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American Ninja Warrior
Season 5
G4 9p ET Sun
NBC 8p ET Mon

Recaps by Chico Alexander, GSNN

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What started weeks ago will finally come to a head tonight as the best 85 athletes from all over the nation will test their mettle against the most difficult obstacle course ever devised for television. Will a veteran make the final cut? Will a rookie mount Midoriyama? We are four stages and 23 obstacles away from answering the $500,000 question and perhaps naming the first... AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR!

Aside from the top 15 from each of the four cities, we also have 25 wild cards including top 3 alternates from each city, the top female athletes, and the top athletes over 40.

We have 11 out of 60 so far. The final 25 will make their case tonight. Among them: Jessie Graff, Isaac Caldiero, Lance Pekus, and the man, the myth, the legend, Brent Steffensen.

LAS VEGAS
Mt. Midoriyama

Stage 1 will test speed and agility. Stage 2 will test strength and endurance. Stage 3 is the ultimate test of upper body strength. Survive all of that, and only the Big Tower awaits. There is no substitute for total victory. Only the one who summits the Big Tower at the end will claim $500,000.

And it all starts with Stage 1. The contestants will have 2 minutes 10 seconds to complete this course.

- TIMBERS: Eight slanted logs
- GIANT CYCLE: Vault from the tramp to the circle, then time your leap to the landing platform
- ROPE GLIDER: Ride down a cable to a floating mat.
- JUMPING SPIDER: Tramp jump plus spider climb.
- HALFPIPE ATTACK: Up the wall, then ride the rope to...
- WARPED WALL
- SPINNING BRIDGE: Spinning balls, four of them.
- FINAL CLIMB up the cargo net.

Hit the button at the end before time runs out, you're on to stage 2. Otherwise, it's game over.

Starting tonight with...

- Mario Mendoza (40; San Francisco; general contractor) - FAIL Jumping Spider
- Michael Needham (28; Flemington, NJ; landscaper) - FAIL Giant Cycle
- Josh Romeo (22; Lake Orin, MI; criminology student) - FAIL Spinning Bridge

Should be noted that since his run in the qualifiers, Lance Pekus became a father. Ninja Cowboy is forthcoming.

- Michael Silenzi (26; Antioch, IL; physical therapist) - FAIL Jumping Spider
- Laura Kisana (28; La Verkin, UT; barista/Isaac Caldiero's GF) - FAIL Giant Cycle
- Dr. Noah Kaufmann (38; South Lake Tahoe, NV; ER physician) - COMPLETE! (:14.10)

And that makes 12 people out of 66 in stage 2.

- Sam Sann (46; Houston; hairstylist) - FAIL Giant Cycle... Faceplants!
- Grant David (24; Orlando; acrobatic performer) - FAIL Halfpipe Attack
- William "The Spartan" Brown (28; Cocoa, FL; power plant manager) -  COMPLETE! (:22.73)

Four more athletes are out early, including Kelvin Antoine and Luke Carson.

- Isaac Caldiero (31; Denver; rock climber) - FAIL Jumping Spider
- Casey Finley (30; Chanute, KS; gymnastics coach) - COMPLETE! (:18.90)

Next up, the new father...

- Lance Pekus (26; Salmon, ID; rancher) - FAIL Jumping Spider
- Jesse La Flair (28; Los Angeles; parkour instructor) - The Jumping Spider killed him last year... This year.. COMPLETE! (:26.97)

Andres de la Rosa is also moving forward. Next up, a stuntwoman who's already made history this year.

- Jessie Graff (29; Santa Monica, CA; stuntwoman) - FAIL Jumping Spider
- Brian Arnold (35; Brighton, CO; nursing home maintenance director) - COMPLETE! (:03.67)
- Kacy Catanzaro (23; Belleville, NJ; obstacle race trainer) - Brent's GF... FAIL Giant Cycle
- Yev Kouchnir (34; Sarasota, FL; photographer/former Marine) - COMPLETE! (:09.67)
- Brian Wilczewski (21; Mount Laurel, NJ; mechanical engineering student) - FAIL Timbers
- Tim "Livewire" Shieff (25; Barking, CT; freerunner) - FAIL Jumping Spider

Only five runners left...

- Sean Morris (25; Sarasota, FL; cinematographer) - FAIL Halfpipe Attack
- Travis Rosen (38; Franklin, TX; stock market investor) - COMPLETE! (:13.50)

We've saved the best three runs for last.

- Drew Drechsel (24; Gainesville, FL; car dealership GM) - COMPLETE! (:21.63)
- David "Flip" Rodriguez (23; Miami; freerunning instructor) - FAIL Jumping Spider
- Brent Steffensen (33; San Antonio; obstacle race trainer) - Looking to redeem himself after failing the City Final. COMPLETE! (:30.63)

Brent is hanging loose and heading to Stage 2. Joining him!...

LEADERBOARD

1) ELET HALL (:39)
2) LORIN BALL (:38.6)
3) JAMES McGRATH (:38.4)
4) JOE MORAVSKY (:36)
5) BRENT STEFFENSEN (:30)
6) JESSE LA FLAIR (:27)
7) JOSH COOK (:26)
8) CHRIS ROMRELL (:24)
9) WILLIAM BROWN (:22.7)
10) PAUL KASEMIR (:22.3)
11) DREW DRECHSEL (:21)
12) JAMIE RAHN (:19)
13) CASEY FINLEY (:18)
14) NOAH KAUFMAN (:14)
15) TRAVIS ROSEN (:13)
16) YEV KOUCHNIR (:09)
17) KYLE SINACORI (:07)
18) ANDRES DE LA ROSA (:04)
19) BRIAN ARNOLD (:03)
20) TRAVIS WEINAND (:02)
21) IDOKO ABUH (:01)

Next week, our 21 remaining athletes will take on the brutal obstacles of stage 2. Who will move on and who will move out? See you on G4.

For more information on the contestants, including never-before-seen footage, or to watch this episode in its entirety, go to g4tv.com/anw or nbc.com/anw