In a new twist on “American Ninja Warrior,” the show’s three hosts make predictions on which competitor will have the fastest run of the night.
At the start of Monday night’s episode, the hosts picked three of the fastest ninjas in “ANW” history — and they all happen to be from Utah.
Of course, defending champ Kai Beckstrand was a top pick. “ANW” co-host Zuri Hall quickly selected the firefighter from St. George, who took home $250,000 as the Season 17 winner.
Citing his empathy as a younger brother, “ANW” host Akbar Gbajabiamila went with 17-year-old Luke Beckstrand, who got eliminated last season after going head-to-head with his older brother, Kai.
“As a little brother myself, I know what that means. It means motivation time!” Gbajabiamila said during the episode.
“ANW” host Matt Iseman, meanwhile, called the Beckstrands “safe choices” and instead selected another Utahn as his pick for the night: University of Utah student Colton Skuster.
One of those three picks did in fact end up securing the fastest time of the night in an episode that saw a lot of shock and speed from a whopping seven Utah competitors.
Luke Beckstrand gets a shock on ‘ANW’
Luke Beckstrand has beat his older brother before.
During the semifinals on “ANW” last season, he beat Kai on the course by more than 30 seconds. And as the “ANW” hosts noted during Monday night’s episode, the teenager recently beat his brother and won the 100-meter competition at the OCR World Championship.
“Kai got his win, but now it’s my turn to get mine. Kai, I’m coming for you,” Luke said ahead of his run.
But in one of the most — if not the most — shocking moments of the episode, the speedy teen came splashing down on the fifth obstacle of the course.
Beckstrand — who the “ANW” hosts noted was “one of the favorites to win it all” — was visibly sad that he didn’t complete the course.
Thanks to his remarkable speed, though, he’s not out of the competition.
Beckstrand had the fastest time of the non-finishers and was still able to place in the episode’s top 20 to advance to the next round.
Colton Skuster cruises through the course on ‘ANW’
When Colton Skuster’s turn to run the “ANW” course arrived, the fastest time was just over a minute.
Last season, he finished the qualifying course in less than a minute. With fellow University of Utah students cheering him on virtually, Skuster set out to do it all over again.
For a moment, it looked like he would snag the fastest time of the night. But near the end of the course, he came up a little short and finished with a time of 1 minute and 7 seconds.
With that time, he claimed the No. 3 spot among the top 20.
The No. 1 spot — which really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to “ANW” fans — went to defending champ Kai Beckstrand, who has been competing and dominating on the show since he was 15.
Kai Beckstrand gets fastest time on ‘ANW’ — and wins $10,000
As the defending champ, Beckstrand has a lot to live up to.
But ahead of his “ANW” run Monday night, the hosts noted another record on the line: He has secured the fastest time in the qualifying round every season he’s competed.
If Beckstrand felt any of that pressure, he didn’t show it.
With his fiancée and family cheering him on from the sidelines, Beckstrand seemed to effortlessly speed through the course.
He completed it and hit the buzzer in just under 55 seconds.
That fast time gave him a chance to run up the 18½-foot Mega Wall for a $10,000 prize.
He successfully scaled the wall and got the 10 grand — just as he did in Seasons 15, 16 and 17.
5 Utahns advance to next round on ‘ANW’
At the end of Monday night’s episode, three of the top six competitors were from Utah.
In addition to Beckstrand and Skuster, Ashton Myler from Draper ended up placing sixth among the top 20. Although his airtime was shortened, “ANW” showed Myler completing the course in 1 minute and 52 seconds.
Myler is part of the sibling group Ninja Kidz, a YouTube sensation that has billions of views and more than 40 million subscribers across all of their channels.
His younger sister, 17-year-old Payton, also ended up advancing to the next round after making it to the fifth obstacle of the course — her best run on the show yet, the “ANW” hosts noted.
Two other Utahns competed during Monday’s episode but didn’t advance: Kyndal McKenzie from St. George, whose son, Kingston, celebrated his first birthday cheering on his mom; and artist and six-time “ANW” veteran Jenedy Paige from Pleasant Grove, who had her best run on the show yet by making it to the fourth obstacle.
The “American Ninja Warrior” Western Regional Finals air Monday, June 22, on NBC.