American Ninja Warrior Junior Kids Season 2 2020, Episode 5

Season 2 of American Ninja Warrior Jr. rolls on!!!

And with three finals’ qualifiers in the books, it’s time to bring in a new group of ninjas to compete for spot #2.

Let’s review this season’s 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 round races move on to the final showdown, where the winner will move on to the quarterfinals.

-And as a reminder: instead of waiting until the end of the season to see all the winners, there will be a quarterfinal round episode after three episodes to determine who goes on to the finals.

-With the new format, there will only be three semifinal qualifiers, so the fourth spot will be determined with the two fastest non-winners competing for a wildcard spot.

9-10 Year Old Division (Ninja Mentor: Barclay Stockett)

The course: Shrinking Steps, Little Dipper, Spider Walls, Block Run, Flying Squirrel, 13 Foot Warped Wall (with two hand holds)

Seeding Round: Riley Tolman vs Zoe Zogleman

Zoe is Miss Kansas Junior Preteen, while Riley’s nickname is “Mini-Flex” (a mini Flex LaBreck that is).

Riley took a big lead early as Zoe struggled with Shrinking Steps.

Zoe fought back to tie things up only to stumble on Block Run.

Riley built a solid lead again only to have Zoe fight back once again and tie things up on Flying Squirrel.

But Zoe slipped and fell on the fifth obstacle, and Riley made her up the Warped Wall to claim the win.

Seeding Round: Noah Daul vs Nathaniel Honvou

“Ninja Nutin” Nathaniel Honvou uses his spare time to break records while Noah, the tallest ninja in the 9-10 year old division, is a roller coaster enthusiast.

“Goliath” built a slight lead going through two obstacles.

But “Ninja Nutin” kept the pressure on.

With Nathaniel coming up close behind, Noah slipped and fell on Flying Squirrel.

Nathaniel completed the fifth obstacle and took the win.

During the break…

Knockout Round: Nathaniel Honvou vs Zoe Zogleman

Nathaniel got the win and advanced to the Final Showdown, while Zoe hit her first buzzer.

Knockout Round: Riley Tolman vs Noah Daul

Noah took the lead early once again.

“Goliath” nearly lost his balance on Block Run, but he held on and kept his run alive.

Riley stayed close behind, but Noah overcame Flying Squirrel this time and advanced to the Final Showdown.

11-12 Year old Division (Ninja Mentor: Grant McCartney)

The course: Shrinking Steps, Little Dipper, Double Tilt Ladders, Block Run, Wing Nuts, 13 foot Warped Wall (one hand hold)

Seeding Round: Andreas Johnson vs Taylor Richards

Andreas Johnson makes stop motion videos (including ninja warrior runs on lego obstacle courses!!!), while Taylor is a rock climber.

Andreas and Taylor were even after one obstacle.

They stayed that way going into Double Tilt Ladders.

Andreas made a big leap on the end of the third obstacle to take command.

Taylor pressed on the Wing nuts and fell, clearing the way for a win for Andreas.

During the break…

Seeding Round: James Scott vs Sitara Canada

James, a returning semifinalist from last year, took the win.

Knockout Round: Andreas Johnson vs Sitara Canada

Sitara protests so everyone can have equal rights.

Andreas raced out to the lead early, but Sitara kept nipping at his heels.

Once again, Andreas got separation on Wingnuts.

And he held on to the end, advancing to the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: James Scott vs Taylor Richards

Taylor’s run ended early after the bar slipped off the rail on Little Dipper, and James moves onto the Final Showdown.

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

The course: Floating Steps, Little Dipper, Crazy Cliffhanger, Block Run, Sky Hooks, 13-foot Warped Wall (no hand holds)

Seeding Round: Anabella Heinrichs vs Emma Liskey

Anabella has been scubadiving for four years, while Emma is a multisport athlete who walks on stilts.

Anabella took a lead on the Little Dipper with a two foot standing landing.

Anabella kept her lead all to the Sky Hooks.

But Anabella lost her momentum there, and Emma capitalized, passing Anabella and taking the win.

Seeding Round: Aidan Welsh vs Isaiah Thomas

Detroit Piston legend and basketball hall-of-famer Isaiah Tho….

Oops, wrong Isaiah (I’m sure the “Flyboy Ninja” has never heard that one before)

Isaiah’s mom and grandma have been his top influences, while Aidan is a competitive downhill skier.

Isaiah took the lead on Little Dipper.

His long stride increased Isaiah’s lead going into the fifth obstacle.

Aidan made it interesting, nipping on the “Fly Boy Ninja’s” heels on the fifth obstacle.

But “the Winter Ninja” slipped and feel on Sky Hooks.

Isaiah made his way up the Warped Wall and hit the buzzer to claim the win.

Knockout Round: Isaiah Thomas vs Anabella Heinrichs

Anabella put up a tough fight, but Isaiah took the win again and moved onto the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: Emma Liskey vs Aidan Welsh

Aidan took the early lead, but Emma caught up on Little Dipper.

Emma passed Aidan on Block Run as “The Winter Ninja” stumbled on the fourth obstacle once again.

And she would hold that lead all the way to the finish, recording her 2^nd win and advancing to the Final Showdown.

9-10 year old Final Showdown: Nathaniel Honvou vs Noah Daul

In the rematch, both ninjas showed a comfort for the course.

Midway through, Nathaniel pulled ahead and set a new high (he is a record breaker after all) for the age group.

Nathaniel took the win and advanced to the Quarterfinals.

But Noah turned in a top time as well, placing first on the Wildcard leaderboard.

11-12 year old Final Showdown: Andreas Johnson vs James Scott

A pair of unbeatens meet for a spot in the Quarterfinals!!!

James took the lead on Little Dipper.

And most importantly, he kept that lead on Double Tilt Ladders, Andreas’s strongest obstacle.

It was Wingnuts where Andreas made his big push in this race, passing James on his way to what looked like a sure win.

But Andreas slipped and lost momentum as he tried to make his way up the Warped Wall.

James took advantage, passing Andreas and advancing to the Quarterfinals.

13-14 year old Final Showdown: Isaiah Thomas vs Emma Liskey

Isaiah’s top time is five seconds better than Emma’s from previous rounds.

And he had a lead going into Crazy Cliffhanger.

A stumble on Block Run by Isaiah left a door open for Emma to get back in it.

But “the Flyboy Ninja” held a slight lead all the way to the end, advancing to the Quarterfinals.

“The Ginja Ninja,” however, will for sure be a contender for one of those Wildcard spots.

Your Quarterfinalists:

9-10 year old division: Nathaniel Honvou

11-12 year old division: James Scott

13-14 year old division: Isaiah Thomas

Wildcard Standings:

9-10 year old division

Noah Daul

Riley Tolman

11-12 year old division

Andreas Johnson

Taylor Richards

13-14 year old division

Emma Liskey

Anabella Heinrichs