All language subtitles for American.Ninja.Warrior.S13E08.720p.WEB.h264-KOGi

- Welcome to the backlot at
Universal Studios Hollywood,

our home for the semifinals
on "American Ninja Warrior."

Hello, everyone.
And thanks for being with us.

I'm Matt Iseman.
- And Akbar Gbajabiamila.

Matt, this is where
the movie magic happens,

and we may see some ninjas
show some magic tonight.

- Well, the plot tonight:
journey far enough

to make it to the third part
of our trilogy,

the national finals in Vegas,
and have a shot

at the blockbuster
million-dollar prize.

- And we're gonna see
some ninjas tonight

who can absolutely win it all,

including the heavy metal rocker

from Orlando, R.J. Roman.

- Let's go!

- The Papal Ninja,

Catholic church worker
Sean Bryan.

- He's done it!

- They're gonna be pushed
by some talented teenagers,

including the two-time
"Ninja Junior" champion,

16-year-old Vance Walker.

- This kid is the real deal!

- We're also gonna see
the winner

of our women's championship,

rock climber and model
Meagan Martin.

- Meagan Martin has done it!

Our semifinals course
is made up of ten obstacles,

and we've switched up
the choices

they'll face at Split Decision.

For all the details,
let's go down to Zuri Hall.

- That's right, guys.

If the ninjas reach
the ninth obstacle,

they'll face two new options
at Split Decision.

On one side is the draining
upper-body obstacle,

the Dungeon.

Both: No!

- Or the ninjas take
their chances on the quicker

but riskier balance obstacle,
Diving Boards.

- Oh! Face plant!

- And at the end of the night,

we move to the 40-foot monster,

the Power Tower,

home to some of the most
intense head-to-head races

in ninja history.

The winner earns a safety pass,

which gives them a second chance

if they fall on stage one
or two at the national finals.

- I got this guy.
I'm coming back.

- Zuri, get our
first runner going.

- No doubt they are
turning the TV on

at the Vatican right now,
because heading

to the start line is
the Papal Ninja, Sean Bryan.

Ninja fans know him as one of
the best athletes in the sport.

And now, the northern California

Catholic church worker
has combined

his lifetime of service
and his love of ninja

into a new way
to help his community.

- I recently opened up a gym
in Richmond, California

called Traverse Fitness,
and it is massive.

- It's just a fun playground.

- Richmond, California, is
a very underserved community.

- And I wanted to bring life
and vitalization to Richmond.

Today we have kids coming in

from the Salesian Boys
and Girls Club.

Are you guys ready to go in?
All: Yeah!

- All right.
Let's do this. Come on.

- They came in and they
saw how big the gym was

and were really excited
about that.

It's humongous!

- Even in the warmup,
there were smiles,

and there... they started
to pound the ground,

and just playfulness.

all: Beat that wall!
Beat that wall!

- Go! Go, dude! Nice.

Bringing a sense
of encouragement to kids

who sometimes don't get that
at home is really life-giving.

- It's more than just playing
and having a great time.

It's giving their soul
a place in the world.

- Tonight, I might be
competing in Los Angeles...

After today, you are all
officially ninjas.

- But I know I have

a whole bunch of new fans
back in Richmond.

High fives all around.

- Gotta love Sean Bryan.

And, of course,
those kids he helps

are gonna be watching
from back in Richmond.

Sean's parents never miss
one of his runs.

- Let's go!
Here you go, big guy!

- And another big supporter
is Father Michael Sweeney,

one of the priests
Sean works with.

And a bow over
to his roommate, Adam Rayl,

who's on the sideline.

And as he does before every run,

the former gymnast
raises his hand, bows,

and then sets his watch.
[countdown clock beeping]

- Go, Sean!
- This guy can go fast.

And believe me, he wants
to get to the Power Tower.

Did it a couple years ago
in Tacoma.

- And getting to
the Power Tower is a big deal.

Why? Because you get a chance
to compete

for that Safety Pass.

Sean Bryan knows it could help
him win a million dollars.

And he's a threat to win it all.

- He's come close before.
Made it to stage three twice.

- And those kids
would love to see it!

- Now jumping up
to take on Ring Chaser.

And look at that good pace.

- Nice!
- Got the ring.

- And, Matt, you can see
he's got a watch on,

because he always likes
to keep track of his time.

That's a veteran move.

You don't see a lot of ninjas
wearing a watch.

- The kids have the chant going

as the former gymnast
from Cal-Berkeley

approaches Diamond Dash.

All: Let's go, Sean! Let's go!
- Nice.

- He's got his foot
on the accelerator.

- Yes, he does.

- I don't think
speeding is a sin, is it?

No, it's not a sin.

- But this next obstacle
will slow you down.

It's Drop Zone.

Got to slide the pipes around.

And you saw him
keeping his head to the side.

- Yeah, and he took that one
to the chest.

He got up above and got it up
near the chest area.

- Now onto this middle bar.

And you have
to prepare yourself.

There's another big drop
coming on this one.

Whoa!
- Oh, my goodness!

- And he took it!
- Sha-bah-nah!

- Wow!
- Whoa!

- He's hurting.

- Am I bleeding?
- Did you hear that?

"Is it bleeding?"

Oh! Got another one.

And he does have a cut
above his eye.

- Yeah, he does have a cut,

and I think
he might be bleeding.

- Oh, that blood
is really coming down.

- Oh, my goodness.

- Oh, my God.

- You good, Sean?
- Yeah.

- Matt, let's take another look

at this hellacious blow.

You can see, he was on
the inside of the bar

instead of the outside,

so when that thing dropped,
it hit him right in the face.

- And you can see,
that gash is bad.

But he's gonna fight through it
and take on the Warped Wall.

- Get that wall.
Beat that wall.

- This dude is a warrior.
This man has no quit.

- And a misstep there.

And just barely gets up
the Warped Wall.

Sean Bryan is shaken up.

- Yeah, yeah, Matt.
I mean, with that type of cut

right now, he doesn't have
a cut man in his corner,

but I can tell you, the blood
starts to drip in the eye,

it can mess with your
confidence on an obstacle.

- And you can see his mom.
She's worried sick.

Rubbing that blood in.

- That's a pretty
nice laceration

right there above the eye,
but he doesn't care.

He's going for it.

- Well, this guy's been
a two-time

Super Salmon Ladder champion
in the Skills Challenge.

- Ooh!
- Skipping a rung... wow!

- Matt, he just wants
to get out of there.

- And fights his way to
the top of the Salmon Ladder.

Now facing this tricky
eighth obstacle, Padlock.

Got to swing up
and grab the circles.

- This is what it means
to endure through tough times.

You can see,
not making any excuses.

Oh!
- Whoa.

Not using his feet at all!

- Yeah, you see him now
trying to control it.

He's gotta use his knees
and get that up there.

- That was impressive.
What a recovery, Akbar.

- With a cut on his face, Matt,

this looks like
1960s NFL football.

- Trying to figure out
how to get that hand down,

make the drop.

- Nice.
- We've seen his skills.

What we're seeing right now
is his heart.

- He's got one more to go!

- Got it!

Now just has to hang on
and rotate this around.

Sean Bryan is
gonna get through this!

And he's through!

- Nice. Nice job.

- Look at that.
Mama can't believe it!

And neither can those kids.

Sean Bryan, the blood continues

to pour down his face.

And checking the watch.

Still thinking about
getting to that Power Tower.

Now, he faces Split Decision.

- Which way you gonna go?

Diving Boards on the inside,

and on the outside,
you've got the Dungeon.

- Sean Bryan going
to the Dungeon.

- No pain, no gain.
No pain, no gain!

No pain, no gain!

- Hold up, did I just hear
the kid say,

"No pain, no gain"?

He's taught them well.

- Well, the Dungeon
can definitely cause pain.

Gotta climb up the pegs.

Once you reach the top,
the panel will flatten out.

- He knows that he's got
the upper-body strength

to get through it.

- Sean Bryan fighting through.

This is where the challenge
really escalates.

With these poles
pointing straight down,

there is nothing to keep
your hands from slipping off.

Sean Bryan's grip looks
rock solid, like his faith.

Yes, it does.

- Look at that face.

Gotta swing over
to the final panel.

Yes!
- Yes! Yes!

- Rotating around!

- Open that!

- Oh, my!

And he's gonna pause
for a prayer.

And I don't blame him!

He's had some
divine intervention

to survive this run.

Has a chance to finish our
very first run of the night,

but still has to climb 35 feet
up the Spider Trap.

What determination!

- If you want to take
a picture of determination,

it would look
just like Sean Bryan.

Sean! Sean! Sean!

- Oh, my goodness.
- Blood in your face,

and still focused on the goal.

- Look at this, Akbar!
He is risen.

The Papal Ninja's gonna do it.
What an incredible run!

- He never gave up.
He never quit.

- The Papal Ninja's
going to Sin City!

- Yes! Yeah!

- Yeah, Sean!
Good job.

- Yes!
- Nice, Sean! Whoo-hoo!

- The first buzzer of the night,

from our first run of the night.

- Unbelievable.

- Sean, this turned from ninja
to a boxing match.

I mean, you got cut
on your face.

What kept you going?

- I don't know.
I'm just hungry, you know?

Just gotta have it this year.

Mount Midoriyama, here I come.

- Oh, okay!
Calling it out right here.

- You better back your bags,

'cause you're going back
to Vegas, Seanie!

- He took a blow on Drop Zone,

and then dealt with the blood.

But nothing was gonna stop
Sean Bryan.

He showed the way
on the eighth obstacle,

the ninth obstacle,

and got a buzzer
on our first run of the night.

- Tonight's semifinal
is so good,

it's scary.

