American Ninja Warrior Junior Kids Season 2 2020, Episode 15
It’s time for the final qualifier of American Ninja Warrior Jr. Season 2!!!
Let’s take one last look at 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: Sargent Chizmadia vs Reeder Smith
Sargent plays football when he’s not training for ninja, while Reeder is a returning ninja who loves rock climbing.
These two came out fast!!!
Reeder had a slight lead after two obstacles.
Reeder kept that lead all the way to the Flying Squirrel.
On the fifth obstacle is where Reeder pulled away and claimed the win.
Seeding Round: Kayla Dodge vs Ananda Mattei
Ananda lives in a home where three languages are spoken (Italian, Portuguese, and English) due to having an Italian father and a Brazilian mother, while Kayla wakes up early to read before school everyday.
Ananda took the lead early on, but she fell on the Little Dipper.
Kayla completed obstacle number two and took the win.
During the break…
Knockout Round: Kayla Dodge vs Sargent Chizmadia
Kayla advanced to the Final Showdown after “Sarge” fell on the Little Dipper.
Knockout Round: Reeder Smith vs Ananda Mattei
As usual, Reeder came out fast.
And he did not let up the entire course.
Reeder led from start to finish and advanced to the Final Showdown.
11-12 Year old Division (Ninja Mentor: Natalie Duran)
The course: Shrinking Steps, Little Dipper, Double Tilt Ladders, Block Run, Wing Nuts, 13 foot Warped Wall (one hand hold)
Seeding Round: Freyja Flink vs Shenel Arenas
Shenel competes with her mom all the time and is the “Lighthouse Ninja” (which refers to the strength of the people in the Philippines), while Freyja is a multisport athlete who trains five days a week.
Both ninjas were even through two obstacles.
The pair stayed that way going into the Block Run.
On the Block Run, Shenel slipped and fell.
Freyja went ahead and hit the buzzer.
During the break…
Seeding Round: Paul Woods vs Michael Sherman
Paul took the win.
Knockout Round: Freyja Flink vs Michael Sherman
Michael wants to be a theoretical physicist when he grows up.
The two ninjas were even after two.
On the Double Tilt Ladders, Michael gained some separation.
Freyja closed the gap significantly on Flying Squirrel.
But Michael held on and advanced to the Final Showdown.
Knockout Round: Paul Woods vs Shenel Arenas
Paul started a concession stand to raise money so everyone at his ninja gym could travel to competitions.
Paul raced out to a big lead early.
That lead only grew on Double Tilt Ladders.
Paul lead from start to finish, advancing to the Final Showdown.
Shenel went ahead and finished the course.
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: Alex Boyd vs Joaquin Rayford
Joaquin has found a second home at his ninja gym, where his coach is a father figure, while Alex is a golfer who builds forts from reclaimed materials.
Joaquin came out fast.
But he fell on the Little Dipper.
Alex fell on Sky Hooks, but he took the win.
Seeding Round: Ava Mendler vs Avery Glantz
Avery is a experienced gymnast and ninja who is best friends with “Ninja Cal,” while Ava loves the stage and owns her identity as a girl who prefers to dress like a boy.
Avery had a slight lead after the Little Dipper.
That lead grew on the Crazy Cliffhanger.
Avery got caught up on the Sky Hooks and Ava was about to catch up.
Both ninjas fell on the fifth obstacle.
But Avery got to the fifth obstacle first, taking the win.
Knockout Round: Avery Glantz vs Joaquin Rayford
Avery came up short on the Little Dipper, and Joaquin hit his first buzzer on the way to the Final Showdown.
Knockout Round: Alex Boyd vs Ava Mendler
Alex raced out to the early lead.
That lead only grew as as Alex moved through the rest of the course.
Alex made it all the way to the buzzer this time, advancing to the Final Showdown.
9-10 year old Final Showdown: Kayla Dodge vs Reeder Smith
Reeder, as usual, started fast.
A slip on the Spider Walls nearly cost Reeder on the third obstacle.
But he held on and ran flawlessly from that point forward.
Reeder moved onto the quarterfinals, buy Kayla did finish the course!!!
11-12 year old Final Showdown: Michael Sherman vs Paul Woods
Paul moved smoothly through the first two obstacles as he built a nice lead.
Michael was staying close behind and he, in trying to keep up, tried to make a long leap on the Double Tilt Ladders.
Michael came up short.
Paul went onto the quarterfinals, while Michael qualified for the wildcard with his time in the previous round!!!
13-14 year old Final Showdown: Joaquin Rayford vs Alex Boyd
Joaquin had a slight lead on Little Dipper.
That lead grew after the Crazy Cliffhanger.
Alex stayed close behind, giving himself a chance on the Sky Hooks.
But Joaquin held on until the end, hitting the buzzer and advancing to the quarterfinals!!!
Your Quarterfinalists:
9-10 year old division: Reeder Smith
11-12 year old division: Paul Woods
13-14 year old division: Joaquin Rayford
Wildcard Qualifiers:
9-10 year old division:
Jeff Baumgarten
John David Spatola
11-12 year old division:
Luke Milman
Michael Sherman
13-14 year old division:
Zach Hammer
Sophia Lavallee
Just two more episodes left this season!!! Come back next week for the final quarterfinal round of the season.
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