New Jersey Takes Over American Ninja Warrior

The newest season of “American Ninja Warrior” includes a slew of New Jersey contestants.

Since its premiere in 2009, “American Ninja Warrior”, or ANW, has showcased hundreds of the most athletic contestants from across the country. Who would have thought that so many of them were from New Jersey!

According to NJ.com, this season alone, seventeen New Jerseyans are competing to prove that they have what it takes to overcome the show’s nearly-impossible obstacle courses. Of these contestants, many are familiar faces that have competed before but have not yet made it to the final round of “total victory”.

One of these faces being Rider University graduate, Anthony DeFranco. He spent his entire college career as a track and field runner, making him a good fit for a competition such as ANW. DeFranco first competed on the show during season 8 and gave it another try season 9, making it to the national finals both seasons. Although he did compete again on season 10 he was unfortunately eliminated during one of the earlier rounds. Judging by his reappearances on the show, it is evident Anthony DeFranco doesn't plan to stop until he gets that win!

Competing alongside him is NJIT graduate and Cherry Hill native, Jamie Rahn. NJ.com mention that Rahn has been competing on ANW ever since season 2 back in 2010. When he’s not competing he teaches parkour at a parkour academy he founded himself! He’s hard to miss with his neon green hair and blue metallic superhero costume, making him one of the more familiar faces on the show.

It will be interesting to see how far the New Jersey contestants make it and hopefully one of them will return home with the grand prize!