- Oh, he's
a little mad scientist.

- We've got ninja all-stars,
present...

- The Queen of Ninja,
Meagan Martin.

- And future...

Speed Walker!

- Let's go!

- All fighting to win a spot
at the national finals.

- Oh, my goodness!

- But it won't be easy.

- Oh! Got hit in the head.

Oh! Ooh!

- It's a night of surprises...

He's gonna be a dad!

- Oh!

- On "American Ninja Warrior."

- Welcome back to Los Angeles.

Moments ago,
Atlanta's Brad Giles

shook things up
at the start line.

- Oh, oh.
Get it, get it, get it.

- The energetic 38-year-old
healthcare CEO

made it to the semifinals
as a rookie.

- Nice.

- But he was put out of business

by the Double Twister.

- Ooh! No!

Rejected! Rejected!

- Florida rocker Josh Wagg
lived up to his nickname...

The Death Metal Ninja.

- Look at him, Matt.
He looks possessed.

- The 25-year-old rookie
from Orlando

rocked the early obstacles...

- Oh, that death metal stuff
is serious.

- But got rolled by Ring Chaser.

- Oh, he missed that.

- Megan Budway's
also a musician,

though she took
a more soft rock approach.

- Whoa! Okay!

- You got this.

- The elementary school music
teacher from North Carolina

hit some high notes
on the course.

- Megan Budway
making her own way.

- And the first-year ninja
made it

to the fourth obstacle.

- Here we go.
Boom, boom, boom... oh.

- Dang it.
I thought I had it.

- Well, our next ninja
has something to say.

This is Francisco Barajas,
a swimming pool technician.

And you can see on his shirt,
he's the One Percent Ninja,

because he represents the 1%
of Americans who stutter.

- I've lacked confidence
in the past

because of my stutter.

- A lot of things that
are easy to most people,

like talking,
having conversations,

I have a hard time with them.

- Can I get you guys anything
to start off with?

- Can I get a charcuterie board?

Dealing with, like, a stutter,

it's like overcoming
an obstacle every day.

Oh, yeah.

- Ninja really
gave me confidence again,

doing something I love,
doing something

I never thought
I'd have the chance to do,

but I am doing it.

- Boop.
All right. Get it.

Go, go, go, go, go.

- Brian and Jose,
two of my best friends,

we've been training partners
for the last two, three years.

- There, there. Good.
Go, go, go, go, go.

- Honestly, it means everything

having that support...

Through my journey.

- Oh, nice. Ooh.

- Good strong start there
on Shrinking Steps.

- Yeah!
- Oh, Matt, he ain't playing.

- One at a time, baby.

One at a time.
Come on, Francisco!

- I'm hoping that
I can be that person

that people see on TV
and be like,

"Man, like, if he can
take control of the stutter

"and not have it
control his life,

I'd be able to do that too."

- Yeah! Let's go!
- Let's do it!

- Smack! Buzzers.
- The buzzer?

- Hey!
- Buzzers for days.

- This is a ninja
who has found his voice.

And as you saw,
he's got some great friends.

- Whoo! Yeah!

- There they are
on the sidelines,

the two ninjas he trains with,

Jose Gomez and Brian Montagnese.

And a lot of support up
in Northern California...

- Come on, Chico.
- Including his mom and dad...

- You got this, son.
- And his girlfriend.

- Matt, he doesn't let
stuttering stop him

from his dream of becoming

the next American Ninja Warrior.

- Whoo! Nice catch.
- Let's go, Francisco!

- Come on.

- Had no problem
on the Shrinking Steps,

but now it's Double Twister.

Needs to fly across
these twisting handles.

- You got this.
- You got it.

- Barajas talked about
how the stutter

actually impacts him
athletically.

His lungs can sometimes feel
like they're constricting.

- There you go.
- And he's through.

- Yeah!
- Let's go! Here we go!

- He's on to the third
obstacle, Ring Chaser.

When he jumps up,
the ring will start rolling.

- Nice. There it is.
- Go, go, go, go! Go, go!

- It's okay, it's okay.
- You're good.

- Missed the ring.
That's okay.

But now he'll have to use
the smaller ring,

which does make it
a little tougher.

Keep one hand on the bar
to build up the momentum,

pull back, give it a good swing.

- All right, come on.
- Launch.

Great job!

- Nice!
- Let's go, Francisco!

- There you go!

- Barajas now facing
the balance obstacle,

Diamond Dash.

Taking a deep breath.

- All right, quick feet. Nice.
Fall forward.

Oh, my!
- Oh, my goodness!

- That was a faceplant!

- And he's smiling.
- You good?

You faceplanted on that one.

- There you go.
There you go.

- Barajas moving on

to the new obstacle, Drop Zone.

- You got it.

- He saw what this did
to Sean Bryan minutes ago.

They drop hard.

Just like that.
And it is a jolt.

Now got to swing over
to the middle bar.

- Nice.
- Now he's moving

side-to-side.
He needs to kind of

get going north and south.

- You got it.
Big up!

Yes! Yes!
- Whoa! Yes.

- That's impressive!

- Gotta slide this around
and brace for another drop.

- Watch out with the drop,
okay? There it is.

- He handled that well.
- You got this.

- You can see right there,
he's going one-handed here,

to try to give his arm
a little rest.

- There you go, Francisco.
There you go.

- Needs to swing up
to that last bar.

- All day. All day.
- All day.

And up.
- Whoo!

- Good long reach.
That 6'0" frame.

- Just the way he's moving,

he's got his ninja movement
on point.

- Drop. Here it comes...
There it is.

- Ooh, and there was
that final drop.

This is a tough new obstacle,

but Barajas is figuring it out.

He just needs the dismount.

And he's through.

- Yeah! Whoo!
- Let's go! Let's go!

- This is the first time

he's faced a Warped Wall
in competition.

- Come on.
- Get up that wall! Let's go!

- Come on.
- You got it, Francisco!

- Let's go. Let's go.
- You're good.

You got this, Francisco.

- Come on. Come on.
- All right. Come on.

- And you just know there's
some kids watching this,

they struggle
with a speech impediment.

Seeing him out here,
truly fearless,

crushing this course,
sharing his story...

- Makes a difference, Akbar.

- Yeah!

Look at him!
Yeah! Take it in.

If only I did that weeks ago.

- Hey, but you're doing it now!

- Exactly.
- Yeah, come on.

- Better late than never.
- Yes, sir!

And Matt, you can tell,
not stuttering.

Very confident right now.
- Oh, you heard it.

- That says a lot about
what's going on inside of him.

- Let's go, Francisco.

Come on now.
- Come on, Francisco.

- Good job, mijo.

Proud of you, son.

- But now he starts
the final four obstacles.

First up is the Salmon Ladder.

- You got it.

- Gotta jump it up four rungs.

- Yes.
- Yes.

Come on. Breathe.

Nice.
- You got this.

- Ooh!
- One more.

Both: Ooh!
- Watch out! Watch out!

- Oh, this is gonna be
an impressive save.

- My goodness!
- Corrects it!

- Ooh!
- And there it is!

He may be fearless, but he is
flirting with disaster.

- He is, Matt.

- Nice save, Francisco!
- Nice save. Nice save.

- Now it's the eighth
obstacle, Padlock.

Need a good grip, because
these padlocks will spin.

Can he...

- You know what?
That was still an awesome run.

- Good job, mijo.
Good job.

- And we'll see, he may have
gone far enough fast enough

to earn a trip
to the national finals.

- He survived some close calls
on Ring Chaser

and on Diamond Dash,

and then again
on the Salmon Ladder.

He never got a grip on Padlock,

but still, a great run
by the One Percent Ninja.

- And his buddies coming over
to show their support.

- Wow, look at that.
That's friendship.

That's ninja right there.

- She's a model, a rock climber,

an Olympic commentator,

and one heck of a ninja.

- And Meagan Martin's coming up

on "American Ninja Warrior."

- We're here on the Universal
Studios backlot in Los Angeles

and are thrilled that
Universal Studios Hollywood

is open and welcoming guests
back to the theme park

to experience
the amazing new Indominus Rex

on Jurassic World: The Ride.

- Plus, you gotta check out

Universal Orlando Resort
in Florida,

where you can now ride
Jurassic World: Velocicoaster,

the apex predator
of roller coasters.

- Our next athlete is about
to put a charge in the night,

Electric Enzo Wilson.

You can see his middle name,
DeFerrari.

This kid is fast.

And a few weeks ago,
in qualifying,

when he just turned 15,

he made history as the
youngest ever to hit a buzzer.

And oh, yeah,
he's also saving the planet.

- I've grown up on the ocean
my whole life.

My backyard course is
on the Gulf of Mexico,

so it's awesome to be able
to train on the ocean,

especially with
my ocean conservation work.

I was six years old

and I was invited
to my first beach cleanup,

and that's when
I really figured out

how much trash was on the beach.

If we ever went to the beach
for leisure,

I would have to pick up trash.

Today, we're doing this
awesome beach cleanup.

It's such a passion of mine.

I now have my own organization

called Ocean Needs Everyone,

which I started
three years ago now.

So let's go pick up some trash.

- Beach cleanups
are really important

because if we don't pick up
all the trash on this beach,

it could seriously affect
the creatures and ecosystems

that are in our oceans.

Just because you're young

does not mean
you can't make a difference.

I'm the youngest ninja ever
on "Ninja Warrior,"

and I'm just getting started
as an ocean conservationist.

The plan is to keep plastic

and myself
out of the water tonight.

- Enzo's got lots of folks
watching this run,

including his mom, sister,
and grandma back in Florida.

Another top teenager,
Elijah Browning,

also showing support.

