4 St. George men compete on 'American Ninja Warrior,' 2 advance

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ST. GEORGE — Four men from St. George came together to take on "American Ninja Warrior."

Jon Stewart, who drew attention last season for being the oldest person to ever complete a city finals course, returned to the competition with Brian Beckstrand, Rick Pitcher and Dakota Elder. They all tackled the qualifying course in Kansas City, with both Stewart and Beckstrand advancing to the next round after Monday’s episode.

“Once we got invited to the show, it was like we came together,” Beckstrand said. “It’s kind of cool. As small of an area as St. George is, four of us from here all got to go.”

The four men trained together, often using courses constructed in their own backyards, for about a month before the show was taped. Stewart said the Ninja Warrior community is a tight-knit family, so everyone supports each other.

“It’s really you against the course, not you against them,” he said. “We help each other out as much as possible.”

This is Stewart’s third season on the show, but returning to the competition was still a challenge. He crashed while mountain biking on Sept. 20 and needed surgery to fix his shoulder, which included having a plate and nine screws put in.

When he first started physical therapy, Stewart couldn’t even lift his arm above the height of his shoulder. However, he estimates he was back to about 85 percent of his normal strength while competing in Kansas City.

During the qualifying round, he became the oldest person to ever make it up the warp wall. Stewart, who is 53, said he plans to keep competing on "Ninja Warrior" until he is 65.

Brian Beckstrand, Jon Stewart, Dakota Elder, Rick Pitcher and Dave Peterson. Photo courtesy of Jon Stewart

“I love it more than ever now, especially after last year and this year,” he said. “It’s in my blood and it’s just a part of what I do now. I’ve changed my habits a lot — now I’m eating better. I’m working out harder than I ever have in my life, but it’s good for me.”

Beckstrand has been watching the competition for years, but this is the first time he has competed on the show. He started training after one of his sons asked for an American Ninja themed birthday party. He built a couple of obstacles in his backyard for the event and then just kept on going.

Since then, it has become a family and neighborhood affair. Beckstrand said his three sons, who are between 7 and 11 years old, love to tackle the same activities he does. His 5-year-old daughter even likes to try the monkey bars.

“There’s not many times throughout the day where there isn’t someone back there,” he said.

It was surreal to compete on the show after watching it for so long, according to Beckstrand. He said the men from St. George helped him prepare for the course.

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Natalie Crofts

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