How two central Ohioans performed in the American Ninja Warrior finals

POWELL, Ohio (WCMH) -- NBC's American Ninja Warrior had a very central Ohio flavor during Monday night's first episode of the finals.

Season 16 of American Ninja Warrior saw Sydney Yee of Powell and Jennifer Sanders of Columbus compete on the larger-than-life obstacle course. Both completed the opening round challenges and won their semifinal head-to-head challenges in Los Angeles.

Both "ninjas" compete and train at Movement Lab Ohio, a gym dedicated to all things ninja, parkour, and functional strength training. "MLab" was started by American Ninja Warrior Legend Michelle Warnky, who was also featured on the show as a coach.

Sydney Yee is just 16 years old, and was 15 when filming the finals for this season. Her parents hosted a packed watch party Monday night at their home in Powell. The living room full of ninjas, their parents and supporters erupted when Yee was the first on the screen to tackle the course in the finals in Las Vegas.

Yee's been doing this half of her life, she joked.

"I watched it as a little kid and me, my brother would always go around the house climbing and stuff, climbing banisters, climbing doorways, and eventually we wanted to get into a gym," Yee said.

Yee went first and tackled one difficult obstacle after another, but eventually a leap fell short and she plunged into the water below. Still, the cheers for her were deafening at the watch party.

"Everyone is so supportive," Yee said of the American Ninja Warrior community. "Even if you know you're going to compete against them the next day, we always trade advice or just talk through the course or try to calm yourself down. You always have people in the ninja community there to support you and help you if you need help."

Sanders, who was featured in the battle rounds one week ago, flew through her first two obstacles but slipped on a dismount and slid down the landing into the water. Both ninjas fell just short of the American Ninja Warrior grand prize of $1 million.

For Yee, she'll have another shot at the title. Friday, she got the call to compete in Season 17 of ANW. Until then, she'll keep training, and work to be the best.

"I think for me, any agility obstacle is always my nemesis because I got little legs. So, it's a little tough for me to get across agility obstacles, especially when they're far apart," she said with a smile.