Jake Murray is a wedding photographer from Denver, Colorado. He is known for his crazy antics on the course. Murray is a fan-favorite on the course.
American Ninja Warrior[]
American Ninja Warrior 7[]
Jake first appeared in American Ninja Warrior 7 in Kansas City. His qualifying run was cut, but he completed the course with the 5th fastest time out of 38 finishers. In the city finals, he failed the Body Prop, placing 10th overall.
In Las Vegas, Jake completed Stage One with the second fastest time, celebrating by doing a cannonball into the water. He later fell on the Double Salmon Ladder in Stage Two.
American Ninja Warrior 8[]
Jake returned in American Ninja Warrior 8, now a fan favorite. He placed 2nd in both qualifying and finals in Indianapolis, completing both courses.
Jake Murray at the Indianapolis Finals - American Ninja Warrior 2016
On Stage One, he puzzled many people by wearing a fanny pack during his run. After he completed the course with the fastest time out of everyone, he took out a pair of goggles, preparing for another dive into the water. Before he cannonballed into the water, he pulled out a corn dog, took a bite out of it, and threw it behind him. This was arguably one of the most memorable moments of the season.
In Stage Two, Murray got avenged his Double Salmon Ladder defeat from last season by completing the brand-new (and arguably more difficult) Down Up Salmon Ladder. He then went on to clear the next two obstacles, ultimately failing the Double Wedge when his grip strength gave out on the transition to the second bar.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
Jake Murray at the National Finals- Stage 1 - American Ninja Warrior 2016
Jake returned for American Ninja Warrior 9 in Denver and had a fun entrance- he rode a segway to the starting line and kicked his helmet out of the way. Although he was partying at the start, his celebration was cut short when he was shockingly eliminated on the third obstacle, the Bouncing Spider. He didn’t make it to the Top 30 for the first time and failed to make it Las Vegas.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Jake Murray at the Minneapolis City Qualifiers - American Ninja Warrior 2018
After a disappointing exit last season, Jake cut his hair for American Ninja Warrior 10 and competed for redemption in Minneapolis. In qualifying, he moved through the obstacles at a steadier pace. Despite struggling on Battering Ram and failing his attempt at the Mega Wall, he still cleared the course with the 5th fastest time. In the city finals, he was the first competitor to complete the Iron Maiden. Despite struggling on the Spider Trap, he finished the city finals course for the second time in his career, placing 3rd overall.
In Vegas, Jake had a fun entrance as Grant McCartney pretended to be his "shoe caddy" at the starting line, with Jake trying on different shoes proffered by McCartney. Jake then cleared Stage 1 with the fastest time once again, beating Drew Drechsel's time by just 0.20 seconds. Afterwards, he once again jumped into the water like he did in ANW 7 and 8. However on Stage Two, he shockingly failed the first obstacle, Epic Catch and Release. He struggled severely trying to lock the first pipe in place, and he lost his grip when he jerked the second pipe out of place.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
Jake returned in the Tacoma qualifying course of American Ninja Warrior 11. In the qualifying round, Grant McCartney wheeled him out in a straitjacket, and Jake broke free, in a homage to Hannibal Lecter. It was shown in the city finals that he slipped on the asylum take originally; NBC just showed his successful second take on the routine and edited the first bloop out.
Despite the awkward first take on his starting line stunt, he managed to clear the course with the 3rd fastest time. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned for him in the city finals- in a surprising turn of events, he was quickly eliminated by the Lightning Bolts. This became the second time he failed to move on to Vegas, as he ended up placing 16th at the end of the round.
Though he did not qualify for Vegas, he was a tester for Stage One of the national finals. He demonstrated the new second obstacle, Spin Your Wheels, on the first episode of the Las Vegas finals.
American Ninja Warrior 12[]
Jake was invited to compete in American Ninja Warrior 12, bringing along Barry Goers and Glenn Albright. Jake was able to finish the qualifying course in 54.50 seconds, the fastest anyone has cleared a qualifying course since Season 6, and the fastest clear all season. He went on to beat Ethan Swanson on the Power Tower, which allowed his teammates to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Jake moved quickly on the first part of the course. While he once again struggled on the Spider Trap, he cleared with the fastest time by one second. In the finals, Jake once again finished with the fastest time, giving him the top seed in the Power Tower playoffs. However, in a huge shock, Jake lost the first round to rookie Amir Malik, the #8 seed, ending Jake's season.
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
Jake returned for the fourth round of qualifiers in American Ninja Warrior 13. He once again flew across all six obstacles with a time of 1:36.83. He earned the fastest time in not only his qualifying round, but across all five rounds.
