TV Recap: S01E07 – American Ninja Warrior Junior Kids 2018

American Ninja Warrior JR Kids Season 1 2018 Episode 7

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: Barclay Stockett)

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

Seeding Round: Taylor Richards vs Nacssa Garemore

Nacssa’s brother, Roberto (the promotional face of American Ninja Warrior Jr), competed in the first episode.

Taylor raced out to the early lead, but the lead was small.

Nacssa took his first lead following the dismount on I-Beam.

That lead only grew after Spin Cycle as Nacssa hit the buzzer and won the race.

Seeding Round: Addi Basenback vs Caleb Tucker

Caleb also excels in jump rope competitions.

The two were even through the two obstacles.

But a slip by Addi on the dismount of Tic Toc allowed Caleb to pull ahead.

Addi closed the gap going into Spin Cycle. And Caleb missed on his first attempt up the Wall.

But Caleb held on, hitting the buzzer and winning his first race.

Before the break…

Knockout Round: Nacssa Garemore vs Addi Basenback

Nacssa took another victory advancing to the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: Caleb Tucker vs Taylor Richards

Another good start by Taylor, she carried that lead all the way to the Spin Cycle.

Trying to catch up, Caleb fell on Spin Cycle.

Taylor hit the buzzer, setting up a seeding round rematch with Nacssa and the “Sassy Red Ninja” in the Final Showdown.

11-12 Year old Division (Ninja Mentor: Najee Richardson)

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

Seeding Round: Sawyer Shaw vs Luke Milman

Luke, the “Afro Ninja,” volunteers at a cat shelter.

Unfortunately for Luke, he took a bad step on the third step of Archer Steps and fell.

Sawyer hit the buzzer and took the victory.

During the break…

Seeding Round: Joy Wolf vs Albert Allotta

Albert won the race, choosing not to complete the race so he could conserve his energy.

Knockout Round: Albert Allotta vs Luke Milman

Luke took his time on the first obstacle.

After completing it, he seemed to gain confidence and built a lead he would keep throughout.

In fact, Luke would lead all the way up the Warped Wall, hitting the buzzer and advancing to the Final Showdown.

Albert did hit the buzzer this time.

Knockout Round: Sawyer Shaw vs Joy Wolf

Sawyer comes from a long line of engineers. His grandfather helped develop the satellites that explore Mars.

Sawyer raced out to the early lead.

Joy fell behind in her first race, and she’s dealing with the same issues here as she got stuck on the Ring Toss.

Sawyer’s lead only grew as he made it up the Warped Wall and advanced to the Final Showdown.

13-14 year old Division (Ninja Mentor: Kevin Bull)

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

Seeding Round: Jeramiah Boyd vs Peace Lopez

I really don’t know how to describe Peace other than “unique” (and in a good way). Also, she’s very articulate.

Jeramiah raced out to the early lead.

Peace stayed in striking distance as the two hit the Shelf Grab.

But it wasn’t enough as Jeramiah hit the buzzer first.

During the break…

Seeding Round: Melina Sarion vs Noah Buscher

Noah took the race after Melina fell on Tic Toc.

Knockout Round: Noah Buscher vs Peace Lopez

Noah takes care of a mini horse on his farm named Bob (“Bye Bye Little Sebastian…”).

Peace raced out to the early lead.

But Noah caught up and passed her on Flying Shelf Grab.

Noah’s size cost him on the Warped Wall.

He missed the first try, giving Peace the chance to climb up and advance to the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: Jeramiah Boyd vs Melina Sarion

Melina comes from a ninja family (her brother competed previously).

Jeramiah plays baseball, soccer, football, track and field, basketball, swimming, and basically every other sport.

Jeramiah got off to another fast start.

Melina did make it past the Tic Toc (the obstacle she fell on in the seeding round).

But Jeramiah was never threatened, climbing up the Wall and advancing to the Final Showdown.

9-10 year old Final Showdown: Nacssa Garemore vs Taylor Richards

The first of three rematches saw Nacssa with a better start.

But Taylor slipped on Tic Toc trying to keep up and fell, sending Nacssa to the semifinals.

11-12 year old Final Showdown: Luke Milman vs Sawyer Shaw

Though Luke lost to Sawyer in the Seeding Round, Luke had a better time in the Knockout Round.

The two were even until Ring Toss, when Luke slipped and fell. His feet got wet, but he stayed alive.

In fact, Luke caught up and the two were even going up the Warped Wall.

But the wet shoes and the height disadvantage proved too much for Luke as Sawyer made it up the Wall and Luke did not.

13-14 year old Final Showdown:  Peace Lopez vs Jeramiah Boyd

Peace tripped and fell on the first obstacle, but stayed alive on the course.

Impressively, Peace stayed close behind Jeramiah.

But Jeramiah was just too fast on the course as he made it up the Warped Wall and advanced to the semifinals.

Your Semifinalists:

9-10 year old division: Nacssa Garemore

11-12 year old division: Sawyer Shaw

13-14 year old division: Peace Lopez

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