two of our East Coasters took their shot at the course.
Many think Pennsylvania's Matt Bradley
has the skills to win it all.
- We know he can fly.
- The 20-year-old is well known for building
many of our obstacles in his barn
so he can train on them, including the Air Surfer.
So he felt confident on the obstacle tonight
and tried to link the three laches in a row.
Oh, no! - Oh!
- I have that obstacle. I went for it. It went wrong.
- Then it was Jersey Girl Cara Mack,
who's made it to the semifinals
every year she's competed.
With the other Jersey Girlz cheering her on,
Mack marched through the early obstacles.
- Cara Mack is back, baby!
- She celebrated her sprint across the Spinning Bridge.
- Oh, oh! Okay!
- But to guarantee a spot in Vegas,
she needed to finish Kaleidoscope.
- Now, this is where it gets real, Matt.
Oh, my goodness. Body slam!
- Instead, she ended with maybe
the fall of the night.
- That was quite the ride.
- Cara's slower time to Kaleidoscope
means she is out of the top three.
Right now, Abby Clark is guaranteed
to move on, along with Addy Herman,
but Jordan Carr's on the bubble
with one more woman to run.
And that final woman is another one
of the Jersey Girlz, Rachel Degutz.
This 23-year-old is now
a full-time middle school science teacher,
and she's bringing Ninja to the classroom.
- Oh, yes! That's what I'm talking about!
- Whoo!
Last year's semifinals went pretty well.
- Only a small group of elite women
have ever made it to the back half.
- Oh! Wow! - Holds on!
And Degutz does it.
- This year, I'm even more prepared
because I started my first big girl job.
I'm teaching seventh and eighth grade science.
Good job. Good job.
It's really fun because I get to incorporate Ninja obstacles
into the physics concepts we're learning about.
all: Oh, no!
- It's a really fun and engaging way
to combine my two lives.
[kids cheering]
So here's my shout-out to all of my students
that have been begging for a shout-out.
I love you guys.
[all cheering]
I hope you're taking notes tonight
because I'm about to teach this course a lesson.
- And there's the shout-out to her students
from Riverfront Middle School, who gathered
for a special viewing party at the school.
- Whoo!
- And there's the real shout-out.
That's her scream.
She does that before every run.
- The other Jersey Girlz are on the sideline.
Matt Bradley is gonna be
an honorary member for this run.
[countdown clock beeping] - Let's go, Rachel.
- And Rachel knows what she needs to do.
That's the advantage of being the last woman.
- All she has to do is get
to Kaleidoscope faster than 1:31,
and she will go back to Vegas.
Just her second year, but she understands
pace is everything.
It is a race through Spinning Bridge.
Good power.
And you can see the pendulum there.
I'm sure she's gonna use that
in middle school science class.
- Ooh, nice.
If you got the guts, you get the glory.
- On now to Air Surfer. It can be a challenge.
5'3", 130. Kind of a short wingspan here.
This obstacle's knocked out some veteran ninjas tonight.
- All right, she teaches physical science.
This is some physical science right here.
- And you can see the focus,
checking both sides of the board.
Good precision.
Big lache.
- Nice. - Got it!
- Did you see how she reached up
to make sure she made that clear?
She was not about to break on the front edge.
Ooh, get out of there.
- Nice! - Got it!
[cheers and applause]
- The clock is ticking.
Just needs to get across Spinning Bridge.
Here we go.
Vegas on the line for Rachel Degutz.
- Go, stay on top, stay on top, stay on top.
- Got it! - Nice.
- Her second trip to the National Finals.
- If you don't think their students
are paying attention in class, yes, Ms. Degutz.
- Well, last year in the semifinals,
she made it to the ninth obstacle.
But Kaleidoscope has been so unforgiving tonight.
- All right, Rachel Degutz on Kaleidoscope.
Roll call.
She's taking names and kicking butt.
Come on. - Good lache.
No problem. - Come on, Degutz.
- Let's go.
- Let's go. Come on! - Come on, Rachel.
- And now let's see if that reach,
if she can get up to those handles.
- Big, high reach, Rachel. - Uh-oh.
Watch out, watch out here. - Wow.
- Watch out! - Oh, my goodness.
- Did you see how she just pulled up?
- The power out of Degutz. - I'm just watching. Come on.
Come on.
- On now to the 1/4 inch lip by that fourth window.
Does she have anything left?
- Matt, this is-- this is gonna be problematic.
You can see right there, the right hand.
The right hand is starting to give up,
but she's fighting through.
Come on. Show us what you got. Come on, Degutz.
