Original subtitles

- 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."