Shelter Islander makes the finals of American Ninja Warrior

Shelter Island’s own ninja warrior, 23-year-old Luke Lowell-Liszanckie, has made it to the finals of the popular television competition.

In the Monday night semifinal episode of American Ninja Warriors, Mr. Lowell-Liszanckie sailed through the first eight obstacles, only to run out of gas scaling The Dungeon, a kind of upside down door with small hand grips over a pool of water.

But he’s still in the running for the big prize. The next round of competitions will be shown on NBC in coming weeks.

“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Mr. Lowell-Liszanckie said. “I’m upset about falling because of my high standards, but I’m stoked and excited about making it to the next event.”

The semifinals were conducted last fall in Las Vegas, so Mr. Lowell-Liszanckie and a few family members who attended knew the outcome. But others did not, and Monday night there was a family watch party complete with pizza.

“My uncle said, ‘This is your Super Bowl,’ and I guess it is,” Mr. Lowell-Liszanckie recalled the morning after.

Mr. Lowell-Liszanckie, who describes himself as rather shy, said he made a lot of connections among his fellow competitors. He acquired the nickname “Triple L.”

He’s been a devotee of the sport since the age of 7, when he first saw the popular obstacle course competition on television. “I was always competitive and athletic, but I didn’t align with team sports,” he recalled. “If my parents lost track of me, all they had to do was look up into the trees.”

The first television installment of American Ninja Warrior arrived in the United States in 2009. The format has evolved over the years but now consists of qualifying rounds with hundreds of contestants leading to three sets of semifinals with a total of 120. Mr. Lowell-Liszanckie is now one of the elite 60 athletes moving on.

The precise obstacles vary, but all are designed to test agility, strength and speed. In addition to The Dungeon, there’s The Quad Steps, Lunatic Ledges, Log Runner, Crank It Up, V Formation, Warped Wall, Salmon Ladder, Corkscrew and Invisible Ladder. 

Mr. Lowell-Liszanckie started to get serious about the sport at 17, first visiting a gym in Brooklyn. Now, he regularly trains at Smithtown Ninja Academy. “As a kid I was fascinated by rock climbing and gymnastics, and ninja is a combination of all those movement sports,” he explained.

He kept at it when he went away to college at SUNY Plattsburgh, competing in local events. When the 17th season of the show rolled around, he felt he was ready. Along with about 77,000 others, he sent in an application, and also a three-minute audition video. He did great in the prelims.

“This is my greatest dream,” he said.

There will be a new set of obstacles in the finals. One fall and you’re out. If someone beats your time, you’re out. The ultimate winner will take home $250,000, but Mr. Lowell-Liszanckie says that’s not what’s driving him. It’s about the sport and the people he meets.

“Ninja comes from a place of love,” he said. “It’s an inclusive and positive community — you’re not competing against another person, you’re competing against yourself.”

Whatever the outcome of the next competition, Mr. Lowell-Liszanckie plans to stay involved with the sport. He’ll be a coach, teaching the skills he’s pretty much mastered.

“Our bodies were designed to move,” he says. “I want other people to get involved, to be a better version of themselves.”

Come fall, he’ll resume training and coaching. In the meantime, he’s working on the dock by Claudio’s in Greenport to help with expenses.