American Ninja Warrior All-Star Special 2019

The new season of American Ninja Warrior premieres May 29th. And that means it’s time to get hyped for the new season with the American Ninja Warrior All-Star Special!!!

Let’s start with the Team Competition.

Team Kristine: Mathis “Kid” Owhaid, Tyler Gillett, Barclay Stockett

Team Matt: Jamie Rahn, Jesse LaBreck, Lance Pekus

Team Akbar: Grant McCartney, Meagan Martin, Jake Murray

Stage 1 will be run as a relay race. The team with the fastest time goes to Stage 3. The other two battle it out in Stage 2.

Team Competition Stage 1 is the following obstacles: Archer Alley, Propeller Bar, Double Dipper, Jumping Spider, Tire Run, Warped Wall, Razor Beams, Twist and Fly

Team Akbar

Meagan Martin kicked things off for team Akbar.

After hesitating before Propeller Bar, she was through the first three obstacles in 27 seconds.

Jake Murray went next.

He made the tag to Grant McCartney after a few extra swings on Tire Run with 1 minute gone.

McCartney has never worked either of these last two obstacles.

But he made quick work of them, hitting the buzzer in a 1:22.

Team Akbar completes the course in 1:22.40

Team Matt

Flex LeBreck kicks things off for Team Matt.

She was five seconds faster than Martin as she tagged Lance Peekus.

Peekus took some extra swings on Tire Run with his team 3 and a half seconds ahead of Team Akbar.

Jamie Rahn took the last leg.

He caught the net with 10 seconds to spare in order to beat Team Akbar and made it up just head of their time.

Team Matt completes the course in 1:20.48

Team Kristine

Team Kristine has won the last two years. But none of these young stars were on either one of those teams.

Barclay Stockett started it off and she was dead even with LaBreck’s time.

The Kid went next.

He was going fast, but then he fell in the water as he was trying to hit the landing on Tire Run.

Team Kristine DNF

Team Matt moves on to Stage 3.

Team Competition Stage 2

The Course: Epic Catch and Release, Criss Cross Salmon Ladder, Déjà vu, Swing Surfer, Wingnut Alley, Water Walls

Team Kristine

Stockett starts things off.

She had to use a lot of extra swings on the Epic Catch and Release.

She looked good on Criss Cross Salmon Ladder, but she slipped and fell on the very last rung.

Team Kristine makes it through Epic Catch and Release

Grant McCartney struggled on Epic Catch and Release.

He struggled so much that he was 10 seconds behind Stockett’s time.

But he did complete Criss Cross Salmon Ladder, sending Team Akbar onto Stage 3.

Now, the smart thing to do would be to stop now and rest. But what fun would that be?

Meagan Martin made quick work of Déjà vu, but she came up short on Swing Surfer.

Team Akbar makes it through Déjà vu

Team Akbar advances to Stage 3

Team Competition Stage 3

The Course: Floating Boards, En Garde, Crazy Clocks, Ultimate Cliffhanger, Curved Body Prop, Peg Cloud, Cane Lane, Flying Bar

Also, teams don’t stop when a teammate falls. The team who completes the most obstacles wins. If they are tied, time is the tiebreaker.

Team Akbar

Grant McCartney was slow at the outset.

But he did complete Floating Boards in 55 seconds. 1 obstacle completed

McCartney really took his time again at the start of En Garde. And the time did not pay off as he slipped and fell.

Murray took over next, taking on the Ultimate Cliffhanger.

This is the obstacle Drew Dreschel and Sean Bryan fell on last season.

But Murray completed it. 2 obstacles completed

Murray’s great work continued on Curved Body Prop. 3 obstacles completed

And even more amazing was Murray’s work on Peg Cloud. 4 obstacles completed

Meagan Martin had a tense moment on the first part of Cane Lane.

But she nailed the first jump and rolled from there. 5 obstacles completed

And Team Akbar’s anchor dominated the final obstacle to set a high bar for Team Matt.

Team Akbar completes 6 obstacles in 4:59.06

Team Matt

Last year, Team Matt (with these same members) lost by only six seconds.

Peekus starts things off.

With his wife looking on (she wasn’t here last year), he made easy work of Floating Boards. 1 obstacle completed

But just like McCartney, Peekus fell on En Garde.

The pressure is on Jamie Rahan to complete all three of his obstacles in a faster time than Team Akbar.

He did the job with the Ultimate Cliffhanger. 2 obstacles completed

Captain NBC struggled but finished Curved Body Prop. 3 obstacles completed

A peg appeared to get stuck on Peg Cloud, but Rahn bent himself in ways humans shouldn’t do and completed it. 4 obstacles completed

Labreck had 1:26 to finish the last two obstacles.

She made amazingly quick work of Cane Lane. 5 obstacles completed

One obstacle left, and Flex had one minute to complete it in order to win.

She rested before starting Flying Bar.

