TV Recap: S11E15 – American Ninja Warrior Season 11 Las Vegas National Finals Stage 2 2019

American Ninja Warrior Season 11 2019: Las Vegas National Finals Stage 2 Season 11 Episode 15

Only two weeks remain in this season of American Ninja Warrior.

And this week is Stage 2 of the National Finals.

Twenty-eight ninjas have made it this far, with four still sporting their safety passes for this round.

The Course: Giant Walk the Plank, Extension Ladder, Snapback, Swing Surfer, Grim Sweeper (New Obstacle), Water Walls

Ninjas have three minutes to complete the course.

Dan Polizzi, 37-year-old Firefighter

Polizzi got off to good start, moving flawlessly through the first obstacle.

Extension Ladder is not new, but it is redesigned this year, but the 2nd obstacle caused Polizzi no issues.

Unfortunately, Polizzi slipped on Snapback.

Mathis ‘Kid’ Owhadi, 20-year-old College Student (Safety Pass)

A star like the ‘Kid’ is running 2nd on the show?

Hmmm…..

Owhadi began with his trademark quick pace, completing Snapback with just over a minute gone on the clock.

In fact, Owhadi made it all the way Grim Sweeper before falling.

But the Kid has the Safety Pass, so he’ll get another shot at Stage 2.

Karson Voiles, 34-year-old Gym Owner (Safety Pass)

Another Safety Pass winner going early in the show.

Like the previous competitors, Voiles had no issue with the first two obstacles.

But his run ended quickly on Snapback.

Just like Owhadi, Voiles gets to run the course again.

Nate Burkhalter, 33-year-old Oil and Gas Engineer


Burkhalter dealt with food poisoning just before this run.

The food poisoning didn’t slow Burkhalter’s pace on the first obstacle.

He did slow the pace down a bit on Extension Ladder, looking out of breath after completing the 2nd obstacle.

Despite the obvious limitations Burkhalter was clearly running with, he still became the first ninja to complete Grim Sweeper.

But there was a real time crunch as Burkhlater worked his way through Water Walls.

And with a little over a second to spare….

Burkhalter became the night’s first finisher!!!!

Nate Burkhalter completes Stage 2 in 2:58.04.

Dave Cavanagh, 33-year-old Firefighter (Safety Pass Winner)

Good thing he had the Safety Pass: Cavanagh fell on the very first obstacle.

Michael Torres, 24-year-old Gym Manager (Safety Pass Winner)

Torres spent the year getting in touch with his Puerto Rican roots: learning Spanish, cooking his mom’s recipes, and learning to Salsa dance.

Torres made quick work of the first half of the course.

But he started to slow down a bit as he approached Swing Surfer.

Torres had a little over a minute to complete Water Walls.

The first door was a struggle for Torres.

But he picked up the pace on the last two walls and hit the buzzer, Safety Pass unnecessary!!!

Michael Torres completes Stage 2 in 2:48.14

During the break…

Lucas Reale hit the buzzer!!!!

If Stage 3 qualifiers are appearing after the words “while we were away…,” then I think it’s safe to say we’re going to have a lot of finishers tonight.

Flip Rodriguez, 30-year-old Stuntman

The Tadpoles are out if force to cheer on Flip.

Flip is showing a little limp from a rough fall in Stage One, but that doesn’t keep him from completing the first two obstacles.

Flip made a one-legged landing on Snapback, clearing favoring the bad leg.

I could feel the pain as Flip made the landing on Swing Surfer.

The leg was really slowing Flip down.

He made it to Water Walls with a little over 40 seconds to complete the course.

And despite a valiant effort, the bad leg was just too much to overcome.

Flip made it to the last Water Wall when time ran out on him.

During the break…

Ben Wales fell on Walk the Plank.

Karsten Williams hit the buzzer!!!

Adam Rayl, 26-year-old Concrete Worker

Rayl’s mom brought her trademark nerves to Rayl’s Stage 2 run.

Rayl fell on the 2nd obstacle of Stage 2 last season, but he made it past Extension Ladder this time.

Rayl took that momentum all the way through the fourth obstacle before taking a moment to catch his breath.

And Rayl had a little over a minute to complete Water Walls.

Rayl is crazy strong, and that strength does indeed work under water as well as it does above ground.

Rayl hit the buzzer and moved onto Stage 3 for the first time!!!!

Adam Rayl completes Stage 2 in 2:29.20.

During the break…

Chris DiGangi, Kevin Carbone, and Tyler Gillett all hit the buzzer!!!!

Grant McCartney, 31-year-old Flight Attendant

“The Island Ninja” is looking for love.

And his fellow ninjas are helping him build a profile.

McCartney fell on Extension Ladder on his previous two attempts at Stage 2 back in 2015 and 2016.

And that is where his season ended this year as well.

Joe Moravsky, 30-year-old Meteorologist


“The Weatherman” is #dadbodstrong tonight.

And after falling on Stage 1 last season, Moravsky attacked the course with abandon this year, making quick work of the first half of the course.

