American Ninja Warrior Season 17 Episode 12 Recap: Who Won Finals 3?

Season 17 of NBC’s ‘American Ninja Warrior’ moves ahead with the third night of the Finals, and the energy has never been higher. After two unforgettable weeks of action, the spotlight now turns to the final three groups. Just like before, every ninja battles through three rounds, and only the two players from each group with the most wins advance. Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila bring their trademark passion on the mic, while Zuri Hall delivers the action right from the sidelines. Following that, the competition kicks into high gear as the remaining 32 ninjas are seeded and placed in a bracket. If one wins, they move on, but a loss ultimately leads to elimination.

The Night Kicks Off With Rookies and Veterans Taking on the Grueling Courses

For the three remaining groups, the athletes face the obstacles #1 Shrinking Steps, #2 Swinging Frames, #3 Pole Grasper, #4 Salmon Ladder, #5 Floating Monkey Bars, and #6 Piston Plunge. While all the obstacles remain constant for these three groups, some may face Devil Steps and Ring Jump as the #2 and #3 obstacles. The night officially begins with the Group 10 contestants, Kaden Forsha from Littleton, Colorado, Max Feinberg from Castle Rock, Colorado, Kyle Soderman from Austin, Texas, and Colton Skuster from Salt Lake City, Utah. The first two athletes to take the stage in the opening round are 15-year-old Kaden, the youngest player in the Finals, and 19-year-old college student Colton. While Kaden is the Chatterbox Ninja, Colton is also quite loud on the course.

Kaden is a bit nervous because he feels Colton has that “frat boy confidence.” Once their run begins, the former pulls ahead and takes the first win by pressing the buzzer at 01:06.57. Sadly, Colton falls into the water on the final obstacle. It is now the turn of college student Max and stuntman Kyle from the same group. Both players are competing in the National Finals for the fifth time, and Max is dedicating his run to his mother, Debbie, who is a breast cancer survivor. In his confessional, he reveals that his mom was diagnosed with the condition in October 2020, and that he now focuses on raising awareness about it. He is currently a junior at the University of Denver, pursuing a degree in Marketing and Advertising. He also participates in multiple fundraisers for breast cancer, so pressing a buzzer tonight will mean a lot for the cause.

Kyle, on the other hand, is a World Chase Tag Champion. As their run begins, Max moves ahead of his opponent, offering tight competition. Ultimately, Max wins and presses the buzzer at 01:16.72, and Kyle falls on the 6th obstacle. The next to take the course are players from Group 14, containing Josiah Pippel from Moorestown, New Jersey, Matt D’Amico from Billerica, Massachusetts, Luke Lowell-Liszanckie from Shelter Island, New York, and Tate Becker from Concord, Massachusetts. The first two players from this group to take the course for the first round are 19-year-old ninja coach Josiah and 19-year-old Massachusetts college student Tate. Josiah easily takes an early lead, bagging the victory by pressing the buzzer at 01:09.26, while Tate falls on the Floating Monkey Bars.

Energy Shifts as Another Round of Races Narrows Down the Players Further

Luke and the three-time ninja veteran Matt follow suit right after, but unfortunately, Luke falls into the water on the 5th obstacle. On the other hand, his opponent proceeds to hit the buzzer at 01:48.21, winning the round. It is now the first round for Group 11 with the athletes, Noah Meunier from Lakerville, Massachusetts, Amir Malik from Essex Junction, Vermont, Spencer Johnson from Clive, Iowa, and Deren Perez from Santa Rita, Guam. For the first round of the group, 40-year-old US coast guard Deren and 19-year-old electrician Noah take the stage. The latter currently has a streak of 90 obstacles without falling. During the run, Deren’s feet touch the water on Ring Jump, leading to his loss in this round. However, it gives Noah the win, and he presses the buzzer at 01:44.71, taking his streak of overcoming obstacles to 96.

37-year-old gym owner Spencer and 24-year-old baker Amir are the next to run on the course. Both of them get stuck on the Ring Jump, and soon after, Spencer falls on the 5th obstacle. On the other hand, the victory goes to Amir as he presses the buzzer at 02:30.63. The second round begins with Group 10 athletes, University of Utah student Colton and University of Denver student Max. Since Colton lost his first race, he desperately needs a win. However, his opponent won the first round, and if he manages to win again, he is going to be in a great position to move on. Colton swiftly pulls ahead as the run begins, with Max catching up right behind. Unfortunately, Colton fails to make the final grab on the final obstacle and falls into the water, while his competitor wins the round and presses the buzzer at 59.35 seconds.

