American Ninja Warrior JR Kids Season 1 2019 Episode 15

Just two more weeks left in qualifying!!!

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: Will Arnstein vs Ollie Huss

Ollie runs around the course wearing a shirt with a picture of him on it (nice self-promotion there). And Ollie’s dad opened a ninja gym in Saratoga when there was not one there.

Will trains under Jamie Rahn (Captain NBC).

It was even at the start.

Ollie took the lead at I-Beam.

And with one handed dismounts on Spin Cycle, Ollie extended that lead all the way up the Warped Wall and on his way to victory.

Seeding Round: Grant Snook vs Amy Pinones

Grant, whose sister Carli hit two buzzers in her episode earlier in the season, has trained in ninja for four years.

Amy has been dancing since she was two, and she continued training even after her family was boat rescued during Hurricane Harvey.

 Grant took the lead going into Tic Toc. But he got stuck on the 2^nd obstacle.

Amy passed Grant and completed the 2^nd obstacle.

Grant eventually fell on Tic Toc, ending the race and giving Amy the win.

During the break…

Knockout Round: Ollie Huss vs Grant Snook

Grant completed the Tic Toc this time. He even completed the course.

But he was no match for Ollie, who qualified for the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: Amy Pinones vs Will Arnstein

Will records videos of himself performing parkour stunts.

Will took a big lead early.

Amy made the fingertip save on Tic Toc, but she fell on the third obstacle.

Will climbed the Warped Wall and hit the buzzer, advancing to 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: Brooklyn Sittner vs Yakira Hoffer

Brooklyn competes nationally in weightlifting, while Yakira rock climbs in her attic.

Yakira got off to a fast start, while Brooklyn was very cautious.

Yakira’s lead grew going into the fourth obstacle.

And Yakira would lead from start to finish, climbing the Warped Wall and hitting the buzzer.

Seeding Round: Jonah Taggart vs Tyler Smith

Tyler works in his science lab, where he builds rockets and ninja obstacles. Jonah also trains at home in a ninja gym in his basement.

And Jonah got off to the quick start, but Tyler was not far behind.

Jonah kept a slight lead on Fly Wheel.

Tyler tried to catch up as the two climbed the Wall, but Jonah held him off, hitting the buzzer and getting the win.

Knockout Round: Yakira Hoffer vs Tyler Smith

Yakira is a practicing Jew who won’t train or compete on Saturday for religious reasons.

Tyler took the lead after Tic Toc.

That lead grew after Ring Toss, and he never looked back.

Tyler made it up the Wall first, hitting the buzzer and advancing to the Final Showdown.

During the break…

Knockout Round: Jonah Taggart vs Brooklyn Sittner

Jonah took the victory 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: Tyler Kurtzhals vs Caiden Madzelan

Caiden is an avid fantasy world gamer, while Tyler has seen every American Ninja Warrior episode.

Caiden raced out to a slight lead early.

Tyler slipped on the last step on Floating Tiles, but he nearly caught up on Shelf Grab.

But a one handed quick dismount by Caiden ensured him the win.

During the break…

Seeding Round: Paris Juarez vs Ben Steinhauer

Paris fell on Tic Toc, and Ben hit the buzzer and took the win.

Knockout Round: Caiden Madzelan vs Paris Juarez

Paris has a large collection of sea shells from all parts of the US.

Caiden took the early lead.

That lead grew when Paris got stuck on Tic Toc.

Caiden scorched the course from there, hitting the buzzer and advancing to the Final Showdown.

Paris did hit her first buzzer.

Knockout Round: Ben Steinhauer vs Tyler Kurtzhals

Tyler trains with his brother on the ninja course in their backyard. Tyler’s brother has Type 1 Diabetes.

And Ben creates models of ninja obstacles from Legos.

Both ninjas started fast.

Ben took the lead on Devil Steps.

Tyler stayed close behind, but Ben beat Tyler by less than a second to the buzzer and to the Final Showdown.

9-10 year old Final Showdown: Ollie Huss vs Will Arnstein

Will had a slight lead going into Tic Toc.

But Ollie was right on his heels.

That lead grew going into Spin Cycle, but Ollie raced past Will on the fifth obstacle.

Ollie hit the buzzer and advanced to the Semifinals.

11-12 year old Final Showdown: Tyler Smith vs Jonah Taggart

Jonah took the lead early.

That lead grew halfway through the course.

But Tyler passed Jonah on Fly Wheels with one touch dismounts, climbing up the Warped Wall and hitting the buzzer first.

13-14 year old Final Showdown: Caiden Madzelan vs Ben Steinhauer

As expected, these two started out fast.

Ben had a slight lead halfway through.

But a quick dismount on the Flying Shelf Grab gave Caiden the win.

Ben gave a nice show of respect to Caiden before hitting the buzzer himself.

Your Semifinalists:

9-10 year old division: Ollie Huss

11-12 year old division: Tyler Smith

13-14 year old division: Caiden Madzelan

The final qualifying round is next week. Then, it’s onto the semifinals!!! See you then.