Then, Flex took the deliberate approach to complete the last obstacle 6 seconds before Team Akbar.

For the first time…

Team Matt wins the Team Competition with 6 obstacles in 4:52.63

Lance Peekus and his quick time on Floating Boards turned out to be the difference.

Mega Spider Climb

Who will climb the 80 foot tower first?

Lance Peekus vs Chris Wilczewski

The two were even at 20 feet.

Peekus starting getting separation between mark 40 and 50.

Wilczewski was closing in between the 60 and 70 foot marks.

And towards the top of the tower, Peekus slipped a bit as Wilczewski passed him to take the victory.

Chris Wilczewski defeats Lance Peekus

Neil Craver vs R.J Roman

The two were even almost the whole way up.

Craver developed a little separation on the 2^nd half of the tower.

Eventually, “Crazy Craver” started separating, hitting the buzzer first and advancing to the final race.

Neil Craver defeats R.J. Roman

Championship Race: Chris Wilczewski vs Neil Craver

Craver took the lead early on.

Wilczewski stayed close. Could he pull off another late charge?

Both really started to slow down towards the top (quite the arrogant observation on my part, the guy sitting on my couch while these guys use their arms and legs to climb up an 80 foot tower. TWICE!!!)

The two made it to the buzzer at the same time, forcing a photo finish.

And by .04 of a second….

Chris Wilczewski is your champion!!!

Wicked Wingnuts

Last year’s champion, Drew Dreschel, is not competing in this year’s competition.

14 feet

Kevin Bull hit the first target.

Adam Rayl had no issues at all with target 1.

Ethan Swanson put a nice finish to the first jump.

Josh Salinas was not able to hold on, failing at 14 feet.

Last year’s runner up, Najee Richardson, landed the first jump.

Four competitors move onto the next distance.

During the Break…

All four remaining competitors completed 16 feet successfully.

17 feet

Kevin Bull could not hold his landing, failing at 17 feet.

Adam Rayl hit it, doing a full flip over the landing bar to hold on.

Ethan Swanson held his landing, holding on at 17 feet.

Najee Richardson landed 17 feet again.

Three competitors move onto the next distance.

18 feet

Adam Rayl stuck the landing at 18 feet.

Ethan Swanson came up just short, finger tips just falling off at 18 feet (his friends on the sideline rather enjoyed the fall).

Najee Richardson nailed the jump at 18 feet.

And now we’re down to 2 at…

19 feet

Adam Rayl held on for all he’s worth to stick the landing at 19 feet.

Najee Richardson did not get enough lift on his jump, making…

Adam Rayl the Wicked Wingnuts champion.

Dual Doorknob Drop

A new competition: The two competitors start on opposite ends of the obstacle and race to the center. The first one to hit the blue buzzer wins.

Daniel Gill vs Josh Levin

Josh Levin had the early lead showing off his rock climbing skills.

But Gill cut into the lead nearly catching Levin.

Josh Levin hit his buzzer .02 of a second ahead of Gill.

Josh Levin defeats Daniel Gill

Geoff Britten vs Isaac Caldiero

Only two men have completed Stage 4 during the season: Geoff Britten and Isaac Caldiero.

But why have them compete on this thing?

Could we not see the two of them race up the big tower to settle once and for all who the greatest ninja ever is?

For all the Brittenites out there, Geoff Britten made the smooth transitions that turned out to be the difference.

Unfortunately, Geoff Britten did something to his arm. So he will not be competing in the Finals. But Geoff Britten will be returning for Season 11.

So instead we get…

Josh Levin vs Daniel Gill for the championship

Ummm…didn’t we just see this?

Well, I guess the first one didn’t count.

Gill moves on to the final since he had the next fastest time.

Levin showed his superiority on this obstacle again with a 10 second run to the buzzer and the championship.

Josh Levin takes the Dual Doorknob Drop Championship

Striding Steps

One big change to this year’s competition: the ninjas will run side by side as they compete.

Nicholas Coolridge vs Tyler Gillett

Coolridge kept incredible balance as he made his way across the first time.

Gillett was even with him, but he turned sideways trying to keep up with him and fell.

Coolridge hit the buzzer and moved on to the next round.

Nicholas Coolridge advances to the semifinals

Joe Moravsky vs Drew Knapp

Knapp struggled from the start and slipped on the way down to the first rope.

Moravsksy took his time from there and moved on to the next round.

Joe Moravsky advances to the semifinals

Jake Murray vs Allyssa Beird

Murray is the defending champ.

Beird got sideways trying to keep up with Murray and feel on the way down to the rope.

Murray completed the obstacle and advanced to the semifinals.

Jake Murray advances to the semifinals

Thomas Stillings vs Flip Rodriguez

Flip had the lead at the turn around.

Stillings took his time to gain his balance on the landing, Flip did not.

As a result, Rodriquez fell in the water as Stillings moved on.

