(Photo by Elizabeth Morris/NBC)
Incoming freshman Jay Lewis comes to Syracuse University from Cheshire, Connecticut, and he just might be a familiar face to those who watch the hit NBC program “American Ninja Warrior.” On the show, contestants are put through a rigorous obstacle course, and Lewis says his decision to come to the University was partially driven by a cool feature found in the Barnes Center at The Arch: the giant climbing rock wall.
Recently, Lewis sat down with us to discuss his decision to attend Syracuse University and what it’s been like to appear on network TV.
I was born in Vermont, however I moved to Cheshire, Connecticut, when I was 2 years old and have lived there for the past 16 years. I live with my older brother, Mike, my parents and our black lab, Dakota. Throughout my childhood, I was very involved in sports and always loved playing outside. The main sports I played were soccer and basketball and I did those until I stopped when I was 12 to focus all my time and energy toward “American Ninja Warrior” training. I still love playing sports like basketball and football for fun, as well as watching them on TV. I’m a big Chicago Bulls and New York Giants fan, and enjoy following the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) as a whole.
I decided to come to Syracuse for a number of reasons. For one, Syracuse has incredible academics and I know that it will set me up for success in the future. Their sports teams are also always competitive and I love having teams to root for. The location is also great for me as it is a drivable distance from home, while still being a new environment. Another factor that played a big role is that Syracuse has two ninja warrior training gyms right in town, as well as a rock climbing wall on campus and a climbing gym just a few minutes away. I definitely plan to continue to train and compete on “American Ninja Warrior” for as long as I can, and going to SU will allow me to do that.
Jay Lewis ’26 in the middle of competition (Photo by Elizabeth Morris/NBC)
It’s been a dream come true being able to compete on “American Ninja Warrior” the past two years. I started doing ninja warrior training back in 2015 when I was 11 years old. I had been watching the show on TV for a few years with my family, and we decided to see if there were any gyms for it in our area. Luckily enough, a ninja warrior-specific gym had just opened up a few months prior in Hamden, Connecticut (Hamden Ninja Academy), so my brother and I started taking classes there.
I was invited to join the gym’s competitive team after doing classes for a few months, and started competing in local competitions in 2016. I kept training the next couple of years and was invited to compete on the first season of “American Ninja Warrior Junior” in 2018 when I was 14 years old. It was an amazing experience. I did pretty well and was able to make the semifinals. I really amped up my training after this, as I was determined to reach the next level.
In February 2020, I was invited to compete on season 12 of “American Ninja Warrior,” as the show had decided to lower its age limit from 19 to 15, and invited a small group of the top teenage competitors. I flew out to Los Angeles to compete on the show in March 2020, but the day before I was supposed to compete, the production shut down due to the [COVID-19] pandemic. They did end up filming the season in the summer of 2020, but without the teen competitors due to COVID restrictions.
However, the following year, I was invited to compete on the show, and was able to do pretty well. I cleared the qualifying and semifinal courses, plus I was able to get the fastest time in my semifinal episode. This meant I got to race on the Power Tower, which is a head-to-head race against the top two fastest ninjas. Although I went out earlier than I had wanted to, the whole experience was truly amazing and I was (and still am) so grateful for the opportunity to compete on the show. Going into this season, I was determined to get redemption and so far it’s gone very well.
I want to make my mark on the world by trying to be the best role model for the kids watching “American Ninja Warrior” that I can be. The show has given me a platform that I could have never imagined having before, and I want to use that platform to spread kindness and inspire people to follow their dreams.