Elijah's already punched
his ticket to Vegas.

And on the sideline,
Enzo's dad...

- Come on, buddy!
Let's go, Enzo!

- Along with his coach,
R.J. Roman.

- You got this!
- Come on, buddy!

Let's go, Enzo!

- Ten teens have
already qualified

for the national finals.

Enzo's hoping to join them.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- Extra swing.

- Okay. Nice.
All right.

- Oh, yeah!

- 5'8", 130 pounds.

He's bulked up since
we first saw him, Akbar.

4'11", 100 pounds
when we saw him competing

on "American
Ninja Warrior Junior."

- Well, that's three years ago.

He's grown since then.

- Quickly off Double Twister.

- Right hand moves first.

- Watch him race out
to get that ring.

- Still got peach fuzz.

Missed the ring.

- Surprising.

Looked like he was moving
at a good clip there.

Difficulty level goes up.

Much smaller diameter
for this ring.

- Nice.
- No problem.

- All right, Enzo!
Let's go!

- Now stepping up
to face Diamond Dash.

- Nice and straight.
You got this, Enzo.

- Go, go, go, go, go, go!
Yes!

- And he gets through.

His family hanging
on every step.

Now, it's this
new obstacle, Drop Zone.

You gotta hang on for dear life
as these pipes drop.

That's a shock
when it comes down.

- Now got to swing over
to the middle bar.

Got it.

The top 15 from tonight,

those who go the farthest
the fastest,

will move on
to the national finals.

The top two tonight will
face off on the Power Tower

at the end of the night.

- He's a smart kid.

Barely 15 and working
to save the planet.

I think he can figure out
this obstacle.

Whoa! There's the drop.

- You got this!
- Looking good!

- Still needs the dismount.

And he's through.

- Yes! Let's go!

- Now facing the Warped Wall.

- You got it, Enzo.

- Catch your breath.

All: Beat that wall!
Beat that wall!

- And no problem
for the 15-year-old!

- I see you, Enzo.
- I see you, Akbar.

- Hey, you know what
your name means, right?

You know what Enzo means, right?

- Winner!
- Yeah, that's right.

Enzo means "winner" in Italian.

- That would have been funny
if he had no idea.

He's like, "No, I just thought
it sounded cool."

- You can see the family
back in Florida. Look at them.

They are all bunched up
together.

They're nervous.

- He's got four more obstacles
to go,

starting with the Salmon Ladder.

- All right.
Muscle up now.

Big, big, big,
authoritative moves.

- Gets through it.

- Yeah!
- Go, Enzo! All right!

- Let's go, Enzo! Come on!

- And Mom's gonna be
really nervous

about this next obstacle,
Padlock.

It is so difficult
to control the spin.

- Yeah!
- Nice.

- Watch out.
Watch out.

Nice.
- Great job.

Check his flexibility here
on the mount.

- Oh, no.
Watch out, watch out.

- Those hands are awkward!
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

Enzo?!

Went into a spin
and couldn't stop it.

He's disappointed,

but still a great run
by the 15-year-old.

- All right, all right.
- Great job, Enzo!

That's all right!
- Way to go!

- This run nearly ended
on the first obstacle.

He missed the rope
with his right hand,

but was able to recover

and came back strong
on the next six obstacles.

But on Padlock,
got turned sideways

and couldn't recover.

I'm not sure
if that's gonna be fast enough.

I really hope so.

- Welcome back
to the semifinals,

where three ninja veterans
took their shot minutes ago.

The Mermaid Ninja,
Charity LeBlanc,

always makes a splash.

The social influencer lives
on a boat with her family,

and she was sailing
at the start.

- Powerful. Nice.
She got it.

- But after making
it to the semifinals

for the first time,

this three-time veteran was sunk

when she slipped off
Ring Chaser.

Matt, she is bedazzled
and befuddled!

- Then it was the oldest
competitor in this semifinals,

58-year-old Glenn Davis.

- He doesn't move
like a 58-year-old.

- The gym owner from Atlanta
was trying to become

the oldest ever to qualify
for the national finals.

- Yeah!
- Whoa! Okay!

- Davis is a former
college gymnast

who's never fallen
on a balance obstacle...

- He's gotta go.
He's gotta go.

He's gotta... oh! Oh!
Oh, oh!

- Until tonight.
- Aw, man.

- Then, it was another
elder statesman,

43-year-old David Campbell.

- That's my ninja right there.

- Campbell's competed
on every season,

but he's never had a run
quite like tonight.

- Oh!
- Oh, my goodness.

Took a shot right in the eye.

- The Godfather was more
like Rocky on Drop Zone,

as he took blow after blow.

Ooh!
- Oh, my goodness!

And now he got hit in the head!

This thing is turning
into a boxing match!

- Come on, David. Fight.

- Bloodied but unbowed,

the 13-time veteran
kept fighting till the end.

- That's his battle move.

- When his foot hit the water,
his night was over,

and likely, so were his chances

of going back to Vegas.

- Oh, my goodness.

- Well, this is
16-year-old Nate Pardo,

jumping up onto Drop Zone,

and he just watched what this
did to David Campbell.

And you can see that drop
caught him a little unawares,

but able to hold on.

- Nice adjustment.

Learning from
Campbell's mistake.

Staying on the outside
of that bar.

- This is a smart kid.

About to start his senior year
of high school.

Works on the school newspaper.

May want to write about himself
making it to the semifinals.

Gets the final bar.
Now the drop... ooh!

But hangs on.

You can see him using
his lower body

to control his momentum.

And he is through.

- Whoo!
- There's his mom.

She's as pumped as he is.

And Nate Pardo goes
for his first Warped Wall.

And he got it.
- Okay, Nate!

Another one of our teenagers
headed to the back half.

- He's got his dad watching
back in Massachusetts,

along with his older brother.

You can see great hair
runs in the family.

- Man, we first saw him

on "American Ninja Warrior
Junior" season one.

He was the runner-up
to Vance Walker,

who we'll see later.

- Nate attends
a well-known school,

Cambridge Rindge and Latin.

Famous alumni include
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

- Oh, okay!
- You can see that shirt.

"Don't Par-think.
Just Par-do."

- Okay! Par-do!
I like that.

- You got this, Nate!

- Pardo now ready
for the Salmon Ladder.

- There you go, Nate.

- Look at that!
Skipping rungs!

- Okay, Skippy!

- This is a kid who's not
afraid to take some risks.

- Yeah, he made some big moves.

- Watch the control here.
This is a challenge.

- Gotta control it. Nice.
- Excellent.

That was real smooth.

A lot of problems here
on this second padlock.

Ooh!
- Watch out. Watch out now.

Anticipate this roll now

and being able
to get it centered

so you can drop down to that
little lip at the bottom.

- You can see him
dropping his hips down,

trying to help him control
that spin on the tumbler.

That is just incredible body
awareness out of Nate Pardo.

- Oh! Watch out.
- Locks it in.

Gotta rotate it 180,
go for the dismount.

- Oh! Whoa, watch out!
He's fighting with it.

He's wrestling with it, Matt.

- Nate Pardo about to conquer
the eighth obstacle.

And he's through!

- Let's go! Come on!

- Let's go.
He's ready.

- Now the 16-year-old
is facing Split Decision.

Will it be Dungeon
or Diving Boards?

- Only one ninja last week
picked balance obstacle.

But look, he's going straight
for it.

- A bold move here, big man.

- He's going right for it.
That's it.

- I beg your Pardo!

- So close!
Good job!

- A great run by Nate Pardo,
but he comes up just short.

- On Diving Boards,
you want to land

right in the middle,
right here, above the spring.

But Pardo came up short,
and it tripped him up.

But that run should be good
enough to get him to Vegas.

- Strutting up to the start
line is Brittney Durant.

And as you can see,
she's got a style all her own.

Though only 20 years old,

she's got her own clothing line,

and she's got some moves.

- I absolutely love to dance.

I started competitive dancing
when I was about 11 years old.

It's definitely hard to juggle
being a ninja myself

and a dancer
and running a small business.

I started a clothing company
as the artist.

I actually started
drawing something up.

- That looks so cool.

- My mom was her own boss,
and I always looked up to her.

We have combined
to create Xpressionz.

I talk to the manufacturers,
create the website,

and package, send things out,
make things more personalized.

- You're learning fast.
I'm so impressed.

- I'm making this happen,
and I'm following my dreams

in dance, designing clothes,
and in ninja.

- I would love to be
an inspiration

to young girls out there
to follow their passion.

I'm definitely gonna dance
my way to a buzzer tonight,

in style.

- Brittney's got a big group
of supporters up in Vacaville,

including her mom and brother,

and on the sidelines,

fellow ninjas Brian Kretsch
and Meagan Martin.

One obstacle at a time.

- We'll see both those
veterans later tonight.

- Oh, she ready to go.

She's got the hat on backwards.

She looks like a fly girl, Matt.

Now let's see if she can fly.

- And the shirt she's wearing
comes from her clothing line.

Bouncing up
on the Double Twister.

- I like the cap keeping her
hair from flying in her face.

- That's actually
a good point, Akbar,

something you and I really
wouldn't have to worry about.

- Come on.

- Nice.
- Good flight.

Been doing gymnastics
ever since she could walk.

A little trouble controlling
the momentum here, Akbar.

A little surprised.

- Very important to stay calm
in this situation.

- And she's through.

- Yeah! Way to go, Britt.

- Durant was also a high-level
competitive cheerleader.

Now looking to bring it on
against the Ring Chaser.

- Just gotta go.
Move, move, move.

- Difficulty level
just increased.

You can see how the smaller
diameter on this handle...

How much more difficult
it makes it.

