American Ninja Warrior JR Kids Season 1 2019 Episode 19 (Age 13-14 Semifinals)
The field of 64 is down to 16 for the 13-14 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, 4th place gets $2,500.
And as always, Laurie Hernandez will be joining Matt and Akbar as co-host this season.
The course: Archer Steps, Tic Toc, Floating Tiles, Devil Steps, Flying Shelf Grab, 13 foot Warped Wall (no hand holds)
Round of 16:
Race 1: Analise Grady vs Celena Vanhaezebrouck
Analise is the softball pitcher who went undefeated with two come from behind wins in qualifying. She also builds robots.
Celena is a junior Olympian who also went undefeated in the first round.
Celena came out fast, building a nice lead early.
Analise stayed close behind as the two entered Flying Shelf Grab.
But Celena did her patented quick dismount on the 5th obstacle and secured the victory on top of the Warped Wall.
Race 2: Jonathan Godbout vs Jay Lewis
Jonathan is the drummer who overcame mistakes on the course to advance to the semifinals. Watch out for him on the Flying Shelf Grab.
But Jay also makes quick work of the 5th obstacle, meaning this matchup will likely have a tight finish at the end.
The two were even through two obstacles.
Jay built a lead for a brief time on Devil Steps, but Jonathan caught up and evened things up going into the long-awaited fifth obstacle.
Jonathan came out of Flying Shelf Grab ahead.
And he would keep that lead up to the top of the Warped Wall, hitting the buzzer and advancing to the next round.
Race 3: Blake Feero vs Hudson Humphries
The “Natural Ninja” has two loves in his life: ninja and his hair. He was undefeated in qualifying.
Hudson volunteers at a camp for kids with special needs. And the “Arkansas Ninja” was also unbeaten.
Both came out fast.
Hudson opened up a nice lead after a fast start, but Blake was not far behind.
Blake pushed a little too hard as he slipped and fell on the Flying Shelf Grab.
Hudson hit the buzzer and moved on to the next round.
Race 4: Max Feinberg vs Vance Walker
Max is a self-proclaimed band nerd who hopes competing will help him get a girlfriend.
Vance comes from the home whose parents host visiting ninjas.
Both competitors were undefeated in qualifying.
Vance had a slight lead early.
The lead grew larger on Devil Steps.
Max nearly ran Vance down from behind on Flying Shelf Grab, but Vance hit the buzzer just before Max and advanced to the next round.
Race 5: Nate Pardo vs Caiden Madzelan
Nate is a baseball player who was unbeaten in qualifying with the rounds 2nd fastest time.
Caiden plays Dungeon and Dragons every Friday night and was also undefeated in qualifying.
Nate had a slight lead going into Devil Steps.
That lead extended as Nate flew through Flying Shelf Grab.
Caiden fell as he tried to make up time going for two shelves in one leap on the fifth obstacle.
Nate hit the buzzer and moved on to the next round with the division’s new fastest time.
Race 6: Gabby Romano vs Kody Hazan
Gabby is a stunt girl who trains with Jessie Graff.
Kody is the “Dead Hang Ninja.”
Kody raced out to a fast start.
Shockingly, Gabby slipped a fell on Tic Toc, giving Kody the win.
Race 7: Jeremiah Boyd vs Ethan Bartnicki
Jeremiah competes in multiple sports and was undefeated in qualifying.
Ethan is a rapper known as “Little Dolla” and also went undefeated in qualifying.
Jeremiah raced out to the early lead.
Ethan stayed close and pulled ahead on Devil Steps.
The two were neck and neck going up the Wall, where Jeremiah hit the buzzer a split second before Ethan.
Race 8: Sophia Lavallee vs Elijah Browning
Sophia is a world traveler who overcame an early loss to advance to the semifinals.
Elijah also had his shares of close calls to get to this round.
Sophia raced out the lead early.
That lead only grew on the Devil Steps.
Sophia kept that lead all the way up the Warped Wall, edging out “the Boss” to advance to the next round.
The Quarterfinals
Race 1: Hudson Humphries vs Vance Walker
Hudson took a slight lead early.
But Vance took a lead and increased it on Devil Steps.
Hudson hurried to catch up, but ended up slipping up on Flying Shelf Grab.
Vance hit the buzzer and advanced to the Finals.
Race 2: Celena Vanhaezebrouck vs Jonathan Godbout
The two were close going into the 3rd obstacle.
The two stayed close going into the 5th obstacle.
They were neck and neck until Celena hesitated before attempting Flying Shelf Grab.
That allowed Jonathan to pull ahead and take the win, advancing to the Finals.
Race 3: Nate Pardo vs Kody Hazan
Nate has a nine inch height advantage.
And he used that length to get a big lead early.
It looked like an easy win for Nate, but he slipped attempting a one handed grab on the final shelf of Flying Shelf Grab.
However, Kody fell on the Devil Steps, allowing Nate to advance.
Race 4: Jeremiah Boyd vs Sophia Lavallee
Jeremiah raced out to the early lead.
But Sophia caught up, evening things up on Devil Steps.
Jeremiah had a slight lead as the pair made it to Flying Shelf Grab.
And he kept that lead all the way to the Warped Wall, where he hit the buzzer first and advanced to the Finals.
Your Finalists
Finalist 1: Vance Walker
Finalist 2: Jonathan Godbout
Finalist 3: Nate Pardo
Finalist 4: Jeremiah Boyd
The finals for all three age groups are next week!!! See you then.
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