American Ninja Warrior 2018: National Finals Day 2 Results, Highlights

Monday saw the second entry in the three-part American Ninja Warrior 2018 national finals, with Stage 1 wrapping up in Las Vegas.

Thirty competitors are still alive, with Jake Murray posting the fastest time. He traversed Stage 1 in one minute, 36 seconds, beating out Drew Drechsel by 0.20 seconds.

Murray had a little help, as he enlisted fellow Warrior Grant McCartney as his "caddy" before starting the course. McCartney aided Murray in selecting his footwear, adding a little flair to Murray's run.

Once the horn sounded, though, Murray was all business. He would've reached the final buzzer even quicker had he not gotten stuck temporarily on the penultimate obstacle Twist and Fly:

While he finished second behind Murray, Drechsel's run deserves a replay as well:

Drechsel reached Stage 3 of Mount Midoriyama in 2016, so he'll be among the strongest contenders to make it through Stage 2 in a week's time.

The second half of Stage 1 might have been more notable for the American Ninja Warrior stalwarts who fell short. Kevin Bull, Brett Sims and Ryan Stratis all stumbled on Monday night's episode, joining Joe Moravsky.

No women moved on to Stage 2, either.

Meagan Martin was the last woman to hit the course. Bad luck has often befallen Martin on Stage 1, with three of her trips ending when she ran out of time. She didn't even make it that far this year, slipping on the Jumping Spider and falling into the water below.

Announcers Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila had conflicting emotions as they watched Eric Middleton run the course.

During the city qualifiers, Middleton made a bet with Iseman and Gbajabiamila; the pair would eat a fried tarantula if he completed the course. Iseman and Gbajabiamila were forced to down the arachnid after Middleton held up his end of the bet.

Middleton raised the stakes for the national finals, swapping out the tarantula with a candied scorpion. Sure enough, he hit the final buzzer on Stage 1:

Neither Iseman nor Gbajabiamila appeared to enjoy fulfilling their obligation:

Warrior veteran Jessie Graff was conspicuous by her absence. She qualified for the national finals by finishing fifth in the Miami city finals but was unable to make the trip to Vegas. Graff revealed the reason on the broadcast, announcing she had been hired as a stuntwoman for Wonder Woman 1984, which is slated for release in November 2019.

Based on her history in the competition, fans can count on Graff booking a ticket to Vegas in 2019.

The 10th season of American Ninja Warrior will conclude Sept. 10, with the remaining athletes moving on to compete in Stage 2.

Only Isaac Caldiero and Geoff Britten have successfully completed all four stages of Mount Midoriyama, with both doing so in 2015. Last season, just three competitors finished Stage 2 to advance on to Stage 3, illustrating how difficult simply completing half of Mount Midoriyama is.

In addition, Stage 2 will feature the first-ever underwater obstacle, presenting a new challenge to the Warriors involved. Fans won't want to miss the season finale.