You gotta precise.
- And not only precise.

I mean, just the grip...
That just stresses you out.

Both: Got it.
- Oh, yeah.

Oh, she's ready to play.

- Come on. Go.

- There you go! Yeah!

- Matt, and you can see, she's
bouncing around like a boxer,

getting ready to fight
through Diamond Dash.

- She's used to balancing
her clothing line, dance,

and ninja training,
but can she balance this?

- Speed through,
speed through, speed through.

- Oh, my!
Survives it!

Wasn't pretty,
but she got through.

- She looked back, saying,
"What? What? What you want?"

- And Brittney Durant
now staring up

at the fifth obstacle,
Drop Zone.

It's these unanticipated drops.
Get that head to the side.

- Ooh. Ooh, yeah.
Quick reaction.

Looking like Laila Ali.

You saw how she dodged
that punch?

- Well, if she can
survive this obstacle,

she'll have a good shot
at making the women's top three

and moving on
to the national finals.

Watch the drop here again.

- And you see,
she's in front of it.

- And lots of good ninjas
still to come,

including Meagan Martin,

but Brittney Durant putting it
together here tonight.

This is only
her second year competing.

- Come on, Britt.

- Tonight could be
a special night, Matt.

A magical night.

- Watch this final drop.

- Watch your head.
Watch your head. Come on.

- Ooh, nice.
Whoa! Dodged it again!

- Just needs the dismount.

- She looks like she has
a lot left in the tank.

- Come on. Here it is.
- You got it.

You got it.
You got it... no!

- Oh!
- No!

- The grip gave out!

Brittney Durant splashing down
in the Drop Zone.

- The fly girl flew
across Diamond Dash

and kept her run alive.

On Drop Zone,
she just needed the dismount,

but her hands couldn't hold on.

And that's her best run ever.

- Good save!
I was like, "Move, move, move!"

That was awesome.

- We'll see if she went
far enough fast enough

to earn a spot in Vegas.

- He's only 15,

but he's been trained
by one of the best.

- Back up. Come on.
Keep pushing.

- Najee Richardson
sends out his protégé,

Josiah Pippel...

- You got it. Good.

- When "American
Ninja Warrior" returns.

- Welcome back to LA
and our semifinals.

Moments ago, it was
Lancaster, Massachusetts'

16-year-old Sophia Lavallee.

- She knows how to do it.

- Lavallee's one
of five teenage girls

to qualify for the semifinals.

- Yes! All right!

- And she was flying
through the early obstacles.

- Nice... oh!

- But she couldn't make
the connection on Ring Chaser.

- I'm upset.

- Then, Atlanta DJ
DeShawn Harris

took the course for a spin.

Let's go, baby! Rise up!

- The passionate
four-time veteran

had never made it
past the fifth obstacle.

- Oh! I think it's about
to happen for him, Matt.

He's about to get past
number five!

Okay, DJ!

- Fired up!
- That's my DJ!

- And the former college
football star kept going.

- Baby! Oh, this feels good!

- When a DJ takes off his
shirt, it's about to get real.

- And he made it
to the eighth obstacle...

Whoo! Turntable.

- Which could get him
to his first national finals.

- Well, our next competitor
made a big impression

back in qualifying.

This is 15-year-old
Josiah Pippel.

Tonight, he's honoring his
mentor by wearing his shirt

and striking the pose
of the Phoenix,

Najee Richardson.

Fly, Phoenix, fly!

Najee Richardson
destroys this course!

- Najee Richardson's my coach,

and we've been training
for this for ten years.

- Josiah Pippel!

Let's go!

- We really just kind of
formed this bond,

and he's been kind of
taking me under his wing,

no pun intended.

- Josiah is the next generation

of "American Ninja Warrior."

- So I'm trying
to get you as close

to what you're gonna feel on
the actual course as possible.

Boom. Good.
Let's go.

He works so hard.

You know, he just is
so dedicated to the sport.

Got to go.

- Come on.
Keep pushing.

- Naj likes to do big moves.

And he's definitely pushed me

into doing some big moves
like that.

Yes!

- This is your sport now.

That makes me a very,
very proud coach, dude.

Very, very proud.

- Thanks, Naj.
- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

- Naj hasn't been able
to compete

due to injury this season,
so I'm just really hoping

that I can make him proud
and show him

that all he's taught me
is really gonna pay off.

- Good work, dude.

Good work, man.

Want to do it again?
- No.

Naj knows that I'm gonna
be wearing his shirt,

so when I get up there,

he'll see that
I'm kind of representing him.

- And of course Josiah's
gonna have Najee

watching his run
from back in Philly.

- Let's go, Josiah.
You got this, dude.

- Josiah's mom and siblings
will be watching

from their home in New Jersey.

- Go, Josiah!

- Let's go! Whoo!

- And down on the sidelines,

Josiah's dad, Frank,
and some other ninjas.

- He's 6'0" and 150 pounds.

Don't let his long, lanky
stature fool you.

He can go now.

- And you can see,
these young kids,

they run with an urgency
but an efficiency.

- It's like they're running
through the hallways

or something.

- And Josiah Pippel's
already through two obstacles.

Going up to tackle Ring Chaser.

Skipping any rungs here?

- Oh, the ring!
- Oh!

- You're good. You're good.
Don't panic.

- Missed the ring.
Now has to regroup

and use the smaller one.

- I thought he was gonna go
"go, go, gadget arms" on 'em.

- Well, at 15, he's one
of the youngest competitors

to make it to semifinals,

- These kids don't panic.

Nice.

- And he gets through.

- Yes!

- Takes a breath here
before Diamond Dash.

- Go, go, go, go, go, go!
- And he's through.

Not slowing down.

He's hopping right up
to Drop Zone,

but this has been

a head-banging obstacle
all night long.

That took him by surprise.

It will just drop on you.
Doesn't even warn you.

- Well, this is
a complex obstacle here.

A lot of different movements
required of you.

Having to figure out

how to build up that momentum
with the lower body.

- And you can see him
going switch grip,

anticipating the drop

so he doesn't spin out.
That's great.

You can tell he's been
watching and learning

from the other ninjas.

- Gotta swing up
to that last bar.

Got it!

The kid just has
incredible athleticism,

but more importantly,
incredible work ethic.

- Almost there.

Come on, dude.
- You got it.

- Good job.

And Pippel not stopping
to take a breath.

He's going right up
the Warped Wall.

- Nice!

Look at him!
He's not even breathing heavy.

- Let's go.

- Akbar, he didn't even...
So focused.

- I mean, Matt,
look at that walk.

He is a rob... he's a machine!
- He is.

- He is a machine.
Do you see that?

- Well, he was a machine
in qualifying. Hit a buzzer.

And hasn't lost a beat here
in semifinals.

Now on the Salmon Ladder.

- Nice. Long arms.
- There he goes.

- Using it... nice.
- Moving quickly.

- You saw him pick up
the speed as he was going up.

- Yes.
- Nice, Josiah.

- Blows through
the Salmon Ladder.

Now it's Padlock.

- Nice.
- Good throw there.

- Yeah. Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Get in that middle part.
- There it is.

- The ring... ooh.
- Well done.

- Last-minute grab right there.

That could have been dangerous.

- This is where
so many fell last week.

See if he can get his foot
on the cleat,

get those hands up wide.

- Nice. Let's go, Josiah.
Come on.

- He's more leg
than he is torso,

so he's gonna have to kind
of really reach down there.

- Test his flexibility.

- And so, you can kind of
see him trying to stable

and get into the middle.

Nice drop.
Here we go.

And now he's gotta
open that thing up.

- An easy ride here.

Just needs the dismount.

- Jump backwards.
- Yes!

- And look at that.
- Look at that walk!

He's never been tardy
for a class.

- And he is walking right
towards the Dungeon.

And look at Najee,
just beaming with pride.

- Come on, Josiah.
- That's his pops right there.

Look at the smile
on his face right there.

- That's the smile of a dad

who knows his son
is going to Vegas.

- Here goes Josiah
on the Dungeon.

Sean Bryan, our only finisher,

conquered this obstacle earlier

and has the time to beat.

- Nice.
- Come on. Come on.

- But it may be in jeopardy,

because Josiah Pippel is
sailing through the pegs.

He's making this difficult
obstacle look way too easy.

This kid is so fluid, Akbar.

- And he's way ahead

of Sean Bryan's time right now.

- And he's through
nine obstacles!

Oh, now he's smiling.
Oh, now he's feeling it.

He's sensing it.

- Let's go!

- 35 feet up the Spider Trap,

and he'll have
his second buzzer.

- Those doors weigh 100 pounds.

- It's gonna take a lot
of upper-body strength.

- A lot of it too
is how you lock it in,

the flexibility of those hips.

And he's doing them
simultaneously.

That's a little more
of a challenge.

- I've tried that before.

That's difficult.
Yeah, that's it.

He's putting his back into it
and raising up.

- Pippel continues his climb.

And looks like he's gonna beat
Sean Bryan's time.

So we could see this 15-year-old

on the Power Tower
later tonight.

- He's got one more door to go.

- Go, man, go!

- Ninjosiah going to Vegas!
[buzzer blares]

These young kids
continue to impress.

15 years old,

and he's gonna be
in the national finals.

The Phoenix pose,
paying tribute to his coach.

- Let's go! Whoo!

Let's go!

- Josiah Pippel,

you just punched your ticket
to Vegas, my friend.

Yeah!

- Good job.

- Let's go!

- She's the only ninja who
brings an axe to the course.

And Megan Rowe is up next.

Plus, it's our first
gender reveal.

- Oh, my God.
- Oh!

- And that's not all
we're celebrating...

- Oh, my goodness!
That's a perfect 10.

