American Ninja Warrior Junior Season 3 2021, Episode 8 – Qualifying #8
It’s our last week of qualifying for season 3.
Let’s take one last look at 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
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: Ryan Cooper vs Nathanael Honvou
Since last season, “Ninja Coop” has been building bottle rockets. He even sent one into the sky before his run.
Meanwhile, Nathanael was last season’s 9–10-year-old division champion.
Ninja Coop said in his promo package that he’s been working on speed. And he came out hot.
But Ninja Nutin passed Ryan on Lunatic Ledges and never looked back.
Ryan made it close at the end, but it was Nathanael who hit the buzzer first.
Seeding Round: Anna Moreno vs Lily Zezula
Anna came to the start line representing Argentina, her father’s homeland.
Meanwhile, Lily collects the signatures of every great ninja she meets. She also works to invent new devices that could better protect the environment.
Lily got off to a rough start as she fell on the very first obstacle.
Anna didn’t stop after the win was secure.
She went ahead and finished the course.
Knockout Round: Anna Moreno vs Ryan Cooper
Ryan hit the buzzer first and advanced to the Final Showdown.
Knockout Round: Nathanael Honvou vs Lily Zezula
Lily had no issue with Hopskotch this time.
But it was Nathanael who separated after the early obstacles.
Ninja Nutin hit the buzzer and advanced to the Final Showdown.
Lily also finished the course, hitting her first buzzer and getting a signature from Jesse Graff after her run.
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: Isabella Fuentes vs Rutha Auyong
Rutha got the win after both ninjas fell on Flying Saucers, but she got to the third obstacle first.
Seeding Round: Zuri Harrison vs Drew Bennett
Drew fell short on the Lunatic Ledges, and Zuri took the win.
Knockout Round: Rutha Auyong vs Drew Bennett
Rutha has lost track of all the books she’s read, and she wants to be a graphic novelist when she grows up.
Meanwhile, Drew’s Aunt Amber is battling Stage Four cancer and he’s running for her today.
Drew raced out to a big lead early, even completing Lunatic Ledges (the obstacle that took him out in the first race).
Drew kept that lead from start to finish and advanced to the Final Showdown.
Rutha also completed the course for her first buzzer.
Knockout Round: Zuri Harrison vs Isabella Fuentes
Zuri takes advantage of the Home School Life to practice ninja, and she loves baking.
Meanwhile, Isabella (the Boca Ninja) does strength training in addition to her ninja training.
Zuri built a big lead on Lunatic Ledges.
Trying to catch up, Isabella fell on the 2nd obstacle.
Zuri hit her second buzzer and advanced to the Final Showdown.
13–14-year-old Division
The course: Hopscotch, Lunatic Ledges, Sideways, Broken Bridge, Spinball Wizard, 13-foot Warped Wall (no hand holds)
Seeding Round: Jeremiah Kreider vs Rebekah Kornwall
Jeremiah represents his Pilipino culture in today’s run.
Meanwhile, Rebekah (the Singing Ninja) is big into party planning.
Rebekah raced out to the lead early.
As Rebekah completed Lunatic Ledges, Jeremiah slipped and fell on the 2nd obstacle.
Rebekah went ahead and completed the course.
Seeding Round: Sienna Perez vs Joseph Rouse
Sienna advanced to the top 4 last season and is a sportswear model.
Meanwhile, Joseph is on his school’s robotics team known as the Mafia.
Sienna got her first buzzer of the season and Joseph fell on Lunatic Ledges.
Knockout Round: Rebekah Kornwall vs Joseph Rouse
Rebekah had the lead after Lunatic Ledges.
“JG Rock” caught up on Sideways.
They were near even the rest of the course.
And in a close finish, Joseph hit the buzzer first and advanced to the Final Showdown.
Knockout Round: Sienna Perez vs Jeremiah Kreider
Sienna advanced to the Final Showdown and Jeremiah fell on Sideways.
11–12-year-old Final Showdown: Ryan Cooper vs Nathanael Honvou
Ryan raced out to the early lead.
He kept that lead and extended it as he approached Spring Forward.
And after some big moves on Spring Forward, “Ninja Coup” hit the buzzer and came in with the big upset!!!
9–10-year-old Final Showdown: Drew Bennett vs Zuri Harrison
This pair was about even going into Liquid Pipes.
It was on the 3rd obstacle where Drew pulled ahead.
Drew missed his first attempt up the Wall.
But he didn’t mess up on his second as he clinched a spot in the quarterfinals!!!
13–14-year-old Final Showdown: Joseph Rouse vs Sienna Perez
Another even race entering the third obstacle.
But it was there that Joseph slipped and fell on Sideways.
Once Sienna secured completion of the third obstacle, she was on her way to the quarterfinals once again!!!
Your Quarterfinalists:
11–12-year-old division: Ryan Cooper
9–10-year-old division: Drew Bennett
13–14-year-old division: Sienna Perez
Next week, it’s onto the Quarterfinals with each week’s winners plus several wildcards.
See you then.
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