Daytona Finals

This city was definitely difficult. Last week may have also had only one finisher, but as I've already ranted about, I did not like the Hourglass Drop. This week, however, the Giant Cubes seemed like a ninja terror: much more physically challenging than the Hourglass Drop. A few people were able to pass it, though. With an obstacle like this, I feel like maybe it isn't so much about "figuring it out" as it is just having the strength. Yes, there was some trial and error going on until Carbone figured out a solution for the first cube (using the pole and sort of pushing off of it), and then Graff used her insane flexibility to reach the second cube. Although, only one other athlete was able to mimic her: Travis Rosen. Drew did attempt twice to make an easy out, but he wasn't quite flexible enough, I guess. Luckily, that wasn't a problem for Drew. Anyway, the Giant Cubes reminded me a lot of the I-beam Gap that was in Cleveland Qualifiers. This was probably more challenging because of the cube shape and not being stretched out. The Giant Cubes also did not allow for as much foot work, so it was more upper body/grip intensive. This is the kind of obstacle that should be in a City Finals, not a mini trampoline. The Circuit Board is also pretty intense. Out of all 3 City Finals we have seen so far, I think Daytona has been the hardest. They only had one finisher, and it took Drew Drechsel to do it. I was a little nervous about him running. Once he secured his place in Vegas, though, I was very relieved. For me, him finishing was less important, I just wanted to see him back in the National Finals. Besides, everyone pretty much expects Drew to be able to finish, me included, and even if he didn't, it would have been disappointing, but not devastating. What was really surprising is how he attacked the Elevator Climb. He didn't seem to tire. A little bit at the end I suppose, he was tiring out, but throughout he was gaining a lot of height with each pump. You can tell when people get tired, like with JJ Woods and Jessie Graff, when they're trying to move, but aren't really gaining any distance. However, with Drechsel, every movement he made was the full length of his arm span (if that makes any sense). I doubt we will see anyone else be able to tackle the Elevator Climb as well as he did. Drew proves, yet again, how much of a beast he is. He remains Top Dog in the American Ninja Warrior world and is still the best bet for winning it all. He did mention this is his seventh year. I believe for Caldiero it was his third year and for Britten it was his second year (I'm not totally sure if Britten is right). For both of them, they won fairly early into their ANW careers and with Drechsel competing with/against them. I don't mean to mention this to undermine him or suggest in any way that Drew is weaker than Isaac of Geoff, I just thought it was an interesting comparison. All three of them have a completely different set of circumstances: body types, training regiments, times, etc. All three of them are nothing short of amazing. I find it slightly interesting that in all the years Drechsel has been competing he hasn't won, yet, but as he said in his bio, he has been getting stronger and stronger each year, so this may be his year. Besides, since then, they have really changed the course, and it is definitely more difficult than before. For one, they amped up the Crazy Cliffhanger, added the Circuit Board and Body Prop, and eliminated the full body obstacle Area 51 (I believe that was its name or something close to it) replacing it with another upper body obstacle. So, overall, if Drew was to win this year, it would honestly be more impressive than when Caldiero and Britten did. I am also assuming they will have made some kind of change to either Stage 2 or 3 because they know that Drew is capable of completing everything. He's worked really long and really hard for this show, as have many others, but I would love to see Drew Drechsel conquer it all.

Anyway, the fact that Drechsel was the only finisher pretty much speaks for itself. I think the other noteworthy tidbit about him was the Elevator Climb. As I mentioned before, I really don't think anyone else will be able to do that obstacle nearly as well as he did.

Next, let's talk about the next three. As we saw it the last two weeks, there were a couple people who would make it to the 10th obstacle, but were not able to finish it. For Daytona it was Woods, Darling-Hammond, and Graff. Obviously Graff was the most exciting. It was pretty crazy to have the Top male athlete and the Top female athlete in the same city. It would have definitely been crazy if Graff could have made it. She was the most impressive female athlete to run all season so far, and probably for all the City Finals. LaBreck, Beird, and Martin have the potential to match Graff's run, and I am especially excited for LaBreck. They're going to Cleveland next, but Kansas City was after Daytona in the Qualifying round, so that was kind of weird. I would rather see Cleveland (no offense to Kansas City athletes), but Cleveland has Joe, Jesse, James, Najee, and so many more of my favorites than K.C. Specifically looking at Jessie Graff, she was really great on the Giant Cubes. In the beginning she didn't use her feet which Matt and Akbar commented on. I think they thought it would affect her because she put extra stress on her upper body, but, Jessie is not one to be underestimated. When she stretched across to reach the other cube, it was a bit anti-climactic. I also realized that this must have been where James McGrath got the idea to on how to tackle the I-Beam Gap. Considering this city was before Cleveland, and McGrath was in Daytona watching, he pretty much replicated Jessie's movements on a similar obstacle. Travis Rosen also used her technique, and he did well. He finished 5th overall, and was the next best after Drechsel and those who reached the Elevator Climb. Both Rosen and Stratis are long time veterans, but both were skipped on both Qualifiers and Finals. Again, as I've said before, they clearly have favorites. People that are strong are acknowledged for their strength and ability, but don't get as much attention if they aren't personal favorites, which is a bummer. I do think Rosen will receive a little more attention in Vegas because he will have a redemption type story considering he exited really early on Stage 1 last year.