- On "American Ninja Warrior."

- Welcome back
to "American Ninja Warrior,"

where we're about halfway
through tonight's semifinals

here at Universal Studios
Hollywood.

- And Matt,
for the second week in a row,

Padlock has been a roadblock.

Moments ago, baby-faced
20-year-old Tage Herrington

was tearing up the course.

- Boom, baby!
- The kid is smooth.

- In his second year
of competition,

the Arizona college student
raced to the eighth obstacle.

- And watch those hands.
Watch that left hand.

There it goes.

- But spun out.
- Oh.

- Ninja Blue blown away
on the Padlock.

- Dang it.

- The Maker, Kevin Carbone,
is an obstacle designer,

who's had many submissions

to our Obstacle Design
Challenge,

like the Ring Chaser.

- He knows how to do it.
He is looking confident.

- Nice, bro!

- But even this obstacle expert

couldn't get a handle
on Padlock.

- And there it is.
[air horn blares]

- No one has more years

of ninja experience
than Brian Kretsch,

who's competed on all
13 seasons of "Ninja Warrior."

After getting past his nemesis,

the balance obstacle...

Yes! He did it! Yes!
- Oh, there it is!

- This 37-year-old cruised
to the back half.

But even this wily ninja veteran

didn't have the secret
to Padlock.

- Come on, Brian. You can...
Both: Oh, no!

- That's six falls on
this obstacle already tonight.

- Our ninjas have been
taking a beating tonight,

but luckily,
our next athlete is tough.

She brings her own axe.

This is Megan Rowe,

the Axe-Throwing Ninja
out of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

And this 24-year-old
has other talents beyond

hurling heavy tools around.

Axe-throwing isn't
the only hobby I have.

I also make custom earrings.

I got into making
custom ninja earrings

because just being strong
on the course isn't enough.

You gotta have a little pizzazz.

I started making wingnuts.

I started making cones, UFOs.

All right.
Just like that.

Another set of wingnuts
are born.

The possibilities are endless,
what you can make.

You're flying on a wingnut,

but also your wingnuts
are flying on you!

Every year, there's new
obstacles on the ninja course,

so that means every year,
I have new designs

and new ways to be inspired
on the course and on the ears.

- Megan's not gonna
wear earrings on the course,

but Zuri is.

- This is taking pierced ears
to the next level:

axe earrings.

- And Megan Rowe will not
only have her boyfriend,

fellow ninja Dalton Knapp,
on her sidelines,

she'll also have
two other Megans:

Megan Budway and Meagan Martin.

- Let's go, Megan!

- Lots of fans
watching back in the Midwest,

including her parents
and family members.

- Megan Rowe looked great
back in qualifying.

Made it to the fifth obstacle.

And she is a bundle
of energy on the course.

- Control your swings.
You got it.

- So strong. Yeah!

- 5'4", 135.

Grew up doing gymnastics,

so she'll be able to handle
flying across Double Twister.

But she's getting twisted.

There it is.

- It's her second year
competing,

trying to earn her first trip
to the national finals.

- Needs to stick the landing.

There we go.

Stepping up now
to face Ring Chaser.

- Take your breaths.
- Oh, she's staying loose.

Keeping it fun out here.
All right.

Now, she's got...
Boom, boom, boom, boom. Nice.

- Wow!
- That's a great pace.

That's a great pace.
Nice.

Did that with the near hand.
That was great.

That was the most
efficient way to do it.

Reach with the near hand.
- Absolutely.

- You know how to do this.
You got it.

Really nice.

And she's through.

Now staring down Diamond Dash.

- And she's looking intently.
She's thinking about this one.

All right, go, go, go,
go, go, go!

Yes! Let's go!

Let's go!

Come on, Megan Rowe!

- Nice job!
- Whoo!

- All right, be careful
on Drop Zone.

You saw what it did
to David Campbell earlier.

- And with only
two more women left,

she'll guarantee herself
this spot

in the women's top three
if she gets through this.

- Watch the head.

- Ooh, that was the head.

- Yeah, she says,
"Ooh, that was the head."

Let's look at this one again.

Drop Zone gets another headshot.

You gotta stay on the side
when that thing comes down.

- You really have to be able
to anticipate

and control the drop
on these handles in Drop Zone.

- She's staying
on the outside now,

so it's not gonna
hit her in the face.

- Watch the drop here.

- Nice, and you see, she got
in front of it that time.

- She's protecting her head.

- Gotta swing up
to that final bar.

- Great job with that
lower-body control.

- Whoa! Matt, I think
it's about to happen.

She's about to get past
the fifth obstacle

for the first time.
- Watch the head.

Watch the drop.
- Watch your head. Ooh.

- And she got it again, Akbar.
- Yeah.

- This is a tough woman.

Megan Rowe's going to Vegas.

How's the head, Megan?
- We good.

- We good!
- Just a little bump.

[cheering]
- Well, here we go.

Her first time
on the Warped Wall.

- Yes! Yes!
- Yeah?! Oh, boy.

- Oh, I love her energy, Akbar.
She is picking it up here.

All: Beat that wall!
Beat that wall!

- Focus. Got it.
Look up. See it.

- There it is!
- Just like that!

- Whoo!

Yes! Yes!
- Megan, you on a roll!

- Keep going!
Keep going!

- She's pumped, and why not?

Making it to the back half
of a semifinals course

in her second year.

- You got this!
- Yeah!

- Now facing
her first Salmon Ladder.

- Nice.

You can tell she came
into the semifinals ready.

Ready to compete.
- Yeah!

- Make sure you hit it
all the way back.

- Yeah! Yeah!
Come on!

- Come on! You got it!
You got it!

- Powers her way up.

And she's through
seven obstacles.

Feet up!

- My legs?
Yeah, the legs are shaking.

- She's still having fun.

- Yeah, Meg!

- Extra points for no hands.

- She says, does she get
extra points for no hands?

- I'd give it to her!
- No.

- Unfortunately, there are
no points in "Ninja Warrior,"

but we give her
all the points she wants.

But what does she have left
for Padlock?

Good, wide grip there, Akbar.

- Whoa, okay.
- Rolls it down.

She's come in
with a plan on this.

- Oh, Matt, she's starting
to look winded.

If she can get this one, Matt...

all: Megan!

Well, she can celebrate.

Megan just chopped this course
down to size

and earned her first trip
to the national finals.

Zuri's gonna let her know.

- Megan, that was
an incredible run.

Your best run ever.
- Yes.

- How are you feeling about it?
- Oh, my gosh. I'm so floored.

That was my first time
to the Warped Wall.

- Yes.
- Felt so good.

- You hit your head
at one point.

Talk to me a little bit
about that moment.

- Yeah, I was trying
to, like, block off,

to not slip off of that thing.
- Uh-huh.

- And then just center,
right into my forehead.

- But you're feeling okay now?

- Oh, I'm good. We're good.
We're peachy.

- Okay, good, 'cause
we need you in top condition,

because you are
absolutely headed to Vegas.

Great work out there.

I'll be rocking my earrings
in Vegas to rep for you too.

Good job!
- Thank you.

- Of course.
- Big names are coming up,

including the reigning women's
champion, Meagan Martin,

two-time
"Ninja Junior" champion,

16-year-old Vance Walker,

and the rock-solid
concrete worker Adam Rayl,

when "American
Ninja Warrior" returns.

- Welcome back to
Universal Studios Hollywood.

Minutes ago, former gymnast
Alyssa Varsalona

flipped out at the start.

The Georgia
physical therapy student

outdueled her husband
in qualifying.

And she came out
strong again tonight.

- Nice.

- The Never Quit Ninja,

who's overcome
five knee surgeries,

was worried about
the balance obstacle...

- No... whoa!

- For good reason.

Then, it was one
of our fastest ninjas,

the Dream Chaser Tyler Gillett,

who's trying to chase down
his fourth trip

to the national finals.

- He's the best a man can get.

- Come on! Yes!
- Whoa!

- When he reached
Split Decision,

he had a chance
for the fastest time

and a shot at the Power Tower,

so he took the quicker option,
Diving Boards.

- All right. Yes, yes.
- Ooh! Ooh!

Oh, my goodness!

But that decision cost him.

- Though he was tripped up,
his fast time to that point

still guaranteed him a spot
in the top 15.

- Let's go, baby!

- And on the course right now
is another top competitor,

concrete worker Adam Rayl.

- And this is a guy
who could win it all,

a six-time veteran.

- And he's quickly
through the Salmon Ladder.

- Yay!
- There are his parents,

including his mom, Vicki,

who's always
a bundle of emotions.

On the sideline,
his roommate, Sean Bryan,

still bloody
from his run earlier.

And if Rayl keeps up this pace,

he could beat Sean Bryan's time

and get to the Power Tower.

But first, he's gotta get
through Padlock,

no small feat.

- Nice. Good grab.

No. No, no, no, no, no.
- He's riding it.

- You see, he's using that knee.

You see, he's using that right
knee to really control it.

- Oh, that was good.

- Come on. Breathe.
- You got it, Adam.

- Yeah, he's using
that knee to get...

Oh, my goodness!

- Well, his grip was tested.

It was rock-solid there.

- That's that concrete-working
hands right there.

- Stay, stay, stay relaxed.

Go. Go.
Get off.

Yeah!
- But he's off.

- And the former gymnast
rolls through Padlock.

- All right!
All right!

- That one made Vicki
very nervous.

- Can't take too much time
here at Split Decision.

Looks like he's going
to the Diving Boards.

- And that would give him
the best opportunity

to beat Sean Bryan's time.

And he'd have a chance

to compete for the Power Tower.

- He's been close
to winning it all before.

