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American Ninja Warrior is returning to Indianapolis in Season 10 and we are expecting the local ninjas to be getting “the call” soon to find out whether they will be competing here. But before the new wave of Ninjas take their place on the starting line, let’s take a trip down memory lane to Season 8 when we last hit this state capital.
During a season when only 11 ninjas were able to finish a city finals course, 4 different ninjas stayed dry on the grueling Indianapolis course. The Wolf Pack led the way with three finishers (Brian Arnold, Ian Dory and Jake Murray), but the fastest time of the night belonged to Adam Arnold who completed the course almost a minute quicker than anyone else. It was the second straight city finals course completed by Adam. Meanwhile, the Wolf Pack’s Ian Dory currently maintains the longest active City Finals completion streak in Ninja competition.
Indianapolis also debuted the Circuit Board as obstacle #8 on the course. This is a clever obstacle that really pushes ninjas by testing their ability to dead hang while also needing to think through an efficient path through the board to the landing pad. One tiny mistake and you can easily slip into the water. Eight different ninjas had the chance to face the Circuit Board and five came out victorious, including Ethan Swanson. Meagan Martin and Dan Polizzi were among the Ninjas to be shocked by the Circuit Board.
This course also featured the history-making Tyler Yamauchi. At just 61” tall, the “Muscle Ball” proved that height is just a number by clearing the Warped Wall in qualifying and then again in the city finals before punching a ticket to Vegas on the Hourglass Drop. Tyler has already announced he will be at Indianapolis again this year.
Other competitors from Indianapolis in Season 8 included last year’s Stage Two qualifiers Eric Middleton and Drew Knapp, the second member of the Towers of Power, Brandon Mears, and Vegas alumni like Kirsti Pratt, Andrew Yori and Matt Wilder.
You can see the full city qualifying and finals run on NBC.com and relive all the exciting action.
So as we wait to find out exactly who will be toeing the line in Season 10, it’s nice to know that Indianapolis can put on a great show! Hopefully, we once again see a combination of fan favorites and new underdogs who defy the odds.