Athletes travel from all over the country just to get a crack at the insanely difficult American Ninja Warrior obstacle course.
And nine lucky Northeast Ohio would-be ninjas — including two from the Akron area — earned a spot to make a run at the course Monday and Tuesday nights at the show’s taping of preliminary rounds in Public Square in Cleveland.
The athletes with the best times earn a spot on the show once the real competition begins at the finals in mid-June in Las Vegas, after tryouts in cities like Denver and Kansas City.
This is the first Cleveland taping for the show that traces its origins to Japan.
A labor and delivery nurse at Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center is among those who earned a spot to compete in Cleveland. Erin Vandendriessche, 26, who lives in Medina, is a former NCAA diver.
She is joined by PJ Camargo, who lives in Kent. He is a choreographer for the Miss Ohio Pageant and coaches MMA fighters.
The other Northeast Ohio competitors include:
• Amy Pajcic of Brecksville, a veterinarian and the only woman to podium at the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships. She has tried out in previous seasons of American Ninja Warrior and was just shy of making the final round.
• Paul Theodore of Avon, who travels to schools to teach Obstacle Course Racing. He told producers he is competing for a 5-year-old student of his named Piper who is fighting cancer.
• Michael Nowoslawski of Cleveland, a self-described superfan who built an American Ninja Warrior course in his backyard. He was given his “golden ticket” by NBC affiliate WKYC, which surprised him last week with the news he made the list for the Cleveland taping.
• Patrick Lavanty of Youngstown, co-host of a TV cooking show segment.
• Logan Broadbent of Cleveland, the second-ranked boomerang thrower in the country.
• Ryan Oshinsky of Cleveland, an Eagle Scout who suffers from spontaneous collapsing lung.
• Eric Woodruff of Dalton, who works as a forklift operator and has a barn filled with ninja obstacles to train on.
Another notable Ohioan competing in Cleveland is Michelle Warnky of Worthington, co-owner of ninja gym Movement Lab Ohio in Columbus. She has competed previously on the show and is considered one of the sport’s top female athletes.
The show is taping from around 8:30 p.m. to the wee hours of the morning each night in Public Square in downtown Cleveland. Tickets for the taping have already been distributed.
There is a free fan experience of NBC shows, including an inflatable American Ninja Warrior course, and you can pose in the Voice red chair, attempt an obstacle from Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge or see the America’s Got Talent judges table.
Producers say the Cleveland taping will appear in a single episode. The new season of American Ninja Warrior premieres June 12.
Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3547.