He'd love to have
that Safety Pass in Vegas.

Looking it over,
using up a lot of time

while he decides.

- Go for it.

You know how to save it, right?

- And now looks like
he's gonna try the Dungeon.

But that indecision
may have cost him

a chance at the Power Tower.

- Come on.
You got it.

- All right.
You gotta go, Adam.

- Study long, study wrong.

He spent way too much time
thinking about it.

No way he can
beat Sean Bryan now.

- Nice. Nice.
- All right, here we go.

Watch his grip strength
on full display here.

- And that's why it's surprising

he didn't go straight
to this obstacle.

Upper-body obstacles
are his wheelhouse.

- Whoa! Ooh!
- Hard impact.

- Yeah.
- And barely grabbed on.

- Though he makes it through,

didn't catch Sean Bryan,

but still has a chance
to finish.

Just needs the 35 feet
up the Spider Trap.

- You see his mom in the back.
Look, she's still so nervous.

Mama, he's at
the tenth obstacle.

- Yeah, nothing
to worry about here.

He's a concrete worker.

He can handle 100-pound doors.

He won't have a Safety Pass,

but still gonna be dangerous
in Vegas.

He's made it to stage two
every year he's been there.

- He's so strong.

- 100-pound doors,
no problem for Adam Rayl.

- Boom. Boom.
Boom chakalaka.

- His second straight
semifinals finish.

Adam Rayl's going back
to Vegas for the fifth time.

- Rock-solid as always.

- Cheers. Thank you guys.

- Well, hit that buzzer
one more time, Adam.

- He wasn't fast enough
for the Power Tower,

but Adam Rayl's still a threat

to win the million dollars
at the national finals.

Well, it is a big day
for our next athlete,

his 40th birthday,

and he is dressed
for the occasion.

This is Jose Gomez,

the Bow Tie Ninja.

Happy birthday.

We're gonna help him celebrate.

- You know we had to dress up
for Bow tie Ninja's birthday.

- His training partners
also dressed up

for the birthday boy.

Gomez has a big group
of supporters ready to party,

including his mom, dad,
and sister,

his brother and sister-in-law
in Florida,

and finally,
his wife and daughter

back home in Folsom, California.

- It is so good.
Oh, this is for you!

- The man can still move!

- Oh, this is gonna be fun.

- Well, he can celebrate
with a trip to Vegas.

And to do that, probably needs

to get to the eighth obstacle
to have a chance.

Good, aggressive start.
- Nice.

- This guy made it
to the semifinals as a rookie,

and he's competing against
15-year-olds at 40.

- Everything with intention.
- Cybersecurity expert.

- He can't have a breach
here tonight.

- There it is. Big.

Yeah! There you go!
There you go!

- He always wears bow ties
at work.

Decided to keep wearing them

when he started
ninja competitions.

Now gonna try to do some work
on Ring Chaser.

- Nice.
- Ooh.

- Nice. Nice.
Get it... ah!

- You're good.
You're good.

- The 40-year-old was
a little too slow.

- There you go.

Line it up where you want it,
where you want it.

Go.
- Oh, watch it.

That handle's close to sliding.

- Whoa. Got it.
- Great job.

And the Bow Tie Ninja
is through three.

Yeah, buddy!

- See you guys down there.
- Yeah, I see you too.

- We're looking sharp, buddy.
Happy birthday.

- Only 5'5".

Now getting ready
to take on Diamond Dash.

Oh, no. There it goes.
- Okay! All right!

All right.
- Whoo!

- He's having a birthday
to remember.

- Yeah, baby.

- And here he is on Drop Zone.

- Well, in qualifying,
he went out

on the fifth obstacle.
All he wants for his birthday

is to get past
this fifth obstacle.

- Good job.
- Oh! All right!

- Really just
riding that around.

That was efficient.

- Let's go now, Jose.
Big. Go big.

- It's a small platform
to hold on to,

so you know it's stressing
out the forearms.

Oh! Hold on! Great save.
- Great save!

- Come on, birthday boy.
Let's go! Let's go!

Nice.
- Wow. Oh!

This is more difficult
than tying a bow tie.

I'm 41 years old, and I still
don't know how to tie one.

- Well, he is
getting taxed here.

Here is really
gripping hard, Akbar.

He's gonna need
that grip strength here.

- You got, you got it.
You got this, Big.

- Man, he been hanging
up there for a long time.

- Trust yourself, Jose.
There you go.

Good reset.
Good reset.

- Oh! Darn it!

Both: Aww.

- Didn't get as far
as he wanted,

but still a birthday
to remember for Jose Gomez.

- You gotta actually take it.
- Yeah, I gotta flip it around.

- There you go. Yeah!

- Hey, man, gotta do this
for the 'Gram.

- Hey! We're back!
- Oh!

- Minutes ago,
Arizona anesthesiologist

Cody Johnston
had his family watching

as he tried to earn his first
trip to the national finals.

- All right.
Here we go. Boom!

- Cody and his
19-year-old daughter, Riley,

both competed in qualifying,

but only Dad earned a spot
in semifinals.

So tonight, the 45-year-old
was flying solo,

and he flew so low...

- He couldn't grab
the Double Twister.

- Man.

- The Speedo Ninja, Mike Wright,

always gets things off
to a rip-roaring start.

- Look at that grand entrance.

- At 6'2" and 205 pounds,

Wright's one
of the bigger ninjas.

- Mike Wright feels
very comfortable

competing in his Speedos.
- Good job, Michael.

- Yet the former college diver
and current diving coach

showed he can still be graceful

no matter what happens.

- Oh, no!
- Oh!

You see that dive though?
Oh, my goodness!

That's a perfect 10.
- Perfect 10, Mike Wright.

Up next, we've got something
cooking at the start line.

- Oh, he's a little
mad scientist.

- A mad scientist.

What experiment
is he undertaking?

- Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
Uh-oh. What?

Oh, it's Vincent Pane.

well, as you can tell,
he's a bit of a character,

a PhD student at Stanford.

- But what is that outfit
that he changed into?

- That is handmade,

repurposed clothing
that he put together himself.

But clothing design is
just one of his talents.

- He's a chemist,

a tailor,

an artist,

and a dancer.

- He's got an exciting
group of supporters,

including his mom, Elizabeth,

his sister, Lydia,

and some of his fellow
students back at Stanford.

And he'll have David Campbell

and other Northern California
ninjas down on the sideline.

- He's definitely a brainiac,

but he likes to have fun
on the course.

- Yeah, Vince. Whoo!
Yeah, you got this!

- He's getting a PhD
in chemistry at Stanford,

but already has a master's
in engineering

and two minors
in mathematics and physics.

A scientific mastermind.

- Yeah.
- Understands how to operate.

Gonna see how this chemist...
- That was a scient...

- How he reacts
with the course, Akbar.

- Well, hopefully,
it's a positive reaction.

I think that's
what he's looking for.

- Whoo!
- Yes.

- Let's go, Vincent.

- He could perhaps use
that engineering degree

on Ring Chaser.

- Fast moves, fast moves,
fast moves.

- Ooh, but he missed
the ring, Akbar.

- It's all good. He's smart.

He'll figure out how to use
the smaller ring.

Come on.
Here we go.

- Yep.

- You can see he's having
trouble controlling...

Well, he made a mistake, Akbar.

It's much more difficult
to control the momentum...

- Matt, he's about
to come off that.

- Watch, it's sliding off.
- Nice.

- Got it!
- Whoa.

- Vincent Pane.

- He might be a little
fatigued after that one.

- Well, he's gonna have
to bring the Pane here

to try to survive
the Diamond Dash.

- Cheat forward a little bit.
Err on the side of forward.

- David Campbell
offering advice.

The OG, the Godfather.

- Yeah.
Both: Ooh!

- Whoa! My goodness!
- Tasting the Pane.

- Let's see how he handles
this new one, Drop Zone.

- Should I catch reverse?
- Yes. Switch grip.

- Getting more advice
from the Godfather.

- Yeah. Perfect.

- Right in the head!

- Yeah, it hit him
right in the nose!

- It's pretty good when
you have the Godfather there

answering your ninja questions.

- Well, now he's trying to use
that lower body, that core.

Whoa! That drop.

It's, like, a little surprising.

- He made it to the fifth
obstacle in qualifying,

and Vincent Pane showing
it was not a fluke.

- All right.
- Good transition there.

He is surviving, Akbar.
- Watch out. Watch your nose.

- All right.
Just like the first one.

- You got this. Come on.

- Well, you'd like to see him
being more efficient, Akbar,

but he's doing
what he has to do to survive.

- All right, you got this.
Come on.

Yeah!

- And he's out of there.

- Now gonna face
his first Warped Wall.

- Hey, Vincent, you made that?
Your outfit?

- Me and my friend, Bruce.
- You make it in my size?

- Oh, yeah, yeah.
- XXX.

- Just squeeze into it, right?
- Squeeze into it.

All right, all right.

- 14 1/2 feet to get on
the back half of the course.

And no problem for Vincent Pane.

- He's ready
for the second half.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa, Akbar!

Here we go.

- Is he taking it off?

- Take it off!
Both: Yeah!

- You wanted
to try it on, right?

- Oh, no, no, no.
You can put it back on.

No, you can put it back on.
I was just playing.

- Changing the impression
of science geeks,

dude is shredded.

- Little shaky-shake.

Shaking his hands,
shaking his hips.

- Loosen it up, man.

- Now gonna get going
on the Salmon Ladder.

And this Stanford brainiac
is on the seventh obstacle.

Pretty impressive.
- Yeah!

- Go.
- Go!

- Uh-oh.
- A little uneven. Got it.

- Good save.
Real aggressive.