Jake then returned for the final round of the semifinals. He once again flew across the course, completing the Crazy Clocks, which knocked out his roommate Ethan Swanson. On Split Decision, Jake went with the Diving Boards, which only a few ninjas had cleared. He then floated up the Spider Trap to get the fastest time of the night. He then went up against his friend Austin Gray on the Power Tower. They were even throughout most of the run until the Dropping Shelves portion, where Jake attempted to reach for the shelves instead of lacheing. This proved to be the wrong move, as Jake fell to the mats below and lost the race to Gray.
Jake then returned to take on Stage One of the National Finals. Jake was moving at a blazing pace, trying to beat the fastest time of the night, set minutes before by Kyle Soderman. Despite nearly falling on the Dipping Birds, Jake recovered and barely grabbed the ring on The High Road, clearing with 1:14:38 on the clock. Jake broke the record for the fastest time on Stage One in the regular season, which was held by Drew Drechsel with a time of 1:01.29 in American Ninja Warrior 9.
Jake returned to compete in the final episode of Season 13. He flew across the first five obstacles of Stage 2. He once again faced the Falling Shelves- he cleared the easier version in the American Ninja Warrior 12 Finals, and many expected him to clear this version. Like many others that day, he missed the blind grab. He got both of his hands on the ledges, but he flew in with too much momentum, meaning that he was unable to absorb the drop and that his hands peeled off. Jake was devastated, especially considering the fact that he came inches away from the finish line and would have cleared with the fastest time out of everyone had he not fell. In one of the most devastating moments of the season, he then revealed that if he didn’t make it to the top of Stage 4, he would have to reevaluate whether or not he would continue competing, or retire from the sport. This is his best season to date.
Jake did not return for American Ninja Warrior 14 not because he didn't get the COVID-19 vaccine, but because he was taking a break to see if he really did want to continue competing.
Other Appearances[]
Team Ninja Warrior[]
Jake Murray was part of Party Time, led by Brian Arnold. In the first season of Team Ninja Warrior, Murray injured his left knee on the Ring Toss against the InvincAbels, and had to be replaced by Travis Weinand. By the end of the competition however, Party Time was crowned as the champions of the competition.
Shockingly enough, his team was eliminated early in qualifying in Team Ninja Warrior 2 when they lost against the NorCal Ninjas and then later the Golden Hearts in the knockout round in qualifying.
Party Time later got redemption in American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja where the team made it all the way to the finals. They were eventually eliminated by Labreckfast Club, the team that ultimately reigned champion in the competition.
Becoming the Ultimate Ninja[]
Jake is featured in the docuseries Becoming the Ultimate Ninja.
Team Ninja Record[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: Party Time | ||||||||
| 1 | 6 (Qualifying) | Round One | 1 | Rahnaways | Adam Grossman | Win | 1-0 | |
| 1 | 6 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 1 | InvincAbels | Nathan Jasso | Loss | Jake fell at the Ring Toss and injured his left knee in the process. Travis Weinand served as his alternate for the rest of the episode. | 1-1 |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Round One | 1 | ExpendaBulls | Alan Connealy | Win | 2-1 | |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Round Two | 2 | Storm Team Moravsky | Rob Moravsky | Win | Rob fell at the Dancing Stones. | 3-1 |
| 2 | 1 (Qualifying) | Round One | 1 | NorCal Ninjas | Brian Kretsch | Win | Brian fell at the Flying Shelf Grab. | 4-1 |
| 2 | 1 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 1 | Golden Hearts | Neil Craver | Win | 5-1 | |
| 3 | 3 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 3 | Brazi Bros | Lucas Gomes | Win | 6-1 | |
| 3 | 3 (Qualifying) | Final Matchup | 3 | All-American Ninjas | Jonathan Horton | Win | 7-1 | |
| 3 | 14 (Playofffs) | First Matchup | 1 | Hashtag Ninjas | Nicholas Coolridge | Win | Nicholas fell at the Parallel Pipes. | 8-1 |
| 3 | 14 (Playofffs) | Final Matchup | 1 | Tri Hards | Adam Rayl | Loss | 8-2 | |
| 3 | 16 (Finals) | First Matchup | 1 | Labreckfast Club | Chris DiGangi | Win | Chris fell at the Wingnuts. | 9-2 |
American Ninja Warrior Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Failed Double Salmon Ladder (Stage Two) | All cut. | |
| 8 | Failed Double Wedge (Stage Two) | Failed transition to second bar. | |
| 10 | Failed Epic Catch & Release (Stage Two) | ||
| 12 | Power Tower Playoffs, Round 1 | Lost to Amir Malik. | |
| 13 | Failed Falling Shelves (Stage Two) | Best performance to date. |
External Links[]
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