{"id":457332,"date":"2020-10-16T16:43:12","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T20:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=457332"},"modified":"2020-10-18T10:29:04","modified_gmt":"2020-10-18T14:29:04","slug":"living-a-dream-on-american-ninja-warrior-457332","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/living-a-dream-on-american-ninja-warrior-457332\/","title":{"rendered":"Living a dream on American Ninja Warrior"},"content":{"rendered":"
A former triple major at Rochester is in the semifinals of the NBC sports competition.<\/div>\n

When Will Schlageter \u201920 (T5) was 14, he sent a video to the producers of American Ninja Warrior,<\/em> the NBC sports competition in which contestants try to complete a series of rigorous obstacle courses in hopes of becoming the one true champion.<\/p>\n

That video led producers to invite Schlageter and his father to Miami to tour the course and meet contestants. The Lancaster, Pennsylvania, native knew he wouldn\u2019t be accepted onto the show, since all contestants had to be at least 21. But that wasn\u2019t the point.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just trying to get on their radar,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Nine years later, he is clearly on their radar. Schlageter has raced, swung, jumped, and climbed his way into the national semifinals, one of 62 men and women competing to be the 2020 champion. Schlageter\u2019s taped competition in St. Louis is scheduled to air Wednesday, October 21, starting at 9 p.m. on NBC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my dream come true,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Schlageter is used to conquering tall obstacles. At Rochester, he was a triple major in biology, chemistry, and environmental science. Instead of graduating with his class in 2019, he stayed another year as a Take Five Scholar<\/a> with an astronomy\/mathematics program called Warping of Space-time: A Study of Giants in an Abyss of Nothing<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my favorite things about Rochester from the beginning was the open curriculum,\u201d he says. \u201cI lost no time there and shoved as much science into my brain as I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also helped create the fraternity Beta Theta Pi and served as competition chair for the University Rock Climbing Club. And, he found time each morning to work out at a local Ninja course and perfect his skills.<\/p>\n

Schlageter says producers were diligent in keeping everyone safe in the midst of a global pandemic. \u201cYou\u2019re tested before you get there, then when you arrive, and every time you move onto another round,\u201d he says. \u201cYou wear a mask whenever you\u2019re not in competition, and you stay in your hotel room. If producers see you out of the room, they send you back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/William_Schlageter.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Schlageter is 5-foot-9, 155 pounds, which makes him a strong candidate for Ninja success. \u201cThe ideal size is probably 5\u2019 6\u201d,\u201d he says. \u201cThe shorter you are, the more power you can produce because you\u2019re so light.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Schlageter has completed his semifinal round though a 10-obstacle course, he\u2019s not allowed to say if he\u2019s among the 28 contestants who moved onto the finals. But he can share what\u2019s it been like for him to compete at such a high level\u2014and to fulfill his sports fantasy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was absolutely unnerving, exciting, and wondrous because I\u2019ve waited so long for this,\u201d he says. \u201cAll I had to do was what I do best\u2014crush the course.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Will Schlageter \u201920 (T5), a former triple major at Rochester, is in the semifinals of the NBC sports competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":457352,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[30452,32172],"class_list":["post-457332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-class-of-2020","tag-take-five-scholars-program"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLiving a dream on American Ninja Warrior<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Will Schlageter \u201920 (T5), a former triple major at Rochester, is in the semifinals of the NBC sports competition.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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