- Vincent Pane continues to
survive the obstacles, Akbar.

Does the chemist have
the solution for Padlock?

It's been knocking out ninjas
all night long.

- Nice!
- Good control.

- Uh-oh, he's wrestling with it.

He's going... whoa!
- Great catch there.

- Last-minute catch.
- That was impressive.

What is he gonna have left here?

This is the most challenging,

this middle tumbler here.

- Big swing. Go!

- No!
- Oh!

Oh, Vincent Pane
with a surprising run,

making it all the way
to the eighth obstacle.

We'll have to wait to see

if he went far enough
fast enough.

Her Olympic duties are over.

Meagan Martin's back for ninja.

- Time to have some fun.

- And we'll see her next

on "American Ninja Warrior."

- We've got reason to celebrate

here at Universal Studios.

Moments ago,
Florida's Austin Hair

and his pregnant wife, Lisa,

gave us our first-ever
gender reveal.

- What do you think?

- I mean, if I had to guess,
I would just say...

a girl.

- Well, you're right!
- Oh, my God.

- Oh! It's a girl!

Girl, dad.
[laughter]

- On the course,
the 33-year-old picked up

where he left off in qualifying

when he hit a buzzer.

- Oh!
- Oh! What a snag!

- He made that look pretty cool.

- The former
world champion wakeboarder

seemed like a shoo-in
on Diamond Dash.

- And he's got great balance...
- Ooh!

- And he should have it here!

- But he can still celebrate

because he's gonna be a dad.

- The pregnancy belly,
it's weighing me down.

Great job, babe.

- Ninja veteran Brett Sims
wore stripes on his arm

for all ten seasons
he's competed.

- Watch this.

This is how
you earn your stripes.

Like that.

- Sims was in complete control
on the course,

but almost celebrated
too early on Padlock.

- Oh, look at that... oh!

Geez, Brett!

Oh, my God!

- Whoa, whoa, whoa!
He was showing off!

- The South Carolina gym owner

chose the Dungeon
over Diving Boards.

- Once you jump on
and you get on the Dungeon,

Matt, it's fight or flight.

- And the 35-year-old
climbed 35 feet

up the Spider Trap.

- He's telling
these young folks,

"Don't mess with me.

Respect your elders."

- He's going to Vegas
for the fourth time.

- Take that.
Take that.

- The next ninja
to race down our course

is an elite mountain climber,

so I decided to come up here

to get a better view of her run.

Meagan Martin didn't get
a break during the Tokyo Games.

Instead, she was working as
an Olympic commentator for NBC.

- To see so many amazing
athletes go after their dreams

and, you know,
have these moments

that every athlete dreams of,

those moments where everything
goes perfectly..

- Oh, my goodness!
Meagan pulled ahead!

- Meagan Martin takes the title!

- And you end up on a podium,

I mean, it's so inspiring,

and I'm hoping to carry
some of that inspiration

and motivation into tonight.

- she's definitely going
for gold tonight, Akbar,

but not without the support
of her family

watching at home.

She'll have fellow competitors

Megan Budway and Megan Rowe
on her sidelines.

You got this!

- Hard to believe
it's been eight years

since Meagan started
on "Ninja Warrior."

And now she's
an Olympic commentator!

- Yeah! So good!

- Come on, Meg!
Come on, Meg!

- Matt, she's so inspired
by what she saw

in Tokyo and the Games,

she's hoping to go Simone Biles

on this course tonight.

- You got it!

- Whoa.

- Meagan's been busy
the past couple years.

In addition to her
commentating for NBC and ESPN,

she still models,
and she also got engaged.

- Nice. All right.
Good job.

- Needs to glide
through Ring Chaser.

- Quick, quick, quick,
quick, quick, quick.

Good pace.

- That's all right.
That's all right.

- It's okay.
That's okay.

- Well, we know her fiancé
put a ring on it.

Meagan just lost her grip
on that ring.

- Yeah, she didn't want
that ring.

- You can do this.
- With intention.

- A little more
challenging here.

You can see it's
a much narrower diameter.

Watch the handle sliding.

- Come on. You got this.
- There you go.

- Come on.
- Yeah!

- Wow!
- Nice! The claws are out!

- And you could see
that was precarious.

She can breathe
a little more easily.

- Deep breath.
- You're good. You're good.

- As the last woman
to run tonight,

if she gets
through Diamond Dash,

she's going back to Vegas.

- Well, she's got this.
This is money in the bank.

Oh!
- And there you have it.

Meagan Martin is going
to Vegas for the sixth time,

knocking Megan Budway
out of the top three.

But she's not done.

Would love to add
another buzzer to her résumé,

but first,
gotta survive Drop Zone.

- Ooh! Those drops are vicious!

But she's a rock climber though.

- This obstacle is
in her wheelhouse, Akbar.

- Yeah, watch
her grip strength on this.

- What an athlete she is.

Record-holding pole vaulter
at Vanderbilt.

Has been rock climbing
since she was 11.

- But brace yourself
for this drop.

- Get ready for it.
Both: Oh!

- But she hangs on.

Good power out of Martin.

- All right, now she's going
with the switch grip.

- Come on.
- Come on!

- There it is.
- Yeah!

Get it, Meagan!
Both: There you go.

- Having a little trouble
maneuvering this bar.

- Come on, Meg.
- Here it comes.

- Watch out.
- There it is.

Pole vaulters, they're very
good at controlling their body,

building up momentum.
And she's through.

There it is!
- Got it.

- I think her heart's just been
beating a little fast, Akbar.

She's had some close calls.

Got her first Warped Wall
eight years ago.

And she gets another one.

Meagan Martin
atop the Warped Wall.

- Got it.

- You having fun, Meagan?

There it is!
- Shake it out!

Yeah, clearly she's having fun.

A little dance
at the top of the Warped Wall.

- I just love her energy, Akbar.

- Come on, Meggie.
- She finished

the ten-obstacle course
in the women's championship.

Gonna try to do it again
tonight.

- There we go.

- Final four obstacles
start here on Salmon Ladder.

- Now, watch the back muscles
on this one.

Watch her.
I mean, you can see.

She uses... got nice Ls.
Both: Yeah!

- Got a great command
of this obstacle.

- One more. One more.
- One more!

- You can never underestimate
this one,

'cause this is where
you start getting pumped out.

- Now it's Padlock,

where Megan Rowe
and so many others fell.

- Well, the key to success
on Padlock

is really hand placement
and the timing.

Oh, okay.
All right.

All right. Come on. Come on.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!

All right. Push.
You see her face?

She's like, "Oh!"
- Spun around.

- Uh-uh!
- This is the real challenge.

You got to get
a high lache here, Akbar...

- Yeah.
- And keep the hands wide.

- That padlock is
trying to get...

- No!
- Oh!

- Comes up short,
but another strong run

for Meagan Martin,
and she's going back to Vegas.

- Good run, though. Good run.
- Whoo!

- Meagan Martin
to the back half once again.

Looked like she had plenty
in the tank,

but on Padlock,

her feet got out too far
in front of her hands,

and she couldn't
get a finger on it.

- Good job.

- He's never fallen
on a ninja course.

- Let's go!

- Can "Ninja Junior" champion
Vance Walker

keep his streak alive?

He's up next
on "American Ninja Warrior."

- We're nearing the end
of tonight's semifinals,

and right now,

the Power Tower matchup
would pit the Papal Ninja,

36-year-old Sean Bryan,

against 15-year-old
Josiah Pippel.

And while we were away,

two of our final athletes
took their shot

at getting to the Power Tower,

including Jonathan Godbout.

- There it is.

- The 16-year-old musician
from Massachusetts

rocked his way
to Split Decision,

where he considered
the Diving Boards...

- Oh, I don't know.
I don't know.

He's doing a Mutombo!

- But decided to go
with the Dungeon.

And it paid off.

- He's making it look easy.

- Though he wasn't fast enough
to make it to the Power Tower,

he did become
the second teenager

of the night to hit a buzzer.

- God 'bout to bless him with
a trip to the national finals.

- Orlando's R.J. Roman
made it clear from the start

he wanted that Power Tower.

- This dude is capable of
breaking the speed of sound.

- Let's go!
- Let's go!

- The heavy metal rocker
was sprinting

through the early obstacles.

- Well, he's a rock star too.

They're used to putting out
that kind of energy.

- When he reached
Split Decision,

he was out of breath

and running out of time
to catch Sean Bryan.

So Roman decided to go
with the faster option,

Diving Boards.
- Come on, R.J.

Stay in the middle. No!

- R.J., and were you aiming
for that Power Tower?

- Absolutely.
But it's all right.

- All right, well, R.J., you
did go far enough fast enough.

We will see you in Vegas.
- Awesome. Thank you.

- All right, good work.
- Appreciate it.

- Time now for our
final runner of the night,

16-year-old Vance Walker.

Though he was already

a two-time
"Ninja Junior" champion,

qualifying a few weeks ago was
quite the coming out party.

But this kid is no stranger

to making "Ninja Warrior"
a party.

- Let's go, let's go, let's go!

I love spending time

at Vance Walker's
backyard pool course.

The rig over on one side
of the yard,

obstacles over the pool.

We get to hang out, relax,
and train if we want to.

It's kind of
the ultimate ninja hangout.

You got it, Vance! Yeah!

After I won season one

of "American
Ninja Warrior Junior,"

my mom let me and Kevin Carbone
build a structure

with wingnuts over the pool.

After I won season two

of "American Ninja Warrior
Junior,"

I was able to build a huge rig
in my backyard.

Doing ninja
for five and a half years,

I've made friends with
a lot of the adult ninjas.

They've stayed at my house,

I've been to local
competitions with them,

and we've just hung out a lot.

