TV Recap: S01E18 – American Ninja Warrior Junior Kids 2019

American Ninja Warrior JR Kids Season 1 2019 Episode 18 (Age 11-12 Semifinals)

The field of 64 is down to 16 for the 11-12 year old division.

And this week, those 16 take center stage in what is now a single elimination tournament.

Here’s a breakdown of the format:

The round of 16 and the quarterfinal round races take place this week.

There are NO SEEDING ROUNDS!!! It’s either win or go home.

The four ninja’s left standing will go on to the 9-10 year old finals.

-The first place winner receives $15,000, 2nd place gets $7,500, 3rd place gets $5,000, and 4th place gets $2,500.

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

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

Round of 16:

Race 1: Autumn Mathisen vs Carter Lam

Autumn lives on a 130 acre farm with her dog Shamrock (who was chronicled in her qualifying episode), while Carter’s best obstacle is the Ring Toss.

Both were undefeated in qualifying, but Autumn’s best time was 10 seconds faster than Carter’s.

Despite the speed difference, it was Carter out quickly on the course.

He kept that slight lead going into Floating Tiles, but the taller Autumn surpassed Carter on the 4th obstacle.

However, Carter made a quick dismount on Fly Wheels to retake the lead going into the Warped Wall.

The two were neck and neck down the home stretch, but Autumn’s reach proved be the difference as she hit the buzzer a split second before Carter.

Race 2: Ella McRitchie vs Charlie Ham

Ella’s background is in Rock Climbing, while Charlie’s background is in gymnastics.  But neither girl’s inexperience kept them from going undefeated in their qualifying rounds.

Ella had the lead early on.

That early push by Ella forced Charlie to get careless. She never got a hold of the cargo net on Tic Toc and fell into the water, sending Ella onto the next round.

Race 3: Hans Hertz vs Addy Hernan

Hans runs for his brother Harper and overcame a seeding round loss to get here.

Addy was undefeated in qualifying and recorded impressive come from behind wins to get here.

Hans raced out to the early lead.

Addy stayed close and took the lead on Ring Toss.

The pair was neck and neck going up the Warped Wall, but Addy missed the hand hold up the 6th obstacle.

Hans made it up the first try and hit the buzzer, advancing to the next round.  

Race 4: Kai Beckstrand vs Daniel Martin

Kai comes from a ninja family and deals with Type 1 Diabetes, while Daniel found confidence and acceptance with ANW.

Both ninjas were undefeated in qualifying with Kai recording three of the top five fastest qualifying times in the age group overall.

Kai and Daniel were even until the end of Tic Toc, when Daniel stumbled at the netting.

Kai’s lead grew on Floating Tiles.

Kai would dominate the course once again, hitting the buzzer and advancing to the next round.

Race 5: Tyler Smith vs Josh Auer

Tyler recorded one of the fastest times in the age group despite having a seeding round loss.

Josh, the “Bathrobe Ninja,” was undefeated in his qualifying round.

The two were even through two obstacles.

But Josh’s dismount on Ring Toss gave him a huge advantage halfway through the course.

Tyler’s signature obstacle is Fly Wheel, and his quick work on the fifth obstacle closed the gap significantly.

In a photo finish, Josh hit the buzzer 2 tenths of a second before Tyler.

Race 6: Sawyer Shaw vs Tate Allen

Sawyer’s runs were dominant in qualifying, while Tate’s best time was three seconds faster than Sawyer’s in qualifying.

The two were near even going into the Ring Toss.

Sawyer got hung up on the 3rd obstacle, allowing Tate to build a big lead.

And that lead would hold as Tate hit the buzzer and advanced to the next round.

Race 7: Caleb Brown vs Rose Lord

Both ninjas were unbeaten in qualifying, with Caleb recording some of the age group’s fastest times.

Caleb pushed the pace early, but Rose stayed right be his side.

Rose got stuck on Ring Toss, and Caleb took full advantage.

Caleb never relented, heading up the Warped Wall on his way to the next round.

Race 8: Aleksander Flores vs Cal Plohoros

Aleksander, the 8 time martial arts champions, was unbeaten in qualifying.

Cal was also undefeated with the 2nd fastest time in the age group.

Cal raced out to the early lead, but Aleksander stayed right by him.

Aleksander’s feet got wet on Ring Toss, giving Cal the advantage he needed.

Cal did the one swing dismount on Fly Wheels and made his way up the Warped Wall to advance to the next round.

The Quarterfinals

Race 1: Autumn Mathisen vs Ella McRitchie

The two were neck and neck through two obstacles.

Ella took a lead on Ring Toss and that lead grew on Floating Tiles.

Ella never looked back as she hit the buzzer and advanced to the Finals.

Race 2: Hans Hertz vs Kai Beckstrand

Kai’s had a big lead early.

Hans nearly caught up on Ring Toss, but Kai skipped pegs to assert his lead again.

Hans stayed close behind, but Kai never relented, setting a new fastest time for his age group.

Race 3: Josh Auer vs Tate Allen

Tate stumbled out the gate, but he overcame it and made it near even on Ring Toss.

The two were neck and neck through the whole course.

It came down to a brief stumble on the Warped Wall by Josh.

His foot slipped, allowing Tate to hit the buzzer first and advance to the Finals.

Race 4: Caleb Brown vs Cal Plohoros

Caleb had a slight lead early, but Cal stayed close.

He took the lead with a creative dismount on Ring Toss.

Caleb surpassed Cal on the Floating Tiles and looked to be on his way to the Finals.

But Cal nearly ran Caleb down from behind on the Warped Wall.

Caleb, however, hit the buzzer just before Cal made it up to the top and advanced to the Finals.

Your Finalists

Finalist 1: Ella McRitchie

Finalist 2: Kai Beckstrand

Finalist 3: Tate Allen

Finalist 4: Caleb Brown

Next week, it’s the 13-14 year old semifinals. See you then.

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