Right after, the hosts shift the audience’s attention to the countdown of the most memorable moments. The #10 moment is from then-rookie Kevin Bull in the season 6 Semifinals, when a new obstacle named Cannonball Alley knocked out the first 14 contestants who reached it. However, Kevin overcame and dismounted from it in an inverted position, eventually moving on to hit the buzzer. The second round then continues with the Group 10 athletes, Kyle and Kaden. While the latter won his first race, Kyle lost the first one. This time around, Kaden again pulls ahead and presses the buzzer at 01:05.93. Although his opponent finishes the course and hits the buzzer at 01:16.47, he loses the round. So, from this group, Kaden and Max are assured to move on, while Kyle and Colton’s only hope is to earn the third-place wild card in the next race.

As the Competition Continues, an Athlete Showcases a Record-Setting Run

In the second round, it is now the turn of Group 11 players Noah and Spencer. The former again breaks Kaden’s record by conquering 100 straight obstacles and overcoming the Salmon Ladder. He gains the victory by pressing the buzzer at 01:12.26 and sets the record of conquering 102 obstacles without falling. Unfortunately, Spencer falls into the water on the Floating Monkey Bars. Next up from their group are Amir and Deren, and the latter falls on the Salmon Ladder. However, his opponent overcomes all the obstacles to hit the buzzer at 01:33.68. From Group 11, Noah and Amir have secured their spot in the next round. It is now the third round for the Group 11 players, Deren and Spencer, who are the two oldest remaining competitors.

While Deren got his first buzzer in his fifth season, competing at 25 years older than the youngest competitor, Spencer last competed in Season 9 and has returned seven years later. Both athletes are two-time National Finalists. During their run, Spencer tries to take a long shot while dismounting from the 5th obstacle, but falls into the water. Although Deren is not moving on, he finishes the race in style by pressing the buzzer at 02:08.61. Group 11 players Noah and Amir follow suit, focusing on their speed for their seeding in the next round. While Noah gets a head start, his competitor falls behind. Noah takes the win by pressing the buzzer at 01:06.50 and brings his streak to 108 obstacles. Amir finishes his run by hitting the buzzer at 01:14.34.

By the end of this round, Noah and Amir are the ones moving on from their group in the first and second position, respectively. It is now the second round for Group 14 athletes Josiah and Luke. While the former swiftly moves ahead and presses the buzzer at 01:05.31 to gain the second fastest time on this course, his opponent falls on the Floating Monkey Bars. Next up are Matt and Tate from the same group. To his dismay, Tate misses the rails on the Salmon Ladder, following which Matt bags the win by pressing the buzzer at 01:13.15. With Matt and Josiah at the top of this group, they face each other in the third round. Both of them have two wins, and winning this round can improve their seeding, which can help them be put against a slower opponent in the next round.

The Group Stage Comes to a Thrilling End With Players Earning Their Spot in the Top 32

Josiah is a Formula 1 fan who has been racing since ‘ANW Junior,’ and he has the fastest time in his Qualifiers for the past two seasons. On the other hand, Matt has begun his rookie year with the fastest time on Stage 2 and has never lost a race in the competition. While trying to go fast, Matt’s bar falls on the Salmon Ladder. However, Josiah overcomes all the obstacles to press the buzzer at 01:06.96, earning three buzzers tonight. By the end, both of them are moving on to the next round from their group. Right after, the hosts announce the #9 spot on the countdown list, which comes from Michael Stanger in season 7. His wife was confined to a wheelchair due to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), and he had to get back in shape to take care of her. That was when he decided to try being a ninja.

Despite it being his first time on the course, he succeeded in climbing the Warped Wall and pressing the buzzer, making it a physical love letter to his wife. The night then resumes with the third round for Group 10 athletes Kaden and Max, who both have two wins each. This time, they decide to go fast to improve their seeding for the next round. While Kaden takes the win by pressing the buzzer at 54.20 seconds, Max hits it at 57.26 seconds. Right after is the third round for Tate and Luke from Group 14. Their only chance to move on is to win the wild card by being the fastest third-place finisher on course 2, beating Sam Folsom’s record of 01:05.02. While Luke falls on the Piston Plunge, Tate fails to break Sam’s record and presses the buzzer at 02:39.04. Hence, the season comes to an end for both these contestants.

This means that Sam gets one of the two wild cards and moves on because he got the fastest third-place finish on Course 2. The other wild card will be decided based on the race between Group 10 contestants Kyle and Colton. Two weeks prior, R.J. Roman completed running the course in 54.46 seconds. Kyle or Colton can only move on if they can beat R.J.’s time. Kyle falls into the water on the Floating Monkey Bars, but despite his best efforts, Colton finishes at 55.89 seconds, just over a second slower than R.J. This eliminates both of them, while R.J. gets the wild card to move on to the next round.

