Jesse Labreck hit buzzer number one on her quest for three this season

Jesse Labreck has had lofty goals from the moment she started her American Ninja Warrior career. Her impressive debut in season eight has been followed up by consecutive seasons of success. When she returned for season 11 in Cincinnati, she hit her third Qualifying buzzer in a row.

But she’s not exactly settling for that accomplishment. Read on to find out more about what Jesse wants out of this year, how life has changed for her, and how she’s putting all the pieces together for her future on the show.

Her goals for season 11

“I just really want that City Finals buzzer, but there’s a lot of steps between right now and that City Finals buzzer, so just completing everything I need to do to set myself up for that.”

It takes perseverance, determination and someone who’s willing to fall and fail over and over again and is willing to get back up and keep trying.”

Dennis Mong/NBC

What’s new since last season

“I have a fiancé now (fellow Ninja Chris DiGangi). That’s exciting. I don’t just have a boyfriend cheering me on, I have a fiancé and he is super sweet and definitely my number one fan. I’m kind of worried about him on the sidelines sometimes, he’s jumping around so much.

I’ve upped my training. I’m training with really amazing people. Chris, Ethan Swanson, Michael Torres, Michael Silenzi, just people who are really pushing me harder than I’ve ever been pushed before, so hopefully it translates.”

Considering the possibility of advancing without Chris, or vice versa

“I think it’ll be worse if I make it and he doesn’t because he has been doing this for so long and, I don’t know, not that I don’t think that he’s strong enough to handle that, but I just know that I can take disappointment about not making it maybe easier than he can, and I’m just going to be so happy for him that I’ll be okay. I’ve done plenty of things where I’ve been very disappointed and I’ve been okay after, so I know that if it doesn’t happen that I’ll be okay.”

When past falls come back to mind

“Sometimes it’s really hard right after to just... You forget about it, and then all of a sudden you get this wave of remembering what happened. You get distracted and regular life comes into play, and then you’re just sitting there and you remember like, ‘Oh I didn’t reach my goal, I failed here.’ It takes a little while for that sting to go away.

But you just, you have to just get over it and know that it’s okay and that that’s what keeps driving you and that you’re not the only athlete out there that doesn’t reach their goal and they have to pick themselves back up and keep going.”

Dennis Mong/NBC

Putting it all together

“My expectations are that I hit three buzzers, but that’s always my expectations and I have never done that before, but that’s what I’ve been training for. I have big goals, big dreams, and whatever happens, happens. I know that I’ve set myself up for success. I’ve been training hard enough to do that. It’s just putting it all together. With Ninja, putting all together is sometimes really hard.”

Jesse will try for buzzer number two when she returns to the Cincinnati City Finals in a few weeks!