- Oh, trying to watch herself! - Dig deep.
Dig deep! - Oh!
Flips out, but not before punching
her ticket back to Vegas.
- If you're gonna go out, go out in style.
- Her students are gonna have a lot of fun
watching this one over and over.
That's called a mean.
The science teacher learned a hard lesson in physics,
but she's moving on.
- And Zuri's gonna let her know.
- I've got good news. - What?
- You're headed to Vegas. - Really?
Ah! Ahh!
- Two of the three Jersey Girlz in Vegas?
It's about to be a party.
- Let's go!
- It's a Power Tower like you've never seen before.
We're gonna get our first look at it
when our two fastest race for the coveted Safety Pass
at the end of the night on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Music was ringing through New York Street
while we were away. [soft violin music]
First up was Boston's Guang Cui,
who showed off one of his many skills,
playing the violin.
[cheers and applause]
Guang's got a minor in music
but a major in computer science at MIT.
And he had his fellow students watching
as he mastered the first two obstacles.
- Come on, come on. Got it.
- Then the 21-year-old computer whiz
tried to calculate his moves through Air Surfer.
- Oh!
His calculation was off.
- Then the Hip Hop Ninja,
Jeremy Warters showed off his musical talent.
- * The games, I got Ninja in my veins *
* Get ready to see the games, ain't no stopping me today *
- Let's go!
- Warters is a rapper from Syracuse, New York,
who got a buzzer back in qualify.
And he had it flowing again tonight.
- Hip hop hooray.
- The 21-year-old rookie conquered Kaleidoscope.
[cheers and applause]
And got the extended play on the back half.
- OK, Jeremy.
- The rapper had no grip left
by the time he reached Ghost Town.
- Ooh.
- But Zuri got to tell him the party ain't over yet.
- I've got good news. You're headed to Vegas.
I'll see you in the National Finals.
Congratulations.
- Up next, one of Ninja's rising stars.
It's Connecticut's Jay "Lache" Lewis.
He just turned 18 and graduated from high school.
And tonight, he's ready to make a big announcement.
[upbeat music]
- So we're going to Quinnipiac first?
- Yeah, Quinnipiac, and then we're hitting
Fairfield after, right? - Oh, that'll be good.
- Like a lot of families in the last year of high school,
we've been doing a lot of campus visits.
- Hi, nice to meet you all.
Welcome to Quinnipiac. - Thank you. It's gorgeous.
- Thank you. - Appreciate it.
- What are you interested in school?
What are you looking for?
You'll be taking most of your classes in this building.
- * I've dreamed about this day *
- In a college, I want to make sure
that I'm still pretty close to home.
Obviously, a really good education.
And in general, I just want somewhere
where I feel like I fit in.
I applied to Quinnipiac, Fairfield,
University of Connecticut, Villanova, and Syracuse.
- You're in great hands. Welcome to our campus.
Enjoy. - Thank you.
- * This is gonna be my moment *
* Bound to touch the sky *
- Welcome to our library.
- * This just might be the best day of my life *
- It's pretty amazing watching Jay grow up.
We look back at old pictures of him competing
in Ninja competitions, and it really
has gone by very quickly.
- * The best day of my life *
- He's the new big man on campus.
- Let's go!
Ninja truly is the biggest thing in my life right now.
Something that was very important was
if there were any Ninja gyms nearby.
And I found a college that checks off all of those boxes.
If I'm able to complete this course tonight,
I will be announcing my decision for college
at the top of the Spider Trap.
* *
- You heard him.
He's going to announce his college choice tonight
if he hits a buzzer.
- He's putting pressure on himself.
- Ah, he loves pressure.
His dad and brother watching back in Connecticut.
Jay's mom and other Ninja friends on the sideline,
including training partner and mentor Joe Moravsky.
[countdown clock beeping]
Just an impressive young man. 5'4", 115. So strong.
- And Matt, expect Jay Lache to go for speed.
You know exactly what he wants.
He wants to get on that Power Tower.
- He made it there last year but lost out
to his friend, Joe Moravsky.
And Jay Lache could have used that Safety Pass
when he fell early on stage one.
He knows the value of a Safety Pass in Vegas.
[cheers and applause]
- And Joe's gonna be gunning for that Power Tower as well.
We could have a rematch.
- Again, Jay Lewis is only 5'4" and 115 pounds.
- I'ma go ahead and say that I don't think
Jay Lache can gas out.
If he makes a mistake tonight,
it's gonna be on a technical issue.
This kid is talented. - Such efficiency.
- Already at Spinning Bridge.