- Come on!
- Whoo!

- The best part is,
when we fall in the water here,

it's usually on purpose.

- Heading into semifinals,

I really want
to make it to Vegas

and get a shot
at the million dollars.

- Never underestimate
this young man.

- If I won the million dollars,

I would build
a huge ninja structure

with all of the obstacles
from the show,

even a Power Tower.

Let's go!

The only pool I plan
on splashing down in

this season is my own.

- That's gotta be the ultimate
backyard for a ninja!

- And he's got lots of support
back in Georgia,

including his dad, Kent,
and coach, Michael Johnson.

You got this.

- And his mom, Stacey,
on the sidelines

with ninja vet Brett Sims,

who's been to a number of pool
parties at the Walker house.

This kid, so impressive.
Born with cerebral palsy.

Had to have braces on his legs
till the first grade.

You'd never know it.

- And despite
the cerebral palsy,

he still ran his way up
the 18-foot Mega Wall,

at only 5'5",

the shortest person
ever to do it.

The kid can go fast.

We'll see if he uses that speed

and goes for the Power Tower.

- You got it.
You got it!

- He was waiting for that ring.

- He's gotta remember,
this is a longer course

than "Ninja Junior."

He's gotta pace himself.

Let's see if he's got
the strength and endurance.

The ninja endurance.
- Looks plenty strong there.

And he's through
three obstacles tonight.

Watch the foot placement
here on Diamond Dash.

- Nice. Wow!

The Diamond Dash
barely even moved.

- And goes right up
on to Drop Zone.

Not even pausing
to take a breath.

- Matt, he on it
like he want it.

He wants that Power Tower.

Whoo! Nice!

- Keep in mind, he's never
fallen on an obstacle.

That's through two season
of "Ninja Junior"

and qualifying a few weeks ago.

- He's a big boy now.

He put on 20 pounds

since "American
Ninja Warrior Junior."

- He's very efficient.
He's moving easily.

He has been putting the time in
in the gym.

I like his approach here, Akbar.

16 years old,
but coming out like a veteran.

And he's through five obstacles.

And again, no hesitation.

Heads straight up
the Warped Wall.

- Wow!
He's running like

he's trying to go get
his driver's permit.

- Didn't even look.
- Look at him.

Matt, you can see
Michael Johnson pointing,

saying, "Come on now.

It's a head game,
mental game."

- But look at Vance.
He's smiling.

The pressure just doesn't seem
to get to him.

Very comfortable
on the Salmon Ladder.

Once made it up 27 rungs
in ten seconds.

Whoa!
- Oh, okay!

- Right up.

- All right.
Piece of cake.

Come on.
Keep going.

- But watch it here, Akbar.

Padlock has taken out

nearly half of the ninjas
who faced it tonight.

- There you go.

- This is what Michael Johnson,

his coach, was telling him.

It's the mental part.

- And he's still smiling,

despite facing
this difficult new obstacle.

Doesn't have this one
in the backyard.

- Nice.
Uh-oh, uh-oh.

How do you play around?
Nice. Nice.

- Spread out. A little wider.
Good recovery.

- Take your time.
- If both hands get

on the same side of 12:00,
you get in real trouble.

- You got it.
- Oh, he's wobbling.

- And you see he's trying
to keep everything balanced

because if he makes
a sudden move, Matt... and nice.

- That is so hard.
What a great drop!

- You got it.

- Oh, oh! Watch it.
- Lock it in.

- Lean, lean, lean.
- And he's trying

to turn it around now.
- Lean the other way.

- You got it.
- Come on.

- And he's having
to work at this.

- Good job.
- But he figures it out.

And he is through.

And look at his time.

He got through the first
eight obstacles so fast,

he can afford
to try the Dungeon.

Doesn't have to risk it
on Diving Boards

like R.J. Roman did
moments ago.

And he's on pace
not only to beat Sean Bryan

for the second-fastest time.

He could edge out Josiah Pippel

for the top time of the night.

- We may have two teenagers
on the Power Tower.

That would be a first.

Watch out for the drop.

- Everyone who's tried Dungeon
tonight has made it through.

- He's got plenty
of grip strength left.

- Hold on tight.
Hold on tight.

You got it.

- Now can you throw yourself
into this wall

and make that catch?

Nice! Get down.
- Wow!

- Open that door.

- Did you see him
levitate up high?

- Get that dude off the Dungeon.

- Oh, my goodness.

He is going
to destroy the top time!

- You got this!

- Akbar, he's still
not breathing heavily.

- Well, remember, Matt,
I talked about him

putting on 20 pounds of muscles,

so he should be able to take
these 100-pound doors

and blow them right open.
- Look at him.

He's actually canting his hips
to one side.

This may be from
that cerebral palsy,

not having quite the hip
flexibility, but no problem.

- Let's go! Push it!
- Come on, Vance!

- This is why he put that time
in the gym.

Vance Walker trying
to muscle his way through.

- Look at him!
- Just one more set of doors.

And he's gonna set the fastest
time by more than a minute!

Last push, you're on!

- Vance Walker has done it!

Let's go!

- What a performance
out of Vance Walker.

Gets the fastest time,

and he's going
to the Power Tower.

- Hey, Vance,
straight up, man, keep it 100.

You think you're the next
American Ninja Warrior?

- I sure hope so.
[laughter]

- Well, hit that buzzer again,
buddy.

So it'll be
a history-making showdown

on the Power Tower

as teenagers face off
for the first time,

16-year-old Vance Walker

and 15-year-old Josiah Pippel.

The winner earns a Safety Pass
at the national finals.

And it's next,
on "American Ninja Warrior."

- Welcome back
to "American Ninja Warrior"

and the conclusion
of the third night

of our semifinals.

And it's time
for a history-making

Power Tower showdown,

our youngest competitors ever.

Akbar, all season long,

we've been talking
about the young guns.

And tonight,
in a field of veterans,

it's two of the youngest
who will be squaring off

here on the Power Tower,

16-year-old Vance Walker

against 15-year-old
Josiah Pippel.

- There's a big difference
between these two:

Josiah Pippel is 7 inches taller

than the 5'5" Vance Walker.

But it will be the first time
on the Power Tower

for the both of them.

They are the future
of "Ninja Warrior,"

and the future is now.

- This race is a perfect example

of how the teens are
rocking the ninja world.

I mean, two teens
on the Power Tower,

that's pretty crazy.

- This kid is the real deal!
- Let's go!

I've gotten the Mega Wall

and I got first in city finals,

but the Power Tower is
a little scary to me.

[dramatic music]

- It's not like
any other obstacles

you're ever gonna see.

- Oh, no, no!
My heart can't take it.

- It's 40 feet high,

and I'm a little scared
of heights,

so hopefully
I can do well on it.

- I know Vance is
pretty powerful,

but I think my height will
definitely play a big factor.

- Look at that move!
- Impressive.

- I'm a little scared
going up against Josiah

'cause he's a lot taller
than me,

but I've competed with Josiah

on "American
Ninja Warrior Junior,"

so I know his game pretty well.

- Wow! Vance Walker!
- Wow!

- I lost to Vance
on "ANW Junior,"

and now I want revenge.

All bets are off,
and I'm just gonna send it.

I'm gonna go as fast
as I possibly can.

- It's gonna be
a teenage showdown.

- And the winner gets
the coveted Safety Pass,

which gives them a second chance

if they fall
at the national finals.

- Josiah Pippel looking
very calm for a 15-year-old.

I'd be a nervous wreck.

- A dual between young guns,

with safety in Vegas
on the line.

- Here we go.
Vance Walker can go fast.

- And you can see Walker
using his feet, Pippel not.

- He's walking
on the Rail Climb!

Oh! Neck and neck!
- Very close!

Who will do it on the rope?
- All right. Here we go.

Big reach.
Big reach.

And you can see...
Boom, boom, boom!

Look how explosive
Vance Walker is, Matt!

- It's still neck and neck!

Now Walker on the bar!

And a misstep!
Walker hesitates!

- Oh, oh!

Look at this!
And Pippel moving up!

- And Pippel first
to the Dropping Shelves!

- Oh, Matt, we have got a duel!

- Walker, the first move!
- It's like they're fighting

for prom king or something!
- And you can see Pippel

taking a glance!
- Don't look at him!

Run your own race!
Oh, my!

- It's Vance Walker!
- Let's go!

- A neck and neck race,
and what a finish!

The young guns,
they blow us away again!

- Go, Vance!

- Let's go!

- And Vance Walker's gonna
have a Safety Pass in Vegas.

- These two were neck and neck
for much of the race.

Josiah reached
the Dropping Shelves first,

but Vance made up some time
by taking shorter swings.

But when Josiah looked over,
right there,

he knew he was in trouble.

Walker made some quick,
final moves, and it was over.

And Matt and I lost our minds
up here in the booth.

- And we'll see both these kids

at the national finals
in a few weeks.

Vance Walker, 16 years old.

He's going to Vegas

with a Safety Pass
in his back pocket.

And here's a look at all those
moving on to Vegas.

Finishing behind
Walker and Pippel

is the Papal Ninja, Sean Bryan.

Our other finishers include
teenager Jonathan Godbout,

followed by veterans
Brett Sims and Adam Rayl.

Others moving on include
speedsters R.J. Roman

and Tyler Gillett

and teenager
Enzo DeFerrari Wilson.

All 15 will be in Vegas
in a few weeks.

Joining them will be
our top three women,

Megan Rowe, Meagan Martin,
and Brittney Durant.

For Akbar Gbajabiamila
and Zuri Hall, I'm Matt Iseman.

We'll see you next time
on "American Ninja Warrior."