Beginning of the New Stage Delivers Nail-Biting Finishes and Emotional Farewells

The game now moves on to the new stage of the competition, and there are now only 32 remaining athletes. They have been seeded based on their times in the Group Stage. The athletes have been placed in a single-elimination style bracket, and their win or loss will decide if they go home. On the left side are the 16 ninjas who raced on Course 1: Kai Beckstrand, Isabella Folsom, David Bergstrom-Wright, Nacssa Garemore, Luke Beckstrand, Jason Behrends, Kaden Forsha, Joe Moravsky, Enzo DeFerrari Wilson, Ben Behrends, Jay Lewis, Grant Kiningham, Max Feinberg, Elijah Browning, Isaiah Thomas, and Taylor Greene. The right side has 14 of them from Course 2, along with the two wild card players: Hans Hertz, Sam Folsom, Evan Lavallee, Amir Malik, Kaden Lebsack, Luke Dillon, Jackson Erdos, Christian Hart, Evan White, Daniel Gil, Noah Meunier, Austin Baron, Matt D’amico, Caleb Bergstrom, Josiah Pippel, and R.J. Roman.

For this round, the obstacles are: #1 Shrinking Steps, #2 Swinging Frames, #3 Ring Jump, #4 Salmon Ladder, #5 Floating Monkey Bars, and a new obstacle on #6, The Clacker, The first race is between 31-year-old ninja legend Daniel from Houston, Texas, and 17-year-old rookie Evan White from Hudson, Wisconsin. The latter expresses that it’s an incredible feeling racing one of his idols. In his confessional, Daniel reveals that his opponent recently showed him a picture of both of them where Evan was a small kid. He notes that it will be a fierce battle now that Evan is competing against him in the Finals. During the initial parts of their run, they are neck and neck, but the latter eventually pulls ahead. However, in the end, both of them make the dismount at almost the same time.

While Evan wins by pressing the buzzer at 01:17.48, Daniel hits the buzzer at 01:17.61, ending his season by a mere fraction of a second. Next up is gym owner 25-year-old Caleb from Largo, Florida, and three-time national finalist Matt. The former is a 4-time national finalist but has a lower seed since his opponent was faster in the last round. They begin their head-to-head run with Matt eventually taking the win by pressing the buzzer at 01:07.92. On the other hand, Caleb is eliminated as he finishes his run at 01:08.71. Right after, the focus shifts to #8 of the memorable moments from Zach Gowen in season 8 (2016). The professional wrestler lost one of his legs to cancer. During his run that season, he took off his prosthetic leg and took on the course on one leg. Although he fell on the third obstacle, he still received a standing ovation for his courage.

Some Surprising Victories and Eliminations Set the Tone for The Night

The third pair of athletes to take the stage are 17-year-old high school student Hans from Castle Rock, Colorado, and 21-year-old ninja coach Sam from Dorsey, Illinois. In his confessional, Sam discloses that although the Group Stage didn’t go as he wanted, he faced Hans, one of the fastest ninjas, and got the second fastest time of the night. He also adds that this is going to be like a rematch. Hans observes that he and Sam push each other, and despite knowing his opponent is hungry to move on, he notes that he is not playing around. Once their run begins, Sam pulls ahead and ultimately takes the win by pressing the buzzer at 01:06.72. Hans’ journey this season ends, although he presses the buzzer at 01:07.53. The following run is between 18-year-old heavy metal guitarist Evan Lavallee from Lancaster, Massachusetts, and Amir.

Evan already got two buzzers inspired by his mom, who is battling two types of cancer. Amir is a three-time ninja veteran who is back after a few years. He has been fostering dogs for 10 years alongside his mother and has fostered over 50 dogs. He has also adopted his own pup, Sesame, a beagle terrier mix. He feels that the more he makes it on the course, the more he brings awareness to fostering dogs. Both athletes push each other on the course, and despite being neck and neck, Evan secures victory and finishes his run at 01:06.44. It turns out that Amir’s last glance before the final dismount led him to take an extra swing, leading him to hit the buzzer at 01:09.14. Evan is moving on and is going to be facing Sam in the round of 16. Next up is Josiah and 28-year-old musician R.J. from Jacksonville, Florida.

