American Ninja Warrior Junior Season 3 2021, Episode 4 – Qualifying #4

This week’s theme is ninja’s whose parents are top stars on the adult version of American Ninja Warrior.

Let’s review the 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 move on to the quarterfinals.

Ninja Mentors: Jesse Labreck and Najee Richardson

9–10-Year-Old Division

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

Seeding Round: Kailey Cooper vs Blake Zimmerman

Zimmerman’s mom is Sandy Zimmerman (the first mom to ever hit a buzzer), while Kelly’s brother (Ninja Coop, who competed in Season 2 and will complete later this season) has been coaching his sister up for competition.

Black raced out to an early lead.

But Kailey caught up on Lunatic Ledges.

She then raced into the lead as the pair approached obstacle five.

The pair alternated the lead all the way to the end when….

“The Bird” Kailey Cooper hit the buzzer a split second before Blake.

Seeding Round: Avery Spencer vs Brandon Avila

Brandon is the one who trains his father, four-time national finalist Jody Avila. Avery, meanwhile, is the “Persistent Ninja” who built a ninja course at home from money made at a car wash.

Both ninjas got off to quick starts.

But after Brandon passed the 2^nd obstacle, Avery slipped and fell on Lunatic Ledges.

Brandon went ahead and hit the buzzer, getting his competition off to a very good start.

Knockout Round: Brandon Avila vs Blake Zimmerman

Brandon advanced to the Final Showdown after Blake (just like Brandon’s last opponent) fell on Lunatic Ledges.

Knockout Round: Kailey Cooper vs Avery Spencer

Kailey also advanced after Avery fell on Lunatic Ledges.

11–12-Year-old Division

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

Seeding Round: Bray Weinacker vs Lindsey Zimmerman

Bray comes from a family of wakeboarders. He only has vision in one eye after a horrible accident. Meanwhile, Lindsey (you know who her mom is) advocates for animal rescue shelters and trains her dog Koda to run her at home ninja course.

Bray became another victim of Lunatic Ledges.

That didn’t stop Lindsey from going ahead and finishing the course.

Seeding Round: Greyson McLeod vs Corine Capriotti

Greyson is a survival expert who can build his own shelter and start a fire, while Corine is a triplet (any chance they’re switching her out with sisters between runs?)

Corine took the early lead.

As Greyson was trying to catch up, he fell on Spike Crossing.

Corine went ahead and finished the course.

Knockout Round: Corine Capriotti vs Bray Weinacker

Bray got past Lunatic Ledges this time.

And he pulled ahead of Corine on Spike Crossing.

Bray flew through Spring Forward using single bounds.

Corine fell at the end of the obstacle trying to catch up.

Then, Bray finished the course and advanced to the Final Showdown.

Knockout Round: Lindsey Zimmerman vs Greyson McLeod

‘Flex’ LaBreck helped Greyson with anxiety before the start of the race.

Lindsey used her six-inch height advantage to take the lead.

But Greyson caught up and made it past Spike Crossing this time.

They were neck and neck going up the Wall….

…when Lindsey hit the buzzer first and advanced to the Final Showdown.

Are you faster than a Ninja Junior?

Luke Beckstrandt (son) vs Brian Beckstrandt (dad)

A new feature this season to see if the veteran ninjas can hang in a race with the junior ninjas.

Luke was bringing more speed than dad.

And that lead only grew after Sideways.

Dad got stuck on Broken Bridge and Luke made it up the Warped Wall and took the win.

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 Fernandez vs Kaitlyn Berenty

Both fell on Spinball Wizard, but Kaitlyn made it to the third obstacle first.

Seeding Round: Clara Hoss vs Secorra Heinrichs

Secorra took the win but didn’t make it up the Warped Wall.

Knockout Round: Kaitlyn Berenty vs Clara Hoss

Kaitlyn once completed a course with a broken knuckle (that is why her nickname is “Knuckles”), while Clara “the Cringe Kid” trains on a farm.

Kaitlyn used her long strides to take an early lead.

And it was her long legs that kept her alive after a near fall on Lunatic Ledges.

Clara nearly caught up before falling on Sideways.

Kaitlyn advanced to the Final Showdown, but she’s still looking for her first buzzer.

Knockout Round: Secorra Heinrichs vs Jordan Fernandez

Secorra has been a certified scuba diver since she was ten.

Jordan’s father, a firefighter, passed away two years ago. His father’s firefighting partners built a ninja course for her at her home.

Both ninjas were cautious and close to each other through two obstacles.

The difference was on Sideways when Jordan fell on the third obstacle.

And this time, Secorra made it all the way to the end of the course and hit her first buzzer!!!

9–10-year-old Final Showdown: Brandon Avila vs Kailey Cooper

Brandon sprinted ahead to an early lead.

That lead was only extended on the Liquid Pipes.

This race, his competition made it past Lunatic Ledges.

But Brandon still led from start to finish to advance to the Final Showdown.

11–12-year-old Final Showdown: Bray Weinacker vs Lindsey Zimmerman

Lindsey stumbled early but made up for the misstep on Lunatic Ledges.

Bray took the lead again heading into Spring Forward.

And despite a near miss on the landing, Bray kept the lead and advanced to the quarterfinals.

13–14-year-old Final Showdown: Kaitlyn Berenty vs Secorra Heinrichs

Once again, Kaitlyn used her long legs to take the lead after the first two obstacles.

But Kaitlyn fell at the end of Broken Bridge.

And after Secorra made it past Broken Bridge, she clinched her spot in the Quarterfinals.

Your Quarterfinalists:

9–10-year-old division: Brandon Avila

11–12-year-old division: Bray Weinacker

13–14-year-old division: Secorra Heinrichs