Look at that. Double thumbs up.
- Let's go, Jay! - Do it!
- On now to Kaleidoscope. A great pace to this point.
- But look at how he's keeping his Ls.
- Keeping his arms locked in the L position.
Bend them Ls right there.
- And we just see with these young ninjas,
this is why they're so good,
not just their motors but his approach.
He's got a veteran approach.
- Matt, are you watching what I'm watching?
He's not expending any energy.
Look at them Ls. Look at the technique.
- And long reaches there,
getting those hands in a great position.
- What the heck am I watching right now?
- 1/4 inch ledge, no problem.
Jay Lewis just annihilated those first five obstacles.
- Jay.
- He's busy, Akbar.
- Hey, are you even tired?
- He's too in the zone right now to even respond.
- Good run. Let's go!
- Come on, Jay!
- Whatever college gets him, they're gonna be thrilled
that he's bringing his talents there.
[cheers and applause]
On now to the back half of the course with Jay Lache.
As you said, it looks like he hasn't
even expended any energy.
He's looking strong. - Wow.
This is the best we've seen Jay Lache, Matt.
- Let's go. Go, go, go. - Here we go!
- And now grabbing hold of obstacle eight, Ghost Town.
Such a unique obstacle.
And Jay's looking up at those googly eyes.
- That ghost don't scare Jay Lache!
- But here's the big move, 18 inches up.
- Oh, boy! - He got it!
That was a challenge.
He's getting closer to a buzzer
and that college decision.
Right now, he's well ahead of Flip Rodriguez's pace,
and he has a chance to catch Josiah Pippel
for the fastest time.
- And look, he's going straight into Dragonback.
He ain't messing around with Spin Zone.
- Dragonback can eat up more time, though.
Now, this is such a technical obstacle,
keeping that bar straight.
We saw it in St. Louis end the runs
of many great ninjas.
- Ooh, this may be breathing that fire, man.
I don't know if he wants this smoke, man.
This one is hard. - Now it's a slide down.
Watch this slide. - Whoa!
- He just leapt it onto those bungee cords.
- You see the switch grip right there,
making sure, ensures that he doesn't peel off.
- Jay Lache looking so strong. Another big move.
- Matt, I'ma go ahead and say it.
This kid's got more heat than the dragon.
He's got more heat than the dragon.
- And Jay Lache, 35 feet away from finishing
another semifinals course!
[cheers and applause]
He's got a shot to beat Pippel's time.
And he is just annihilating.
He is looking like a graduate student
here at "Ninja Warrior."
- Yeah, well, whatever school gets this kid,
they are getting a winner.
Finished first in the semifinals last year.
Looking like he's gonna try for a repeat tonight.
50-pound door on one side, 50-pound on the other.
- Ooh, that boy got stronger since last year.
- Jay Lache! - Let's go!
- Our third finisher, and it's the fastest of the night!
[cheers and applause]
What a performance by this 18-year-old.
Jay Lache!
Now, we know you got a decision coming up
because you're no longer a high schooler.
You're going to college.
And we were just wondering, where you going?
- Yeah, where you going, man?
Uh-oh, what's this? What's this?
- I've decided to go to Syracuse University.
- The Orangemen! - Oh!
- Wearing the orange S for Syracuse.
- Matt, that's what I call an announcement right there!
- Yeah! Let's go!
- Jay, right now it'd be you and Josiah Pippel
on the Power Tower, but Joe Moravsky's coming up.
Could we see a rematch?
- Ooh, I want a rematch on that bad boy.
[laughter]
[cheers and applause]
- Hit that buzzer again, Jay.
- That boy going to college!
- So Jay Lache may be headed to the Power Tower.
Will his buddy, Joe Moravsky go too?
We'll see Joe next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Plenty of excitement from our final runners tonight.
19-year-old James Burns is a LEGO fanatic,
and he made us custom microphones
built out of LEGO bricks.
- James Burns just made us the dopest
LEGO microphone I've ever seen.
- Here we go.
- Zuri's didn't work as well as ours,
but it was the thought that counts.
On the course, Burns put together an impressive run.
- It Burns! It Burns!
- And the Massachusetts native ran his way
to the fifth obstacle, where he let go
of the final piece on Kaleidoscope.
- No! [air horn blares]
- It was a strong run.
He didn't quite get through it,
but I think we're keeping these as souvenirs.
Next was one of our strongest young competitors,
Rhode Island's Luke Dillon.
- I see you, Luke Dillon. - Let's go, Luke!
- The college student was eliminated
at the Spinning Bridge in last year's semifinals,
but he wasn't gonna let it happen again tonight.