Moravsky maintained a steady pace as he approached the Grim Sweeper: an obstacle that hasn’t been grim at all tonight.

“The Weatherman” approached Water Walls with 90 seconds left.

And though he seemed winded as he approached the last Wall, “the Weatherman” had plenty of time to complete the final obstacle and hit the buzzer.

Not only did Moravsky come in with the night’s fastest time, he became the record ninth ninja to advance to Stage 3.

Joe Moravsky completes Stage 2 in 2:11.93.

Tyler Smith, 28-year-old Exterminator

Smith broke out his 3rd year in ninja competition, making it to Stage 2 for the first time.

And the first half of the course was done in only 45 seconds.

In fact, Smith was pushing for the night’s fastest time as he approached the final obstacle.

Smith could take his time as he moved each of the Water Walls up and out of his face.

And as he hit the buzzer, Smith became the 10th ninja to complete Stage 2 tonight!!!

Tyler Smith completes Stage 2 in 1:58.33

During the break…

Ethan Swanson, RJ Roman, and Karson Voiles (on his 2nd run) all hit the buzzer!!!

Dave Cavanagh, 33-year-old Firefighter

Cavanagh was making his 2nd run at the course.

But the result was about the same. This time, he fell on Extension Ladder.

Josh Salinas, 28-year-old Gym Manager


Salinas nearly lost his ring in the ocean on his honeymoon.

Oh yeah, and Salinas is running as a married ninja for the first time (smartly, without his ring).

“The Iron Ninja” is looking to complete Stage 2 for the first time.

The fifth obstacle is the one that frequently takes him out.

But not this year, as the Grim Sweeper was no issue at all for the Iron Ninja.

And Salinas was another ninja pushing for the top time.

By a little over a second, Salinas came with the night’s fastest time, advancing to Stage 3 for the first time!!!

Josh Salinas completes Stage 2 in 1:57.20

During the break…

Ryan Stratis hit the buzzer!!!

Lorin Ball, 32-year-old Gym Owner

Ball’s family in the Phillipines is watching as he needed extra swings on Giant Walk the Plank.

Ball has never made it past the third obstacle on Stage 2.

But he did tonight, making easy work of Snapback.

However, Ball slipped and slid off the wall on Swing Surfer.

Mathis ‘Kid’ Owhadi, 20-year-old College Student

It’s the 2nd chance at Stage 2 for the ‘Kid.’

Owhadi fell on the Grim Sweeper earlier, and the ‘Kid’ will have to overcome anxiety to make it to Stage 3.

Owhadi started his run with a little more caution than usual.

And that approach got him to the point where he fell in his first run.

This time, he completed the Grim Sweeper with 1:20 left.

“Kid” lost his hat and struggled a bit to open the first wall.

He had 30 seconds to get through the final wall, and his strength was waining.

But the kid fought through and hit the buzzer, moving onto Stage 3.

Mathis ‘Kid’ Owhadi completes Stage 2 in 2:48.47.

Before the break…

Hunter Guerard, Seth Rogers, and Casey Suchocki all hit the buzzer!!!

Drew Drechsel, 30-year-old Gym Owner


Only two ninjas remain!!!

“The Real-Life Ninja” has changed his training schedule, sleeping during the day and training at night to match the time when he would normal day.

And Drechsel also runs a 24-obstacle course to prepare for the season.

Drechsel will not have the Safety Pass for this run. He had to use it last week to get to Stage 2.

“The Real-Life Ninja” nearly got stuck on Snap Back. But he fought through it and moved onto the 4th obstacle.

Drechsel showed a rare bit of caution on the Grim Sweeper.

But he finished obstacle five and jumped in like a fish as he attacked the Water Walls.

Drechsel had plenty of time as he made his way through the last obstacle and hit the buzzer.

Drew Drechsel completes Stage 2 in 2:24.66

Daniel Gil, 26-year-old Worship Leader


Gil means to get the night’s top time and put an exclamation point on a record-breaking night.

His usual flurried pace got Gil through the first half of Stage 2.

After moving through Swing Surfer, “the Kingdom Ninja” moved through Grim Sweeper quicker than anybody else has all night.

And Gill hit the buzzer with the night’s fastest time!!!

Daniel Gil completes Stage 2 in 1:54.43

All Ninjas advancing to Las Vegas National Finals – Stage 3:

  1. Daniel Gil
  2. Josh Salinas
  3. Tyler Smith
  4. Ethan Swanson
  5. Joe Moravsky
  6. Karsten Williams
  7. Tyler Gillett
  8. Drew Drechsel
  9. Kevin Carbone
  10. Adam Rayl
  11. Hunter Guerard
  12. Chris DiGangi
  13. Casey Suchocki
  14. Lucas Reale
  15. Ryan Stratis
  16. Seth Rogers
  17. Michael Torres
  18. R.J. Roman
  19. Mathis Owhadi
  20. Karson Voiles
  21. Nate Burkhalter

A record 21 ninjas get their shot at Stage 3 and possibly Stage 4 in next week’s season finale!!!

See you then.

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