I was also bummed they didn't show Tyler Gillett. I thought for sure they would, too, because he, along with Carbone, were to top rookies. I think the show purposefully hype up certain rookies at the beginning because by editing, they know who will be the best. He had the whole story of watching the show for years and training since he was young and now he's living the dream. He did really well, too. Hopefully he will do well in Vegas. The Jumping Spider proves to be the most difficult for rookies, but I have high hopes for him. Carbone is the other star rookie of Daytona. He finished just a few seconds after Gillett. Out of these two, I would have my bets on Gillett. I am not sure why exactly. Carbon is an obstacle designer, and he was thinking outside of the box for the Giant Cubes. When they showed a clip of him designing the Salmon Ladder Variation where the athlete takes out his own pegs, I thought this guy was serious. However, compared to Gillett, I just feel like he's a little less ANW material. I do believe it was him though who finished the Rolling Thunder really well. He (or somebody) had a really intense focus, exactly what you need for the Rolling Thunder, and completed it very smoothly.

There was also mention of Casidy Marks. He did really well over the commercial break. There was something I noticed though. They said he was a three year walk-on. I don't know if that means he was originally a walk-on and this is his third year of competing, or if he has been a walk-on for three years. The latter really wouldn't make any sense, though. If someone did well enough as a walk-on their rookie year, I wouldn't think that they would have to walk-on again, and definitely not a third time. Nonetheless, he was a walk-on at some point, and he finished 6th overall, yet another athlete to prove that walk-ons are really good in ANW.

Then there were the Brazi Bros. Only one of them, Lucas, qualified for Vegas, though, which must be slightly upsetting for them. Neither have been particularly ground-breaking in the sport, but even with the obstacles and courses getting more difficult, people have been improving and getting farther, so you never know. Some people go farther than ever, surprising everyone, and sometimes people drop really early surprising people in a different way.

There was also Nigel Henry. He reached the cut-off obstacle at the fastest pace. He was only bested by finishers, Elevator Climb-ers, and Circuit Board-ers. He reached the Giant Cubes almost a full minute before the next athlete to reach there, Nick Patel. He had a whole hair thing going on, and it reminded me of Gil. He seemed like he was going for that same image, but Gil's hair is better. He wasn't my favorite, but he definitely seemed like one of their favorites. Maybe it was the hair. He's not someone I'll forget though due to the hair. Plus, he's pretty fast, and speed runners are fun to watch, assuming they have the strength to match.

Lastly, the other woman to go onto Vegas is Lindsay Eskildsen. I am not going to lie, I kind of wanted Bree Widener the makeup artist to go Vegas because I liked her, but I suppose the strongest should be the ones in Vegas. I noticed with Rolling Thunder that it is really difficult for the women. The actual weight is around 100 pounds which is usually around where an average ANW woman would weigh (100-120 pounds). Plus, they have to use momentum and constant movement to spend the least amount of time on the Rolling Thunder. It is just a really challenging obstacle for women. The only two to ever pass it are Jesse and Jessie, and they're more than the average female competitor. As I expected, it looks like only two women (the maximum) from each city will be going to Vegas. I expect, and hope, Jesse and Alyssa to be the two for next week. I really want Jesse to make it because I really want her back at Vegas. She is one of the strongest female athletes, but she isn't necessarily a given, like anyone else.

Overall, I think this city was worthy of one finisher, if that makes sense, especially because that finisher was Drew Drechsel. It was really hard with the Giant Cubes and the Circuit Board, and even the Rolling Thunder before. This city was a perfect way to show the world how amazingly strong ANW's top dog is. This city had some really great talent, and I'm excited to see some people like Gillett, Carbone, Eskildsen, Woods, Rosen, and others, as well as Graff and Drechsel in Vegas.