- No! Oh! Yes! A flip.
Look at it again. He went upside down!
- With that obstacle behind him,
the 20-year-old turned it on,
powering his way to the back half of the course.
- I guess Luke Dillon's now a Ghostbuster.
- And after going back and forth
several times at Split Decision...
- He's giving it a second thought.
- He finally settled on Dragonback, and it worked.
- Nice. - And Dillon climbed the tower
to become the night's fourth finisher.
[buzzer blares] - Let's go!
- Well, Luke Dillon, you're gonna be
dealing in Vegas, man.
[buzzer blares]
- Dillon's time did not get him into the top two,
so right now the Power Tower would feature
teenagers Jay Lewis and Josiah Pippel.
But our final runner may have something to say about that.
Zuri, get him going.
- You'll see a lot of stars
at Universal Studios, but there is none bigger
to Ninja fans than our next athlete.
I'm talking the Weatherman, Joe Moravsky.
Like the tornado behind him, he's been a force of nature.
He's hit 28 buzzers in his career,
more than any other ninja.
- And there's the family watching back in Connecticut.
His mom there with his wife and three kids.
His dad Joe is on the sideline
with training partner Jay Lache,
who's gonna be on the Power Tower.
We could see a rematch between Jay and Joe.
Now, the Weatherman won their race last year.
[countdown clock beeping]
Needs to beat Pippel's time
of 4 minutes, 10 seconds to get on the Power Tower.
Moravsky has been so remarkably consistent.
I look at he and Flex Labreck as two
of the most mentally tough ninjas out here.
- And Matt, a lot of people believe Joe Moravsky
was supposed to win it all years ago.
You talked about his consistency.
Can he put it all together?
- Has made it to the National Finals
every time he's competed.
Made it to stage three five times,
been the Last Ninja Standing twice.
Disappointed last year when he went out
on a balance obstacle in stage two.
Good correction there with the board.
- Nice move, Joe. Let's go. Keep moving.
- Now Spinning Bridge.
- Good job on the balance obstacle.
[cheers and applause]
He wants that Power Tower.
- Yeah, he's listening to us. - There he is.
Watch this. - Let's go, Joe.
- This is Joe Moravsky, the Weatherman,
turning to Kaleidoscope like a tornado.
- 33 years old, looking to go up against Jay Lache.
They battled on the Power Tower last time.
Moravsky looking strong here on Kaleidoscope.
Moving efficiently, the clock ticking.
That Safety Pass was key. He needed it.
- Yeah, if he didn't have that Safety Pass,
Matt, it's a whole different story.
- He would have been out on stage one.
- Still has plenty of time if he wants to get
to the Power Tower.
A quick break, and now he's headed to the back half.
- He's in the zone right now. He looks serious.
[cheers and applause]
- He's finished the semifinals course
four of the last five years.
- You got it, Joe.
- He knows the value of the Safety Pass.
- It can be $1 million difference.
Now the Salmon Ladder. Should be no problem.
Everyone in this crowd watching Joe
and keeping an eye on the clock.
He's still got time to beat Pippel,
but these last few obstacles can really eat up the seconds.
- Well, you know he wants that shot at the Power Tower.
That's what Joe Moravsky's about.
He wants to compete in the Power Tower.
He wants to show that he's still elite.
He ain't gonna let these young boys just run the course.
- Well, if he can dismount off Ghost Town,
he'll secure a spot in the top 15.
And he's done it.
He is definitely moving on to Vegas.
Now he can focus on getting to the Power Tower.
- What's he gonna do at Split Decision?
I think he's gonna go for it, Spin Zone,
because it's gonna be the quickest way to ensure
that he gets the time and gets to the Power Tower.
Oh. - No.
He's calculating that he can get through Dragonback
and still have time to get up the Spider Trap
and beat Pippel's time.
- Hey, he trusts his upper-body strength.
Doesn't want to risk it on Spin Zone.
I'm sure that he's starting to feel the pump.
Is he gonna slide it down, or is he gonna--oh, nice.
- Good control. Watch the right side of that bar.
It's barely on. Good correction.
That's the challenge on Dragonback,
and the bar favoring the left side still, Akbar.
That right side clinging on.
Oh! - Oh, my gosh!
Joe Moravsky's down! - Eaten up by the dragon.
The Weatherman will not go to the Power Tower.
He's obviously disappointed,
but the good news, he's still going to Vegas.
- Well, this is one of the most
grip-intensive courses we've ever had.
And you can just see Joe's fingers gave out
on Dragonback, sending the Weatherman into a twister.
