Barclay Stockett, Jesse Labreck and Allyssa Beird supercharge ANW’s Las Vegas Finals with girl power

American Ninja Warrior Las Vegas National Finals got off to a rocking start last night, with a season’s worth of drama packed into two hours of teeth-clenching obstacle racing.

A post shared by Lindsay Eskildsen (@ninja_linz) on Sep 1, 2017 at 7:09pm PDT

While a host of popular ninja veterans (including Lance Pekus, Joe Moravsky, Brent Steffensen, Thomas Stillings, Flip Rodriguez, Kevin Bull and JJ Woods) all successfully completed Stage 1 of the four-part course, it was the women that ultimately stole the show.

[fusion_title size=”4″]BARCLAY STOCKETT SPARKLES[/fusion_title]

Gymnast Barclay Stockett may stand only five-feet tall, but she soared as high or higher than any of the other ANW competitors during the first night of competition in Vegas.

A post shared by Barclay Stockett (@sparklyninja) on Aug 30, 2017 at 8:14am PDT

Stockett, who recently mastered the ability to support her body weight with just three fingers, attacked the obstacles with such vigor that at times it appeared she would overshoot her target. Despite some close calls, the “Sparkle Ninja” managed to make it to the final obstacle before time ran out.

[fusion_title size=”4″]JESSE LABRECK FLEXES[/fusion_title]

Jesse “Flex” Labreck, cheered on by boyfriend Chris DiGangi — a fellow ninja who was eliminated earlier in the night — performed in Vegas with the same strength she’s exhibited throughout her first two seasons of ANW competition.

A post shared by Jesse Labreck (@flexlabreck) on Sep 5, 2017 at 12:36pm PDT

Like Stockett, Labreck made it all the way to the final obstacle, but tumbled off the cargo net as time was running out. She stuck around to watch her friend, and sometimes training partner, Allyssa Beird, take on the course as the last woman competitor of the night.

[fusion_title size=”4″]ALLYSSA BEIRD TEACHES[/fusion_title]

Allyssa Beird, also competing in her second year, paired precision with power in attacking the course set up near the Las Vegas strip. She had a ninja boyfriend of her own in her corner, James “The Beast” McGrath, who failed to make the finals after being a mainstay of the event in past years.

A post shared by Allyssa Beird (@allyssabeird) on Jul 14, 2017 at 9:45am PDT

The fifth-grade teacher from Middleborough, Massachusetts delivered a crowd-pleasing performance in becoming just the second woman ever to complete Stage 1 of the ANW National Finals.