American Ninja Warrior JR Kids Season 1 2018 Episode 6

We march on with the qualifying rounds.

Here’s a breakdown of the format:

-Ninjas will compete in three divisions: 9-10 years old, 11-12 years old, and 13-14 years old. They will compete in head to head races.

The qualifying rounds feature four ninjas per division. They will start in a seeding round, with the two fastest ninjas from that round taking on the two slowest ninjas in the knockout round.

The winners of the two knockout rounds move on to the final showdown, where the winner will move on to the semifinals.

-The winner of each division at the end of the season receives a $15,000 prize.

Also, Laurie Hernandez will be joining Matt and Akbar as co-host this season.

9-10 Year Old Division (Ninja Mentor: Drew Dreschel)

The course: Sonic Swing, Tic Toc, I-Beam, Floating Tiles, Spin Cycle, 13 Foot Warped Wall (with two hand holds)

Seeding Round: Baylee Beckstrand vs Anthony Austin

Anthony’s biological brother, Michael, is watching today with Anthony’s foster parents.

Anthony had a slight lead after Tic Toc.

But Baylee was not far behind.

Anthony extended his lead on Floating Tiles, and he would not relinquish it.

Anthony hit the buzzer and won the race.

Hopefully Baylee is OK. She took a hard fall at the end of Spin Cycle.

Seeding Round: Zach Keenan vs Lila Hodgson

Zach is another who has a sibling also competing.

Lila’s nickname is “Baby Bull,” a nickname her dad gave her to encourage her to stand up to bullying despite her size.

Zach took a sizable early lead.

Lila fell early on Tic Toc, a finish that brought her to tears.

Zach went ahead and finished the course, setting the tone for his knockout race.

Duinrg the break…

Knockout Round: Anthony Austin vs Lila Hodgson

Lila made it farther this time. In fact, she led most of the race. But Lila fell on Spin Cycle.

Anthony is moving on to the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: Zach Keenan vs Baylee Beckstrand

Baylee’s entire family is ninjas.

Zach had a small lead going into I-Beam.

That lead grew slightly on Floating Tiles, but Baylee was hanging in.

Both ninjas completed the course. But Zach hit his buzzer first and is moving on to the Final Showdown.

11-12 Year old Division (Ninja Mentor: Natalie Duran)

The course: Sonic Swing, Tic Toc, Ring Toss, Floating Tiles, Fly Wheels, 13 foot Warped Wall (one hand hold)

Seeding Round: Blace Kamaka vs Tate Allen

Tate had a tumor on his knee that had to be removed surgically.

Blace raced out to the early lead.

But Tate caught up and evened things out with a clever dismount on Ring Toss.

The race came down to the dismount of Fly Wheels: Tate hit his dismount while Blace did not.

Tate hit the buzzer and completed the course.

Seeding Round: Brooke Redman vs Callie Redman

We have our first sibling race. And not only are they sisters; Callie and Brooke are twins.

Thankfully, one wears a hat so I will know who is who when describing the race.

Brooke had a slight lead after the second obstacle.

But Callie pulled ahead on I-Beam.

Both sisters ran a very cautious race, taking their time through Ring Toss.

Brooke pulled back ahead on Floating Tiles only to lose the lead to Callie on Fly Wheels.

Callie took that lead all the way to the top of the Warped Wall, where she would hit the buzzer first (both sisters would hit the buzzer).

Knockout Round: Callie Redman vs Blace Kamaka

Blace is also a theater performer.

Blace raced out to the early lead.

Callie got stuck on Tic Toc, allowing Blace’s lead to grow.

But Callie picked up the pace and closed the lead just a bit.

It would not be enough, as Blace completed the fifth obstacle this time and climbed the Warped Wall.

Blace hit the buzzer and advanced to the Final Showdown.

During the break…

Knockout Round: Tate Allen vs Brooke Redman

Tate Allen won the race and advanced to the Final Showdown.

13-14 year old Division (Ninja Mentor: Meagan Martin)

The course: Archer Steps, Tic Toc, Floating Tiles, Devil Steps, Flying Shelf Grab, 13 foot Warped Wall (no hand holds)

Seeding Round: Ricardo Perez vs Blake Feero

Blake trains at Drew Dreschel’s gym in Connecticut.

And Blake raced out to quick lead just like his mentor does on the ninja course.

But Ricardo kept pace, creating a virtual tie going into Floating Tiles.

Blake regained a slight lead going into Flying Shelf Grab.

And Black completed the great run by skipping the last Shelf on the fifth obstacle.

Blake finished this battle first, but will these two meet again later in the show?

Seeding Round: Molly Haywood vs Eliza Aitken

Eliza plays the sport of kings, hockey. (Go Preds!!!!)

Molly took the early lead going into Devil Steps.

That lead only increased as Molly flew through Devil Steps.

Unfortunately for Eliza, she slipped and fell on the Flying Shelf Grab.

Molly went ahead and finished the race, setting herself up for the Knockout Round.

During the break…

Knockout Round: Blake Feero vs Eliza Aitken

Blake missed the rope on the first obstacle. But he still completed it.

Both ninjas completed the course, but it is Blake who advanced to the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: Molly Haywood vs Ricardo Perez

Molly is a mathlete and uses her exceptional math skills to help her on the course.

Ricardo is an origami expert.

Molly picked up the pace this round to keep up with Ricardo.

Ricardo took the lead going into Floating Tiles.

Molly made a run at it, but Ricardo was too fast.

Both ninjas completed the course, but it was Ricardo who hit the buzzer first and advanced to the Final Showdown.

9-10 year old Final Showdown: Anthony Austin vs Zach Keenan

Anthony took the lead at the outset, but Zach passed him up on Tic Toc.

Zach continued his torrid pace going into Swing Cycle.

Zach took that speed all the way to the Semifinals, hitting the buzzer and advancing to the next round.

11-12 year old Final Showdown: Blace Kamaka vs Tate Allen

Blace raced out to the early lead in the rematch.

But Blace missed a ring on Ring Toss, allowing Tate to pull ahead.

And Tate would keep that lead all the way up the Wall and to the Semifinals.

13-14 year old Final Showdown: Ricardo Perez vs Blake Feero

Blake took the lead out of the gate, but Ricardo raced past him on Tic Toc.

Blake closed quite a bit on Floating Tiles and passed Ricardo thanks to a quick dismount on the Flying Shelf Grab.

Blake hit the buzzer and advanced to the semifinals.

Your Semifinalists:

9-10 year old division: Zach Keenan

11-12 year old division: Tate Allen

13-14 year old division: Blake Feero