TV Recap: S03E1 – American Ninja Warrior Junior 2021 Qualifying Round 1

American Ninja Warrior Junior Season 3 2021, Episode 1 – Qualifying #1

It’s time for Season 3 of American Ninja Warrior Jr.!!!

I’m not sure when these recaps will be posting each week since the show is not posting on a streaming service. But always expect the recaps to post, at most, a day or two after the episodes post on Thursday.

Let’s look at 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 rounds move on to the final showdown, where the winner will advance to the next round.

Your Ninja Mentors: Jesse ‘Flex’ LaBreck and Najee Richardson

9–10-Year-Old Division

The course: Hopscotch, Lunatic Ledges, Liquid Pipe, Broken Bridge, Flying Saucers, 13 Foot Warped Wall (with two hand holds)

Seeding Round: Michael Scott vs Max Salebra

Max wants to be President one day, while Michael has five names and runs with asthma (which is why Najee Richardson is Michael’s hero).

Max took the early lead.

The lead only grew as Michael’s feet hit the water (though on ANW Jr., he can keep going.

Max only picked up his pace as he made it up the Wall and hit the buzzer first.

Seeding Round: Cecily Rogers vs Kashi Paramasivam

Cecily plays football and is nicknamed ‘Lil Beast’ while Kashi downs popsicles before his run and enjoys polar bear plunges.

Cecily took the lead on Lunatic Ledges.

The lead grew on Broken Bridge.

But Kashi appeared to be making up ground on Flying Saucers before he slipped and fell trying to catch up.

Cecily went ahead and hit the buzzer as she claimed victory.

Knockout Round: Max Salebra vs Kashi Paramasivam

Max advanced to the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: Cecily Rogers vs Michael Scott

Michael got off to a better start this time.

That lead grew on Liquid Pipe as Cecily got stuck on Lunatic Ledges.

Michael would lead all the way from bell to buzzer, setting up a rematch in the Final Showdown.

11–12-Year-old Division (Ninja Mentor: Najee Richardson)

The course: Hopscotch, Lunatic Ledges, Spike Crossing, Broken Bridge, Spring Forward, 13-foot Warped Wall (one hand hold)

Seeding Round: Brian Moreno vs Aaliya Van Heel

Brian creates beats on his tablet while Aaliya is a star basketball player.

Aaliya fell on Lunatic Ledges.

Brian got the win, but he fell before he could get to the Warped Wall.

Seeding Round: Josie Anderson vs Kiran Narawani

Josie is “the Christmas Ninja” with a Christmas themed ninja course in her backyard while Kiran can solve Rubix cubes in less than seven seconds.

A slight stumble by Josie allowed Kiran to take a slight lead.

But Josie stayed within striking distance as the pair approached the last two obstacles.

And on Spring Forward, Josie took big leaps to pass Kiran on her way to victory.

Knockout Round: Brian Moreno vs Kiran Narawani

Brian was a beat ahead going into Spike Crossing.

But Kiran used his superior reach to pull ahead.

Brian stayed close, but Kiran beat him up the Warped Wall and hit the buzzer first.

Knockout Round: Josie Anderson vs Aaliya Van Heel

Josie pulled ahead for good on Spike Crossing and advanced to the Final Showdown.

Aaliya did hit her first buzzer.

13–14-year-old Division

The course: Hopscotch, Lunatic Ledges, Sideways, Broken Bridge, Spinball Wizard, 13-foot Warped Wall (no hand holds)

Seeding Round: Jordan Carr vs Luke Beckstrand

Jordan made it to the Final 8 last season, while Luke shares the famous ninja name with a former ANW Jr. champ.

Jordan wasted no time attacking the obstacles.

Her quick pace gave her a big lead going into the final two obstacles.

And Jordan kept that lead all the way to the end of the course.

Seeding Round: Alex Young vs Taylor Greene

Greene is a three-time veteran of ANW Jr. who works to get school supplies and sports supplies to those in need while Young is a rookie who loves pranks.

The veteran Greene took the win here.

Knockout Round: Jordan Carr vs Alex Young

Jordan was somehow even faster this time, skipping steps on the course left and right.

Jordan went sub 40 seconds this time as she hit the buzzer and moved onto the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: Taylor Greene vs Luke Beckstrand

Greene took the lead early.

Luke was keeping it close until he fell on Sideways.

Greene hit the buzzer setting up a matchup of veterans in the Final Showdown.

9–10-year-old Final Showdown: Max Salebra vs Michael Scott

Michael made an aggressive move on Lunatic Ledges to take the lead.

Max stayed close behind as the pair advanced to Flying Saucers.

It was on the fifth obstacle that Max took the lead back and took it for good.

Max Salebra advances to the quarterfinals!!!

11–12-year-old Final Showdown: Kiran Narawani vs Josie Anderson

The pair were even through two obstacles.

But the race came to an end when Kiran missed the platform on Spike Crossing.

And the Christmas Ninja hit the buzzer with her fastest time so far!!!

Josie Anderson advances to the quarterfinals!!!

13–14-year-old Final Showdown: Jordan Carr vs Taylor Greene

Taylor had the lead coming off Lunatic Ledges.

But Jordan passed her on Sideways.

The lead would change up one more time on Spinball Wizard with Greene taking that lead all the way to the Quarterfinals!!!

Taylor Greene advances to the quarterfinals!!!

Your Quarterfinalists:

9–10-year-old division: Max Salebra

11–12-year-old division: Josie Anderson

13–14-year-old division: Taylor Greene

 

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