American Ninja Warrior Season 11 2019: Los Angeles California City Qualifiers Season 11 Episode 1
It’s time for a new season of American Ninja Warrior!!!
And with a new season comes a number of changes to the qualifying format.
First, we have the Power Tower: the ninja with the two fastest qualifying times compete on the 40 foot high obstacle. The winner automatically qualifies for the National Finals in Vegas.
We also have a new twist on the Mega Wall. This season, players who choose the Mega Wall
Zuri Hall is your new sideline reporter joining Matt and Akbar covering the action.
Also, we have multiple new obstacles!!!
The Course: Shrinking Steps (new obstacle), Walking the Plank (new obstacle), Spring Forward (new obstacle), Diamond Dash, Spin Hopper, Warped Wall
Kevin Fisch, 25 year old Marine
Kevin is stationed at Camp Pendleton, and the whole battalion is here to see him (well, at least it appears that way).
Fisch had little difficulty with the first two obstacles, though he did land on his back finishing Walking the Plank.
Fisch continued his strong run on Spring Forward.
But it was the Diamond Dash, a landing he made head first before being thrown back into the water, that finished his run.
Aubry Wiltcher, 30 year old Yoga Teacher
One word comes to mind when watching Aubry: flexibility. She can crush a tomato between her shoulder blades as well.
Wiltcher missed the landing at first on Shrinking Steps. But she made it on the 2nd swing.
But on Walking the Plank, Aubry fell jumping for the bar.
Ben Udy, 30 year old Researcher
Or should we say Chad Flexington???
Ben, I mean Chad, made quick work of the first obstacle.
No issue at all with Walk the Plan either.
Ben became the first ninja on the night to make it past Diamond Dash.
But on Spin Hopper, the last spinner got knocked out of place. As Ben, I mean Chad, tried to make a landing a step early, the hopper he was on came out of place.
During the break…
Greg Freeman and Leah Duhon fell at Walking the Plank.
Alex Weber fell on Spring Forward.
Seth Rogers, 19 year old College Student
Seth’s parents are very thankful to have him on Ninja Warrior so he would stop climbing around their house.
“Big Red” nearly slipped at the start. But he held on and made a smooth landing.
Rogers found his form on the next two obstacles as he ran quickly through the Diamond Dash.
“Big Red” stayed steady on Spin Hopper. But he slipped and fell on the 2nd line of spinners.
David Alvarez, 25 year old Personal Trainer
David is running tonight hoping to find his sister, Wallyssa. The two were separated in foster care when she was little and he was 15.
Alvarez made easy work of Shrinking Steps.
Two more completed obstacles later set up David for a quick run across Diamond Dash.
Then, Alvarez became the first ninja on the night to complete Spin Hopper.
David’s going for the Wall!!!
And he made it up, hitting the buzzer and becoming the night’s first finisher!!!
Alvarez shows the pacifier, the only thing of Wallyssa’s he has, on top of the wall reminding everyone of why he’s competing.
David Alvarez completes the course in 2:59.71.
During the break…
Kareem Rush (former NBA Player) fell on Walk the Plank.
Emmy Rose fell on Spring Forward.
Noah Garfield fell on Spin Hopper.
Flip Rodriguez, 29 year old Stuntman
The nine time veteran had no issue with the first two obstacles on the course.
Flip’s quick work of the course continued on Spring Forward and the Diamond Dash.
Flip approached Spin Hopper, the obstacle that took him down last season, just like he did the rest of the course, fast.
And he completed it this time.
Flip decides he wants the Mega Wall.
He missed badly the first two tries.
And his hands just missed on his third attempt.
Next up, a series of veteran ninjas who fell on new obstacles:
Derek Miyamoto and Thomas Kofron fell on Spring Forward.
Jesse Orehshein and Anna Shumaker fell on Walking the Plank.
During the break…
Milton Nkunku fell on the first obstacle.
Tyler Fidler fell on Spring Forward.
Tiana Webberly fell on Walk the plank (another veteran falling early).
Samantha Bush, 27 year old Occupational Therapist
Samantha’s inspiration is her mom. Her mom’s hard work raising four girls on her own is why she’s here.
She needed two swings on the rope, but Samantha made it past the first obstacle.
Continuing on, Bush became the first woman on the night to complete Spring Forward.
Then, she stumbled but held on to complete Diamond Dash.
Samantha worked slow and steady on Spin Hopper.
And she nearly made it to the end of the fifth obstacle, but fell with only a few hoppers left.
David Campbell, 41 year old Audio Engineer
Campbell has competed on every season of American Ninja Warrior.
David made quick work of the first two obstacles on the course.
Campbell’s quick pace continued through Diamond Dash.
Campbell had no issues at all with Spin Hopper.
And Campbell made it up the Wall on his first try with the night’s fastest time so far.
David Campbell completes the course in 1:35.99.
During the break…
Christian Brown-Johnson, Charles Dimaano Jr, and Victor Chan all fell on Walk the Plank.
Brian Burk, 20 year old Engineering Student
Burk credits ninja competition with helping him not focus on his struggles with autism.
And the “Burkinator” made quick work of the first two obstacles.
Burk celebrates each completed obstacle, including his successful runs on Spring Forward and Diamond Dash.
Burk skipped the last pipe on Spin Hopper and it paid off as he completed the fifth obstacle.
Onto the Wall, Burk missed on his first attempt.
But he didn’t on his second, hitting the buzzer in his first ever run on the course.
And the Burkinator did the splits celebrating his success.
Brian Burk completes the course in 3:58.38.
During the break…
Rebekah Bonilla fell on Diamond Dash.
