TV Recap: S02E11 – American Ninja Warrior Junior Kids 2020

American Ninja Warrior Junior Kids Season 2 2020, Episode 11

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

And we have just one more episode before another exciting quarterfinal episode.

Let’s review this season’s format:

-Just like last season, 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 quarterfinals.

-New this season: 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 semifinals.

-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: Najee Richardson)

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

Seeding Round: Kali Pomerenke vs Owen Pham

Owen missed last season because of an elbow injury during training, while Kali is a competitive dancer who is an aspiring actress.

Both ninjas were running even through the first two obstacles.

Owen had a slight lead through the middle of the course.

Owen kept that lead all the way to the end of the course, recording the win.

Seeding Round: Baylee Beckstrand vs Vincent Canales

Vincent’s mom is Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu and he aspires to be an Olympic gymnast one day as well, while Baylee is one of three Beckstrands (not counting their ninja parents) competing in this competition.

Baylee fell in the race early on the Little Dipper.

Vincent went ahead and finished the course.

During the break…

Knockout Round: Owen Pham vs Baylee Beckstrand

Owen advanced to the Final Showdown!!!

Knockout Round: Vincent Canales vs Kali Pomerenke

Vincent’s foot got caught in the net on Little Dipper.

But a great climb through Spider Walls pushed Vincent back in the lead.

Trying to catch up, Kali fell on Flying Squirrel.

Vincent hit the buzzer again and moved on to the Final Showdown!!!

11-12 Year old Division (Ninja Mentor: Jesse Graff)

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

Seeding Round: Navaeh Masso vs Emerson Hebel

Emerson wants to be a teacher and practices lessons regulary in her bedroom, while Naveah trains gymnastics 25 hours a week.

Naveah has a nine inch height advantage and it showed as moved on flawlessly from Little Dipper.

But Emerson caught up on Double Tilt Ladders.

Naveah evened things up but stumbled and fell on Block Run.

Emerson went ahead and finished the course.

Seeding Round: Roberto Garemore vs Sean Arms

Two returning stars from last season (though I am not sure why they are competing against each other this early).

Roberto had a slight lead after Little Dipper.

But Sean took over the race on Double Tilt Ladders.

Both ninjas finished the course, with Sean taking the win.

Knockout Round: Emerson Hebel vs Roberto Garemore

Emerson was struggling a bit with anxiety before the race.

Roberto raced out to the early lead.

Roberto increased that lead with a huge dismount on Double Tilt Ladders.

Roberto won the race and moved on to the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: Sean Arms vs Navaeh Masso

Sean (last season’s runner-up in the 9-10 year old division) advanced to the Final Showdown.

13-14 year old Division (Ninja Mentor: Drew Dreschel)

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

Seeding Round: Karen Potts vs Valerie Saavedra

Valerie and her family moved to the US from Venezuela when she was 11, while Karen is a stud softball player who owns three parakeets.

Karen had the lead early.

But Valerie caught up and passed Valerie going into the Sky Hooks.

A stumble by Valerie before the Sky Hooks gave Karen what she needed to take the lead for good.

Karen hit the buzzer and took the win.

Seeding Round: Ryan Krauthamer vs Josh Auer

Josh, the bathrobe ninja, is back after a semifinal appearance in the 11-12 year division last season, while Ryan plays symphony percussion.

Ryan the rookie had the lead going into Crazy Cliffhanger

But Auer caught up and showed the experience on the Sky Hooks.

His quick work through the fifth obstacle proved to be the difference has Josh hit the buzzer and took the win.

During the break….

Knockout Round: Josh Auer vs Valerie Saavedra

Josh nearly fell on Little Dipper, but he held on and advanced to the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: Karen Potts vs Ryan Krauthamer

The pair was even through two obstacles.

Ryan took the lead on Crazy Cliffhanger, but KJP nearly caught up on Sky Hooks.

But Ryan kept the edge and moved onto the Final Showdown.

9-10 year old Final Showdown: Owen Pham vs Vincent Canales

A stumble going into the Little Dipper by Vincent allowed Owen to build a strong lead.

Vincent kept pushing, but he never overcame the stumble.

Owen kept pushing forward all the way to the buzzer, advancing to the quarterfinals!!!

11-12 year old Final Showdown: Roberto Garemore vs Sean Arms

A slight pause on the cargo net on Little Dipper gave Roberto the lead.

Roberto increased that lead on Double Tilt Ladders.

But Sean made incredible work of the Wingnuts, coming from behind and advancing to the quarterfinals!!!

13-14 year old Final Showdown: Josh Auer vs Ryan Krauthamer

The pair was even through two obstacles.

Josh grabbed a slight lead on Crazy Cliffhanger.

Ryan kept things close, but another great push through Sky Hooks clinched “the Bathrobe Ninja’s” spot in the quarterfinals.

Your Quarterfinalists:

9-10 year old division: Owen Pham

11-12 year old division: Sean Arms

13-14 year old division: Josh Auer

Wildcard Qualifiers:

9-10 year old division:

Jax Neubauer

Trinity Rocho

11-12 year old division:

Carson Dean

Jack David

13-14 year old division:

Caleb Brown

Ella McRitchie

Come back for another quarterfinal round next week!!!

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