American Ninja Warrior 2019 Results and Highlights from Episode 8

There's a reason Drew Drechsel is called the Real Life Ninja.

The American Ninja Warrior superstar already conquered the Mega Wall and won a Power Tower competition during qualifying stages and was going for the trifecta with another Power Tower win in the Atlanta city finals on Monday's episode.

Monday's fastest two finishers competed in the Power Tower with the winner capturing the safety pass, which provided a do-over at the national finals in Las Vegas should the competitor fail in Stage 1 or Stage 2.

Drechsel faced no pressure while attacking the obstacle course because he already clinched a spot in the national finals with his Power Tower showing in qualifying. He had to worry about nothing but speed, and the result was a stunning time of three minutes and 37 seconds.

That was a full minute faster than Kevin Carbone's time of four minutes and 50 seconds.

Carbone, who has helped design some of the show's obstacles in the past, also impressed and did his best Dominique Wilkins performance in Atlanta by becoming the first in American Ninja Warrior history to unleash a 360-degree jump as he scaled the Warped Wall. He also made it through the 35-foot chute and 50-pound doors at Spider Trap in the final obstacle.

It is a testament to Drechsel's dominance that Carbone, who was the second-best ninja in Atlanta, had no chance in the Power Tower. The Real Life Ninja handled Carbone with ease to clinch the trifecta.

Drechsel and Carbone weren't the only ones to turn heads with a trip to Las Vegas awaiting the top 12 finishers.

The evening started with former NFL player Tyrone Poole, who won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. However, he couldn't make it past the second obstacle—Off the Hook—which means the majority of those who competed in Atlanta can at least say they beat a two-time Super Bowl champion.

Josiah Singleton—otherwise known as Country Boy Ninja because he comes from the small town of Brookneal, Virginia—and Devin Harrelson—who wore his signature light-up shoes—were among those who could say as much after surpassing the Warped Wall and reaching the second half of the course.

However, they both fell at the same Up For Grabs obstacle that asked ninjas to swing from bar to bar without losing their grip and ended the competition for many.

There were plenty of storylines outside of the combined troubles at Up For Grabs, including multiple family affairs. Brett Sims and Grace Sims became the first husband and wife duo to reach the city finals, and Brett earned a spot in Las Vegas by conquering the course.

Caitlyn Bergstrom and Caleb Bergstrom were the first brother and sister duo to reach the city finals and continued their own family tradition. They were known as the Baby Bergies because their father and older brother also competed in American Ninja Warrior in the past, and Caitlyn made Las Vegas as one of the top two women finishers by reaching the Ferris Wheel.

She was joined by inspirational figure Jessica Clayton, who is a single mother in the military. She needed to reach the Bouncing Spider to beat Grace Sims and did just that by powering through the Block Run.

Inspiration served as one of the primary themes of Monday's episode.

Jody Freeman battled through his size (5'5" and 115 pounds) and age (19 years old) to reach the Spider Trap and Las Vegas, while 44-year-old Travis Rosen made it to the top of the Warped Wall and all the way to Up For Grabs even though he suffered a serious ankle injury during the show in 2018 and thought he may never compete again.

Nothing was more emotional than the run from Kenny Niemitalo, who used his platform to raise awareness for a young child in need.

Niemitalo told the audience his daughter, Hazel, needed a kidney during season eight of American Ninja Warrior, and a viewer answered the call to action and donated her kidney. Since then, Niemitalo wears shirts with the faces of children in need of living kidney donors every time he competes, and he had the face of eight-year-old Jordan on his shirt Monday.

He wrote about Jordan on his Instagram page and then competed admirably as the first one through Up For Grabs, the eighth obstacle. While he fell just short at the Spider Trap, he made it far enough to advance to Las Vegas.

He and the rest of the competitors will have to deal with Drechsel at those national finals after he showed why he is considered one of the favorites this season with a commanding performance Monday.