Corey McCoy, the Chainsaw Ninja, came up short at the Warped Wall.
Arnold Hernandez, a four-time ninja veteran, hit his first buzzer.
Cheyenne Arrington, 24 year old Student
Cheyenne is a cliff diver whose videos appear on YouTube.
She’s running for her hometown (Paradise, California), which burned down in a massive forest fire.
She made easy work of Shrinking Steps.
But Arrington’s hands slipped and fell off the bar on Walk the Plank.
Adam Rayl, Concrete Worker
Rayl worked quickly through the course, having no issue with any of the new obstacles.
And that quick work continued on Spin Hopper.
But his hands hit a spinner at different times, causing him to fall.
Rayl’s fast time will qualify for City Finals, but he misses out on the Mega Wall and on the Power Tower.
During the break…
Verdale Benson fell on Diamond Dash.
Jonah Bonner hit the buzzer in his very first run.
And Danell Leyva, an Olympic medal winning gymnast, hit the buzzer in his first ever attempt at the course.
Hunter Guerard, 30 year old Ninja Coach
Hunter traveled from Minnesota so he could compete with friend Kyle Soderman.
Guerard moved quickly through the first two obstacles.
Hunter kept the same pace for the next two.
Guerard was steady, but worked quickly through Spin Hopper.
And with a second to spare, Hunter hit the buzzer with the night’s fastest time.
Hunter Guerard completes the course in 1:34.03.
Kyle Soderman, 24 year old Stuntman
Soderman worked just as quickly as Guerard through the first part of the course.
After blazing past Diamond Dash, Soderman had a full minute to beat Guerard’s time.
The height could have been an issue for Soderman on Spin Hopper.
But it wasn’t.
Instead of going for the Wall and the fastest time, Soderman went for the Mega Wall.
He missed the first attempt costing him the fastest time.
And with the Power Tower out of consideration, Soderman missed the next two attempts on the Mega Wall.
During the break…
Mikayla Fong fell on the first obstacle.
Davyon Hancox hit the buzzer for the first time.
Brian Kretsch also hit the buzzer.
Scott Wilson, 29 year old Chess Instructor
Wilson, the former “Chess Ninja” is now the “Chess Teaching, Gym Owning, Parkour, Ninja Educating Guy, Who Also Jumps Out of Planes Now And Will Eventually Teach That Too Ninja.”
Very marketable name there for sure.
Wilson is looking to hit his first buzzer in five seasons competing.
He moved quickly through the first half of the course.
Balance obstacles have taken down the Chess teaching, gym owning….. well I’m not going to repeat it here.
But Diamond Dash did not take him down tonight.
Despite some moving pipes, Scott completed Diamond Dash.
Wilson decided to go for the Mega Wall.
And on his first try, he became the first ninja to make it up the Mega Wall tonight.
Scott Wilson completes the course in 2:41.25.
This season, American Ninja Warrior has replaced the Walk-On line with a lottery system.
One of those walk-ons, Greg Schwartz, fell on the 2nd obstacle.
Angie Olson, another walk-on, fell on the first obstacle.
But two walk-ons, Steven Barbarito and Austin Siebert, qualified for City Finals.
Kevin Bull, 34 year old Ninja Coach
The kids from CAP (Children’s Alopecia Project) are here to support Bull.
Kevin made all the new obstacles look easy until Spring Forward.
He nearly slipped on the middle spring, but held on and kept his run alive.
Bull used a backwards jump to get from one end to the other on Spin Hopper.
And after completing Spin Hopper, Bull made his way up the Wall in a mad dash to get one of the night’s top 2 times.
While Kevin did hit the buzzer, he missed out on a top two spot.
Kevin Bull completes the course in 1:37.26.
Power Tower Showdown
Hunter Guerard vs David Campbell
Ninjas start by climbing 40 feet of high steps.
Then, they climb around a circle elevated above the ground.
Ninjas will slide down, balance, climb back up, swing on bars to return to the top of the steps and hit the buzzer.
The winner gets an automatic spot in the National Finals.
The two were even going up the steps.
Guerard hit the bars first.
The two exchanged the lead multiple times as they made their way back to the top, where Hunter Guerard hit the buzzer a split second ahead of Campbell to claim the Speed Pass to Vegas.
Top 30 Qualifiers advancing to Los Angeles California City Finals:
Men who completed the Los Angeles Course
- Hunter Guerard (Speed Pass Winner)
- David Campbell
- Kevin Bull
- Danell Leyva
- Davyon Hancox
- Scott Wilson
- David Alvarez
- Arnold Hernandez
- Brian Burk
- Brian Kretsch
- Jonah Bonner
Failed at Warped Wall / Mega Wall
- Kyle Soderman
- Flip Rodriguez
- Ruben Arellano
- Hunter Swan
- Corey McCoy
Failed at Spin Hopper
- Adam Rayl
- Seth Rogers
- Ben Udy
- Westley Silvestri
- Noah Garfield
- Austin Seibert
- Samantha Bush
Failed at Diamond Dash
- Kevin Fisch
- Rebekah Bonilla
- Verdale Benson
Failed at Spring Forward
- Lee Cates
- Thomas Kofron
- Anthony Trucks
- Steven Barbarito
Top 5 Women advancing to the Los Angeles California City Finals:
Failed at Spin Hopper
Fell at Diamond Dash
Fell at Spring Forward
Fell at Walk The Plank
Next week, Neil Craver, Drew Drechsel, Travis Rosen, and Ryan Stratis hit the course in Atlanta Georgia City Qualifiers. See you then.
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