American Ninja Warrior 8/18 Recap: Las Vegas Stage One

Tonight is the night all American Ninja Warrior fans have been waiting for: Stage 1 of Mt. Midoriama in Las Vegas.

The top 15 finishers from each city finals, along with 15 wild card picks, are taking on these eight grueling obstacles of Stage 1: Piston Road, Giant Ring, Silk Slider, Jumping Spider, Half Pipe Attack, Warped Wall, Spinning Bridge, Final Climb.

Competitors must finish the course in 2:05 to be able to move on to Stage 2.

Karsten Williams: The beginning of his run looked promising, but once he grabbed hold of the Silk Slider, he gained too much momentum and rolled off the landing mat into the water.

Dustin McKinney: Failed to wedge himself onto the Jumping Spider.

Kevin Klein: He made it up the shortened Warped Wall on the fourth attempt, wasting a lot of time. Once he came up to the Spinning Bridge, the 10-second warning buzzer started, sending him into a panic and into the water with five seconds left on the clock.

Melanie Hunt (wild card): Failed to stick the landing on the Jumping Spider, and front-flipped into the water.

Sam Sann: Shockingly failed to grab the Giant Ring, taking a dive into the water.

David Gilbert: Failed to stick the landing off of the Silk Slider.

Connor Moyer: Failed on the Jumping Spider.

Brian Kretsch: Got tangled up in the Spinning Bridge.

Luciano Acuna Jr.: Failed to stick the landing off the Silk Slider and slid right into the water.

Abel Gonzalez: First finisher of the night! He flew through the course with an impressive 19 seconds to spare.

Dan Entmacher: Lost his grip in mid-air on the Silk Slider

John Vogt: Slid off the Silk Slider landing mat.

Joel Brady: Failed to stick his landing on the Jumping Spider.

Andrew Lowes: Although he nearly lost it on the Spinning Bridge, he became the second finisher of the night with 12 seconds left on the clock.

Tremaine Dortch: Took a very off-balanced jump off the trampoline, failing to grab the Jumping Spider.

Noel Reyes: Failed to stick the landing on the Silk Slider mat.

Karson Voiles: Failed to stick his landing on the Jumping Spider.

Travis Brewer: Slid off the rope on the Half-Pipe Attack, touching the water.

Isaac Caldiero: Unsurprisingly, he made it through the course flawlessly, becoming the third finisher of the night.

James McGrath: Failed to stick his landing on the Silk Slider

Brandon Pannell: Couldn’t find his footing on the Jumping Spider.

Lance Pekus: For the second year in a row, Lance failed to get a good launch off the trampoline, and failed to stick the landing on the Jumping Spider.

Joseph “Jo Jo” Bynum: He flew through the course, becoming the fourth finisher of the night.

Andrew Karsen: Rolled off the landing mat of the Silk Slider

Stephens Nunnally: Failed to stick a landing on the Jumping Spider.

Amy Pajcic (wild card): Couldn’t stick her landing on the Jumping Spider.

Ryan Stratis: Although he ran into many issues on the course, Ryan amazingly finished Stage 1.

Lorin Ball (wild card): We can always count on Lorin to set the pace of the course, and he did just that, finishing the course with the fastest time of the night.

Michelle Warnky (wild card): She couldn’t stop her momentum on the Silk Slider and rolled off the landing mat.

Duston Rocho: He became yet another victim of the Silk Slider landing mat.

Derek Nakamoto: He failed to even make it off the launch platform on the Silk Slider, and slipped into the water.

Mario Mendoza: Failed to stick his landing on the Jumping Spider for the second year in a row.

Alex Kane: His run looked promising, however he was hung up on the Spinning Bridge.

Travis Rosen: With no surprise, Travis became the sixth finisher of the night.

Solomon Harvey: He ran out of time trying to make it up the Warped Wall.

Dr. Noah Kaufman: Always consistent, the Ninja Doctor is moving on to Stage 2.

Meagan Martin (wild card): She made history tonight, becoming the first woman to complete the Jumping Spider. Unfortunately, she used up a lot of time preparing for obstacles, and she found herself out of time on the Warped Wall.

Joe Moravsky: The Weatherman continues his reign, becoming the ninth finisher of the night.

Next Monday, the second half of competitors will attempt Total Victory and take on Stage One. You can watch American Ninja Warrior Mondays at 9/8c on NBC, and Tuesdays on the Esquire Network.

What did you think of the first stage? Was it surprising that the Silk Slider took out so many competitors? Share your thoughts below!


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Author Profile: Consumer Expert Laura Preciado

Laura is a 27 year old proud mother of a 6 year old girl, and 4 year old boy from Central California. She is a proud Hyster Sister as of March 2014, and has hobbies in many areas, including photography, automotive, singing, couponing, and hiking in Sequoia National Park. She holds a degree in Automotive Technology from the College of the Sequoias.

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