Thomas Stillings advances to the semifinals

Nicholas Coolridge vs Joe Moravsky

Coolridge looked smooth all the way down and back as Moravsky had to hold his balance.

Coolridge had a two-step lead going to the rope.

But Moravsky skipped the rope and jumped up the wall.

Moravsky hit the buzzer and qualified for the Finals in a come from behind win.

Joe Moravsky advances to the Finals

Jake Murray vs Thomas Stillings

Stillings had the lead on the way down.

Stillings took his time on the landing, allowing Murray to pass him.

But Murray got caught up on the rope while Stillings ignored the rope.

Stillings hit the buzzer an advanced to the finals.

Thomas Stillings advances to the Finals

Championship Race Joe Moravsky vs Thomas Stillings

Stillings had a slight lead on the way down.

But Stillings’s pause allowed Moravsky to pass him.

Moravsky started leaning right allowing Stillings to catch up.

It was a photo finish up the wall and…..

The Weatherman is your champion!!!!!

Joe Moravsky wins by .05 of a second.

Super Salmon Ladder

Austin Gray

Gray is the man who donated his kidney to his childhood friend, Kayley.

Gray skipped rungs on his way. But he fell just short of 20 rungs.

Gray makes it up 16 rungs

Dan Polizzi

One half of the Towers of Power, Polizzi made it as high as Gray before falling.

Dan Polizzi makes it up 16 rungs

Barclay Stockett

“The Sparkly Ninja” shockingly fell on this event, her specialty, in team competition.

Stockett passed the previous two competitors easily.

She also set the record for women, which Jesse LeBreck set at 19.

Not only did she pass it, she crushed it, climbing all the way to 28 rungs.

Barclay Stockett makes it up 28 rungs

Sean Bryan

Bryan skipped rungs like Gray, except he’s a beast at it.

Last season, Bryan set a record time making it up to the top.

This season, he broke it, making it all the way to the top in 17.4 seconds.

Sean Bryan wins Super Salmon Ladder

Big Dipper Free Style

This is a new event with ninjas performing tricks as they fly off the first part of the Big Dipper.

Matt, Akbar, and Kristine will score each trick to decide the winner.

Ethan Swanson

I don’t really know how to describe these, but Swanson flipped and twisted twice. However, he did not make the smoothest landing. Swanson gets a 26.

Flip Rodriguez

Another poor landing. Flip did get big air, but as he wasn’t able to hold his legs.

Flip gets a 17.

Brett Steffensen

Brett slips. He did one backflip, but that was it.

Brett gets an 18.

Sean Bryan

Bryan stuck his legs to the bar, then released and did multiple flips before hitting the water. That should be the new leader.

Bryan gets a 29.

Grant McCartney

We’ve got a belly flop!!!!!

The Island Ninja did a full twist, but he over-rotated.

McCartney gets a 23.

Drew Dreschel

The real life ninja chose not to use the bar.

He did a swan dive instead.

Dreschel gets a 21.5.

Standings after 1 stunt

1 Sean Bryan 29

2 Ethan Swanson 26

3 Grant McCartney 23

4 Drew Dreschel 21.5

5 Brett Steffensen 18

6 Flip Rodriguez 17

Only each ninja’s best score holds up, so everyone is still alive. But it will take a perfect score to beat Sean Bryan.

Flip Rodriguez

Much better entry this time on a double backflip.

Flip gets a 24 (good for 3^rd).

Brett Steffensen

Steffensen steps up his game as well.

Full twisted Double Layout, with smooth entry.

Steffensen gets a 27 (good for 2^nd).

Grant McCartney

The Island Ninja strips to a speedo for his 2^nd stunt.

He takes a poll, and the crowd asks for 3 flips and a belly flop.

Not quite a belly flop, but definitely 3 flips and feet first instead of belly.

Grant McCartney gets a 28 (good for 2^nd)

Ethan Swanson

Another sloppy entry (even though a belly flop just got a 28, so..)

The double back flip over-rotated for a 21.

Swanson falls to 4^th.

Drew Dreschel

Flip Rodriguez joins the Real Life Ninja on the bar.

They both went down and did flips, though not synchronized.

Dreschel did get three flips in, and that gets him a perfect score of 30.

Sean Bryan

The Papal Ninja did an impersonation of multiple ninjas, including Jake Murray, Ethan Swanson, and Grant McCartney.

Bryan did a Jake Murray peace sign on his way in.

Creativity gets Bryan a perfect score.

Jump Off

Drew Dreschel

The Arms Crossed 180 with a point and wink on the way down works well for the Real Life Ninja.

It equals a 27 from the judges.

Sean Bryan

Bryan goes in backwards.

Two front flips with a twist and solid entry into the water.

A perfect score for Bryan gives him the championship.

Sean Bryan wins the Big Dipper Free Style

That’ll do it for this year’s skills competition.

Next up is Season 11!!! See you Wednesday!!!