American Ninja Warrior season 13 recap: Final night of the Semifinals

Welcome to the fourth and final night of the American Ninja Warrior season 13 Semifinals! This night was Vegas or bust. There were no other chances to make it to the National Finals.

The night saw the return of big-time veterans like Flip Rodriguez, Jake Murray, Austin Gray, and Jesse Labreck. The only father/son duo to make Semifinals, Brian and Kai Beckstrand returned together, but would they leave together?

How did it all wind up? With Jesse adding to her already stellar record, and with a Power Tower that was brute speed and the last Safety Pass going home with a veteran. Read on!

The course

• Shrinking steps
• Lunatics Ledges
• Barrel Roll
• Diamond Dash
• Drop Zone
• Warped Wall
• Salmon Ladder
• Crazy Clocks
• Split Decision

1. The Dungeon
2. Diving Boards

• Spider Trap

• Find the night’s leaderboard here.
• Here, you’ll find the complete results from the episode.

Devan Alexander: Devan, 16, had his mom, Pow, on the sidelines to avidly cheer him along. Right out of the gate, Devan set a strong pace with strong moves, making his way to the back half of the course. There, he faced the return of Crazy Clocks. Aside from a short struggle on the final clock, Devan had it handled. However, once he started in on The Dungeon, it was apparent that his tank was almost empty. He made a noble effort to plan a path through the obstacle, but his run ended there. Although we were pretty sure that would get him to Vegas.
Result: Out on The Dungeon

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

Sem Garay: We couldn’t help but laugh at the reveal of Sem’s “manager” (it was Akbar), but his run was tripped up on Diamond Dash.

Lindsay Eskildsen: After a great start in the Tacoma Dome, the mom of two ended her season on Barrel Roll.

Dan Polizzi: Dan’s girlfriend and fellow Ninja, Heather was on the sidelines, while Ninja Brandon Mears watched on the virtual sideline. Dan had a great run, but for a second time, he fell on The Dungeon. This was a tough night, we’d have to see if his time to the obstacle would advance him to Vegas
Result: Out on The Dungeon

Nate Hansen: Nate never ceases to amaze the viewers. Nate has a growth hormone deficiency which stunted his growth as a child. He uses his Ninja Warrior platform to inspire others, like 11-year-old Aiden who also has the same deficiency. Nate easily made his way to the back half of the course and still looked fresh and strong on the Salmon Ladder. After a confident trip through Crazy Clocks, Nate quickly started The Dungeon. In a run that was nothing short of incredible, he locked himself into the Spider Trap and calmly finished it out for the first buzzer of the night.
Result: Complete

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

Jamie Ross: With her boyfriend, Flip Rodriguez, cheering her on, Jamie was out on Barrel Roll.

John Mack: The 6’5” college student went out on Crazy Clocks.

Dan Wentworth: Ouch! After a hard-to-watch hit on Diamond Dash, Dan went out on Drop Zone.

Eric Middleton: Eric, an entomologist, always brings some yummy snacks for the host crew. The bet this time was that Matt and Akbar would enjoy one bug-filled snack for each obstacle after the Warped Wall. Let’s hope Matt and Akbar were hungry. After the Warped Wall, they sampled jollof rice with grasshoppers. The Salmon Ladder brought Korean Wax Worm pupae. After the Crazy Clocks, they dug into some bee bread. Eric picked the Diving Boards at Split Decision and was the first to get through safely! That brought on the cricket cookies. As Eric hit the buzzer, Matt and Akbar begrudgingly consumed the tarantula sushi.
Result: Complete

Sam Folsom: Sam is an 18-year-old high school senior who has one of the most famous Ninja Warrior obstacle barns in the sport’s community. He took a knock on Drop Zone but shook it off and finished his run on the Crazy Clocks.
Result: Out on Crazy Clocks

Jamie Rahn: Jamie is Sam’s Ninja mentor and had Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir cheering him on (Johnny even coordinated his outfit with Jamie’s). Taking on his 11th season, Jamie selected Diving Boards, and shockingly, went out there. It was most likely good enough to move him to Vegas, though.
Result: Out on Diving Boards

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

Tyler Yamauchi: Known as the “muscle ball,” Tyler is a former gymnast and 5’1”, making him the shortest male competitor of the night. He finished the course with his adorable kids looking on.
Result: Complete

Heather Weissinger: Heather is a heart electrician who places pacemakers for a living, as well as being a firefighter. She pulled off a one-handed save on Barrel Roll. Did that tax her grip strength? She had enough energy left to do another one-handed save on the Drop Zone, but on the last pipe, Heather peeled off while looking for the dismount.
Result: Out on Drop Zone

Brian Beckstrand: Brian hit the buzzer in the Qualifiers alongside his 15-year-old son Kai. This time, dad fell on Drop Zone.

