Season 17 of NBC's American Ninja Warrior introduced a live head-to-head, single-elimination finals format. Eighteen New England competitors began the season; six New England residents and two New England natives reached the finale. Noah Meunier, 19, of Fairhaven finished second overall after losing a head-to-head final to Kai Beckstrand. Beckstrand, 19, an EMT from Utah, won the $250,000 grand prize. Matt D'Amico of Billerica, a member of the Boston Celtics Dunk Team, was among the finalists. The series is co-hosted by Matt Iseman, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, and Zuri Hall and originated in 2009 from the Japanese show Sasuke.
Six New Englanders and two New England natives made it to the finale, according to the show: Meunier, Matt D'Amico of Billerica (a member of the Boston Celtics Dunk Team), Evan Lavallee of Lancaster, Amir Malik of Essex Junction, Vermont; Christian Hart of Meriden, Connecticut; and Joe Moravsky of Monroe, Connecticut. Plus: Warwick, Rhode Island native Luke Dillon and Connecticut native Jay Lewis, both of whom recently moved to Florida.
In a nail-biting final showdown, Meunier lost a head-to-head race with Kai Beckstrand, 19 - an EMT from Utah who may be one of the best ninjas to ever ninja. Beckstrand won the $250,000 grand prize. While there's no money for second place, Meunier, who turns 20 on Monday, is fine with just the glory. The all-or-nothing stakes are "part of what makes the show exciting for the fans," Meunier told me in a phone interview Monday.
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