Aaron Himelright makes it to Las Vegas finals of ‘American Ninja Warrior’

Aaron Himelright is an adventure seeker. After graduating from Moorestown High School in 2008, he spent the next six years as a rock climber, which he did for fun. What he didn’t know is that those six years may have also served as training for something that could change his life.

Himelright competed in the television show “American Ninja Warrior” this year, making it to the finals in Las Vegas. But, it wasn’t something he thought he would ever be doing.

“One day, I just happened to be watching television and I saw Chris Wilczewski on ‘American Ninja Warrior,’” Himelright said. “Then, the next day, I saw him in the gym and we started talking about the show. Chris invited me over to a new gym he was starting and introduced me to a few of the guys there that were also on the show.”

Wilczewski attended Holy Cross High School and has also competed at “American Ninja Warrior.” While Himelright didn’t know him well, the two became instant friends, especially after Himelright saw the gym he was opening. It was during this first visit to the new gym that Himelright saw the talent he possessed.

“All the guys were racing on this course that Chris had built at the gym,” he said. “Even though I had never done it before, I decided to try it out, and I had one of the fastest times, and that’s where everything started.”

Himelright hit the ground running and began training at the gym to prepare himself for the next round of “American Ninja Warrior.” After a few months of training, he headed to St. Louis to compete in the qualifying round of the show.

“It was a lot more stressful than it looks,” Himelright said. “You have to sit and wait in a tent all day for them to call your number, so you have to make sure you are ready for a long time. And they do the filming at night so that way when the show goes on television, they can run any contestant they want first.”

Himelright placed second in the qualifying round and earned a spot in the finals in Las Vegas.

However, during the six weeks between the qualifying and the finals, Himelright suffered a broken hand, which didn’t allow him to train at all between the events.

“I basically went in with no training,” he said. “It took the entire six weeks to get the cast off my hand, so I had to kind of wing it during the finals.”

Even with little training, Himelright managed to place 12th at the finals in Las Vegas, a feat he is proud of, but not satisfied with.

“It was an awesome experience being out there and competing, but now I’m ready to do better,” he said. “The group of guys who compete in the sport are very supportive, and we all push each other. The sport is growing slowly, and with more cross-fit type gyms popping up, there are more opportunities to train, too.”

Himelright is preparing to compete in next year’s “American Ninja Warrior,” but in the meantime, he is focused on training.

“I basically train all day,” he said. “I work nine hours a day as a welder and then hit the gym when I get home. I will definitely be ready when the time comes to compete again next year.”