Kai Beckstrand: Up next was Kai, who had the fastest finish in the Qualifiers. After telling us how he’d like to be a firefighter like his father, we joined Kai on Drop Zone. He did not repeat his dad’s run and was out of there safely. As Kai completed the Salmon Ladder, it was apparent he was setting a pace that would get him to Vegas. After the Crazy Clocks, Kai settled on The Dungeon and got to work. Kai was starting to look tired on the obstacle and missed a few of his grabs. To avoid disaster, he finished the obstacle as fast as he could. On the Spider Trap, Kai had a few slips and had us holding our breath. He worked for those last few feet, but he found another buzzer.
Result: Complete

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

Mike Silenzi: Known as “The Stallion,” Mike had a great run with a sideline packed with famous Ninjas cheering him on. For the first time in eight years, Mike hit the Semifinals buzzer.
Result: Complete

Hunter Guerard: Hunter had a close call on The Dungeon but finished things out.
Result: Complete

Kyle Soderman: Kyle is a stunt man at Universal Studios, so he was on his home turf. He pulled off a great stunt with a safe trip leap through the Diving Boards, completing the course with the fastest time to this point.
Result: Complete

Cal Plohoros: Cal is a 15-year-old ANW Junior alum. He’s close with Flip Rodriguez and he completed the Qualifying course. Cal gave us all a gasp when he flew off Barrel Roll and shot towards the Diamond Dash. But the rules say Ninja are not allowed to run from one into the other. Cal had to stop and plant his feet for a second. He hit the breaks and his body pitched forward, but he launched himself again and made it safely through. In a blink, Cal had sprinted to the Crazy Clocks. We thought he had this until his grip suddenly gave out.
Result: Out on Crazy Clocks

Ava Colasanti: Ava fell on the Drop Zone, but still had a chance to make the women’s leaderboard.

Ben Martin: Ben had an incredible save on Diamond Dash which saw him crawling to safety. His run ended for good on Crazy Clocks.

Cam Baumgartner: Cam set a new fastest time to that point in the night after he ripped through the course and set The Dungeon on fire.
Result: Complete

Austin Gray: Ever since Austin donated his kidney to his friend, Kaylee, he’s advocated for kidney donations and works with the National Kidney Foundation. Watching his run was Courtney, a woman that Austin became friends with as he guided her through her kidney donation to her father. On the course, we joined Austin on Drop Zone. He was MOVING along, handling obstacle after obstacle. At Split Decision, he asked the crew to confirm if his time had locked in Vegas. When they said yes, Austin went for the risky Diving Boards. The time it saved meant he was in position for the Power Tower.
Result: Complete

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

• We were then joined by TikTok stars Josh Richards and Griffin Johnson. Josh fell on the Lunatic Ledges, and Griffin fell on the Shrinking Steps.

Flip Rodriguez: Flip faced a challenge with this Split Decision, as he’s fallen on both the Diving Boards and The Dungeon previously. But his whole season was in jeopardy when he fell on Crazy Clocks.
Result: Out on Crazy Clocks

Joe Brown: Joe is a heck of a jumper and even cleared Zuri! Joe expended a lot of energy on Drop Zone but was still over the Warped Wall. Joe put up a good fight but was out on Crazy Clocks.
Result: Out on Crazy Clocks

Kyle Schulze: Kyle has wanted to pass the fifth obstacle for so long. It was a great moment when he cleared the Warped Wall. Crazy Clocks also ended his year.
Result: Out on Crazy Clocks

Matt Bradley: The 19-year-old Penn State student picked The Dungeon on his way to the buzzer.
Result: Complete

Ethan Swanson: The eight-time veteran hurried along the course but didn’t escape the Crazy Clocks, keeping him out of the National Finals.

Jake Murray: Jake thinks that his skateboarding competition experience has translated well to his Ninja Warrior career. Who are we to argue with success? After a little entanglement on Drop Zone, Jake was on the back half. Finishing the Crazy Clocks put him into the National Finals. His footwork was on display when he narrowly escaped the Diving Boards. Jake finished the course with the fastest Semifinals finish of the night! It would be him and Austin on the Power Tower
Result: Complete

Donovan Metoyer: Donovan’s flashy white suit looked sharp even when he fell on the Diving Boards. He was still going to Vegas.

Taylor Amann: Taylor ended her run on Drop Zone.

Jesse Labreck: Finally, it was time to answer our burning question. Could Jesse defeat her third 10-obstacle course? With sheer focus, she got to work. Jesse apologized to her stressed-out friends after a stumble on Diamond Dash. After that, it was textbook Jesse. She nailed every obstacle, including The Dungeon. With the final climb behind her, Jesse extended her entry in the history books with yet another buzzer.
Result: Complete

Power Tower

• Jake Murray vs Austin Gray

This was just fast versus fast. Both of these Colorado competitors are relentless. This was the definition of anyone’s game. With the final Safety Pass of the season on the line.

True to form, this race was a heart-pounder from the get-go and never let up. The two were even all the way. There was no call to make until suddenly Jake made a grip decision on the dropping shelves that caused him to actually plummet to the mat below. Austin hit the buzzer and laid claim to the prize.

Safety Pass winner: Austin Gray