For R.J., he had to watch around 15 people try to knock his record out to get the wild card, so he feels lucky to be here. He notes that both he and Josiah are known for their speed, but tonight, he believes his opponent will lose. To everyone’s surprise, Josiah’s run is cut short on the Swinging Frames, consequently providing his competitor with the win. R.J. proceeds to overcome the course and press the buzzer at 01:48.16. He is going to face Matt in the round of 16. The sixth race is between Luke Dillon from Orlando, Florida, and Kaden Lebsack from Castle Rock, Colorado. Kaden divulges that he and his friends compete about anything, even doing one-arm pullups. He usually uploads them on social media and loves watching his followers share them. He thinks posting challenges online can help inspire people, and his friends pushed him to do better.

Amid the Runs, Past Highlights Honors Some of the Best Female Ninjas

Luke Dillon and Kaden Lebsack’s run begins with matching each other’s steps until the former falls on the second obstacle. However, his competitor finishes the course with the fastest time of the night at 59.43 seconds. Although time will not provide any advantage in the next round, it does prove him to be a formidable competitor. Following them are Noah and Austin from Ashburn, Virginia. Noah continues his streak as the number of obstacles he overcomes increases to 114, and he presses the buzzer at 01:15.36. Although Austin completes his run on the course, he is eliminated, putting Noah against Evan White in the next round. Next up are 17-year-old high school student Jackson from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 16-year-old ‘ANW’ superfan and rookie, Christian.

Jackson’s last stint ended on Stage 2 back in season 14, and in the following years, he often felt sad and hopeless about his ninja dreams. Ultimately, reaching out for help has assisted him in growing as a person. So, he is full of gratitude to be able to compete again this season. As Jackson pulls ahead, Christian gets stuck on the Floating Monkey Bars. The former ends up winning by hitting the buzzer at 01:10.98, while Christian loses his chance to move on, although he finishes the course. In the following round, Jackson is going to face Kaden Lebsack. The ninth race is between 17-year-old high school student Taylor from Broomfield, Colorado, and 19-year-old ninja coach Isaiah. The former hit two buzzers in these Finals and is the fifth-ever woman to finish a ten-obstacle Semifinal course. She is also the first woman to get four buzzers in one year.

Taylor is one of the two women in the Final 32, and she is facing Isaiah. They met during ‘ANW Junior’ and have remained friends. During their run, her opponent gets a head start as she gets hung up on the Ring Jump. Isaiah gains victory by pressing the buzzer at 01:02.37 while Taylor falls into the water on the 5th obstacle. Right after, the attention turns to #7 of the countdown, which is from Michelle Warnkey in season 11 (2019). After Kacy Catanzaro became the first woman to finish a ten-obstacle course, no other woman could overcome it for 6 years until Michelle became the second woman to do so. Just 30 minutes later, Jesse Labreck also conquered it, becoming the third woman to do so on the very same night. To this day, they continue to inspire all the female athletes.

The Night Wraps Up With Young Stars Rising to the Challenge

The next race is between 17-year-old Ben from Cedar Falls, Iowa, and 18-year-old Enzo from Palm Harbor, Florida. The latter made a huge comeback in the previous round when he accidentally kicked off one bar of Floating Monkey Bars, yet managed to win by using just the remaining one. This makes Ben nervous, who notes that Enzo is like lightning on the course. On the other hand, Enzo is also ready to take on his competitor, who is a formidable one. To his delight, Ben gets the lead in the run and wins by pressing the buzzer at 01:02.96. Irrespective of his loss, Enzo finishes the course in style by making a flip before falling into the water on the last obstacle. Right after is the turn for the 15-year-old Jason, Ben’s brother from Cedar Falls, Iowa, and 17-year-old Luke Beckstrand.

Luke remarks that it is a battle of the younger siblings. He adds that although people underestimate Jason for being 4’11”, he is not doing that. The latter became the shortest to climb the Warped Wall and has two more buzzers since then. Similarly, Luke has also been one of the fastest players all season. Luckily for Luke, he manages to move ahead and press the buzzer at 01:04.06, while Jason falls on the 5th obstacle, eliminating him from the competition. It is now time for the reveal of #6 on the countdown list, which comes from Sandy Zimmerman in the season 11 Qualifiers. The 42-year-old mother of three never made it past the second obstacle in her past two seasons. However, in season 11, she became the first mom ever to get the first buzzer.

The final race of the night is between one of the two women who made it to the Final 32, Isabella from Dorsey, Illinois, and Luke’s brother, Kai. The female athlete became the fourth woman to overcome the 10-obstacle course and earned two victories in the Group Stage. It proves to be tough for her to beat Kai since he is one of the fastest competitors. He swiftly flies through the course and bags the win by pressing the buzzer at 59.11 seconds, making it the fastest finish of the night. Despite his win ending her journey for this season, Isabella continues to complete the course. Kai moves on to the following round, and if he and his brother Luke win their next race, they are going to face each other with the winner advancing to the Final Four.