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2 CT students compete on 'American Ninja Warrior' Season 15

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Dec 23, 2023

2 CT students compete on 'American Ninja Warrior' Season 15

AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR -- "Regional Finals" -- Pictured: Jay Lewis -- (Photo by:

AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR -- "Regional Finals" -- Pictured: Jay Lewis -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Morris/NBC)

Two Connecticut athletes are juggling school and one the most physically-demanding shows on TV.

Cheshire native Jay "Lache" Lewis, 18, and Cromwell High School student Evan Bomengen, 16, completed the obstacle course in the Season 15 premiere of "American Ninja Warrior" on Monday and qualified for the semi-finals.

The NBC show airs every Monday at 8 p.m. EST and features a series of obstacle courses with increasing difficulty. This season, competitors take on the qualifying and semi-final rounds in Los Angeles for a chance to compete in the National Finals in Las Vegas and become the season's "American Ninja Warrior."

ANW veteran Lewis ran the Qualifying Round course in one minute and 24 seconds, while first-timer Bomengen ended with one minute and 41 seconds.

Both Lewis and Bomengen were fans of the TV competition before taking up the sport. Bomengen began watching ANW at 8 years old and a chance encounter with Joe Moravsky, two-time ANW winner and "one of Evan's biggest heroes," encouraged him to try it, according a press release.

The Cromwell student was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome in third grade and was unable to play team sports because of his tics. However, he took up track and cross country in fourth grade because running helps him regulate his energy. Bomengen, now nicknamed the "Red Bom Warrior," wants to prove that "despite his small size and Tourette Syndrome, he's a capable, strong ninja on the course... and also just a 'normal' kid," the release states.

A post shared by Evan Bomengen (@evan_bom)

Lewis is returning for his third consecutive season on ANW after reaching Stage Four in the Season 14 finals. According to the release, he is "mentally prepared" to do the competition all over again now that he knows his capabilities.

The Cheshire native began his ANW training at 12 years old at the Ninja Academy in Hamden and in 2018, he placed in the top 16 in the "American Ninja Warrior Junior" competition. He attended Syracuse University in fall 2022 and trained at The Warrior Factory in Camillus, N.Y., where the owners gave him access to the gym to train whenever he wanted, according to the release. Lewis then took the spring semester off to focus on and boost his training in anticipation of ANW Season 15.

A post shared by Ninja Warrior (@ninjawarrior)

Lewis currently trains under Moravsky at the Stamford Ninja Academy four to five times a week. In 2021, he told Hearst Connecticut his goal is to win ANW.

"It's something that I’m definitely going to keep training for…," he said. "It's one of those things that's been my goal for so long, and I really feel like I’m getting to the point where it's starting to become somewhat more realistic."

The next episode of ANW airs on Monday, June 12. The top prize of $1 million will be awarded to the fastest ninja who can conquer all four stages at the national finals.