- So our Power Tower match-up is set.
Teenagers Jay Lewis and Josiah Pippel
will race for the Safety Pass.
And our tower has been redesigned.
It starts by pushing a hundred-pound sled,
which leads to the Switchback.
Then it's a big rope swing across to start the climb
up the columns to the Cliffhanger.
Followed by the Pipe Climb,
and the Dropping Shelves to reach the buzzer.
And we'll see it in action for the first time
next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Universal Studios.
We're gonna end our first night
of semifinals on a high note.
It's our first chance to see the redesigned Power Tower.
And the first to try it will be two teenagers,
Jay "Lache" Lewis and Josiah Pippel.
Now, both raced and lost on the Power Tower last year.
- There's some big differences between these two.
Jay's only 115 pounds and 5'4".
So he's 35 pounds lighter,
but 8 inches shorter than Josiah.
[dramatic music]
- We both know what it's like to lose on a Power Tower,
and neither of us is gonna want that to happen again.
- It's still neck and neck.
Oh, my, Vance Walker!
- Jay Lache is still coming. He ain't giving up.
- Last year, I was definitely just excited to be there,
and that was not enough.
- Oh, my goodness!
- This year, it's gonna be serious.
- Jay's got a weight advantage.
I've got a height advantage,
but we each have our strengths and weaknesses.
- Jay Lache continues to rise.
- He's got one of the meanest game faces
I've ever seen, and he is a really strong athlete.
It's gonna create a really awesome match-up.
- This is the big move.
- Having that Safety Pass is gonna be a big deal this year.
- Blind grab, blind grab.
both: Oh!
- I know from last year that mistakes
are very easy to be made in Vegas.
There's nothing you can do once you fall in that water.
- Oh, no!
- One of us is walking away without a Safety Pass
for the second straight year,
and I definitely don't want that to be me.
* *
- So they're gonna move into position.
- Good luck to you. - You too.
- Crush it. - Classy.
Jay Lewis will be starting on the right, the red side.
Josiah Pippel will be on the left, the blue side.
- I can't wait to see them in action
on this redesigned Power Tower.
Lots of new twists to this one.
- As you saw last season,
Jay Lache went out on stage one.
Josiah went out on stage two.
Both of them would have loved to have had that Safety Pass.
Here's a chance to earn it this year.
- Matt, you can feel the tension.
[countdown clock beeping]
- First new element are these hundred-pound sleds.
And Pippel a slight edge there,
but let's see what happens in the Switchbacks.
- Oh, in the Switchbacks, you got to be nimble
through the Switchback. Oh, boy.
- And you can see Pippel first up the ramp.
- Here we goes. Josiah, using them long legs.
Now into the rope swing.
- They need to get over to the other side,
work their way across, and then climb up the column.
[audience shouting]
Pippel using those long limbs. Just a slight edge.
Can he sustain it? Going to the Cliffhanger.
- Oh, boy.
Jay Lewis is right there,
and he's flying through Cliffhanger.
- And Lache has made it up,
but Pippel first on the Pipe Climb.
- Oh, boy. - Just a slight edge.
Watch it here on the Dropping Shelves.
- Back and forth!
- And Lache makes the move first!
- His name is Jay Lache!
This is where he can win!
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
[buzzer blares] - And Jay Lewis wins it.
- That was so close! - Jay Lache edges out Pippel!
- Oh!
- One of the closest races
we've ever seen on the Power Tower.
- Matt, that was way too much drama for your mama,
way too much drama for Hollywood.
Look at this.
Josiah used his size advantage
on the sleds, took the early lead,
and he was able to keep it
as they swung across and started climbing.
At Dropping Shelves,
Josiah still had a slight lead.
But look at Jay's technique, going sideways.
That allowed him to catch up.
They both dove for the buzzer,
but right there, Jay barely beat him.
- Just over a tenth of a second separated them,
and Jay Lache will get that coveted Safety Pass.
We'll see both of them in Vegas.
And joining them will be the other finishers from tonight,
the 12-time veteran Flip Rodriguez
and 20-year-old Luke Dillon.
Non-finishers moving on include
the Weatherman, Joe Moravsky, along with the Phoenix,
Philadelphia's Najee Richardson.
And teenager Cal Plohoros is getting a new car
because he earned his first trip to Vegas.
Abby Clark finished 15th,
and the other two women joining her
are 16-year-old Addy Herman
and schoolteacher Rachel Degutz.
So that wraps up our first night of semifinals.
For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall,
I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you next time on "American Ninja Warrior."
[dramatic music]
* *