The Lab Rats are a team on American Ninja Warrior's team ninja competition franchise. The team has primarily consisted of brothers Brian and Chris Wilczewski, as well as Michelle Warnky. Their team name derives from their training gym, the Movement Lab.
Team Ninja Warrior 1[]
They made their debut on Team Ninja Warrior. Because Brian performed better on American Ninja Warrior 7 than his brother Chris, he was selected to be the captain for the Lab Rats. Their first match was Episode 5 against Iron Grip:
- Chris won the first matchup against Sam Sann, after Sam fell on the Dancing Stones,
- Michelle won the next matchup, beating Richelle Hepler to the Warped Wall,
- On the Anchor Run, however, captain Brian was beaten to the Warped Wall by Daniel Gil, forcing a Sudden Death race,
- Chris ran against Daniel and fell at the Doorknob Arch, losing Round 1 to Iron Grip.
In Round 2, however, they swept their matchup against Elet-Trikz, winning all 3 races to advance to the Relay Showdown.
They found themselves in a rematch against their Round 1 competitors, Iron Grip. This time, Michelle was the first to tag Brian. Brian was then passed up by Daniel on the Doorknob Arch, as Daniel was the first to tag Sam. However, Chris passed up Sam after taking on the Dueling Salmon Ladder from the opposite side, and he was the first to the buzzer on the Tower Climb, locking a spot for the Lab Rats in the finals.
Iron Grip vs. Lab Rats - Team Ninja Warrior - American Ninja Warrior
The Lab Rats competed again in Episode 8. In the first round they swept their matchup against Storm Team Moravsky winning all 3 races. They ran as the top bracket in the knockout round where they went up against the ExpendaBulls where the Lab Rats once again, won all three races:
- Michelle won the first race against Luci Romberg as she reached the Warped Wall first before Luci and still won even though she nor Luci could scale the wall,
- Chris won the second race against Alan Connealy, and
- Brian Wilczewski won the Anchor run against Kevin Bull who fell on the Dancing Stones.
The Lab Rats then proceeded to the relay showdown where they lost to Party Time and got eliminated.
Team Ninja Warrior 2[]
The Lab Rats returned to compete in Team Ninja Warrior 2, where Chris Wilczewski captained the team for his success on American Ninja Warrior 8. They first competed in Episode 4 where they went up against Iron Grip once again:
- Chris won the first race against Nate Burkhalter who fell on the Floating Tiles, but Chris pulled his left shoulder in action. therefore Brian took over as team Captain and Chris was replaced by Arnold Hernandez,
- Michelle won the second race against Barclay Stockett,
- Brian Wilczewski lost the Anchor run against Daniel Gil,
- Both Brian and Daniel had a rematch but Brian won this time because Daniel fell on the Ring of Fire.
The Lab Rats ran as the top bracket in Round 2 where they went up against Team Grit:
- Arnold Hernandez won the first race against Lance Pekus,
- Michelle won the second race against Maggi Thorne, and
- Brian won the anchor run against Kevin Bull.
They then went up against Iron Grip again in the relay showdown, where Daniel and Brian both fell on the Invisible Ladder. Daniel, however, got to the obstacle first before Brian did, therefore Iron Grip won the relay showdown this time and Lab Rats was eliminated.
The Lab Rats competed again in Episode 9 as a wildcard. They first went up against Fast Kats:
- Arnold Hernandez lost the first race against Kevin Klein,
- Michelle Warnky won the second race against Joy Strickland who fell on the Floating Tiles.
- Unfortunately, Brian Wilczewski lost the anchor run against Karsten Williams.
In the Knockout round, they went up against the NorCal Ninjas:
- Arnold Hernandez lost the first race to Sean Bryan,
- Michelle won the second race against Anna Shumaker
- but Brian Wilczewski lost the Anchor run to David Campbell and the Lab Rats were eliminated from the competition once again.
American Ninja Warrior: Ninja Vs. Ninja []
Big Dog Ninjas Vs. Lab Rats Relay (S1 E6) - American Ninja Warrior- Ninja Vs. Ninja
Chris Wilczewski Vs. Lorin Ball (S1 E6) - American Ninja Warrior- Ninja Vs. Ninja
The Lab Rats returned for the spin-off, American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja. However, Brian Wilczewski got to captain the team again. They first competed in Episode 6 where they went up against the Big Dog Ninjas:
- Chris Wilczewski lost the first race against Jody Avila,
- Michelle Warnky got her ninth individual win by winning against Brandi Monteverde,
- Brian Wilczewski fell on the Tilting Ladders and lost the third race against Josh Salinas,
- But the Lab Rats were able to win both back-to-back relay races and advanced to Round 2.
In Round 2, they went up against The Ballers:
- Chris Wilczewski won the first race as Lorin Ball fell on the Rumbling Dice,
- Michelle Warnky got her 10th individual win as she won against Meiling Huang who fell on the Floating Tiles,
- Brian Wilczewski then won the third race against Paul Kasemir and the Lab Rats advanced to the finals.
The Lab Rats competed in Episode 15 against the Young Bloods in Round 1:
- Chris Wilczewski won the first race against Kevin Carbone who fell on the Hanging Staircase,
- Michelle Warnky got her 11th individual win by winning the second race against Bree Widener,
- But Brian Wilczewski fell on the Floating Tiles and lost the third race against Tyler Gillett,
- But the Lab Rats did win the relay race that followed.
They would compete against Team Ronin in Round 2:
- Chris won the first race as JJ Woods fell on the Zig Zag Climb,
- In the second race, Michelle lost the race as Meagan Martin was the first to reach the buzzer, making her the second woman to ever finish the extended course. Even though this was Michelle's first individual loss, it was still a significant moment, as she hit the buzzer immediately after her, making her the third woman to ever finish the extended course,
- Brian Wilczewski fell on the Hanging Staircase and lost the third race against Flip Rodriguez,
- The Lab Rats lost the relay race that followed as Michelle fell on the Salmon Ladder, and they got eliminated.
Lab Rats Vs. Young Bloods Team Relay (S1 E15) - American Ninja Warrior- Ninja Vs. Ninja
Team Ninja Record[]
Brian Wilczewski[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Iron Grip | Daniel Gil | Loss | 0-1 | |
| 1 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Elet-Trikz | Dillon Gates | Win | Dillon fell at the Dancing Stones. | 1-1 |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Storm Team Moravsky | Joe Moravsky | Win | Joe fell at the Spin Cycle. | 2-1 |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | ExpendaBulls | Kevin Bull | Win | Kevin fell at the Dancing Stones. | 3-1 |
| 2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Iron Grip | Daniel Gil | Loss | 3-2 | |
| 2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round One | 4 (Sudden Death) | Iron Grip | Daniel Gil | Win | Daniel fell at the Ring of Fire. | 4-2 |
| 2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Team Grit | Kevin Bull | Win | 5-2 | |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Karsten's Fast Kats | Karsten Williams | Loss | 5-3 | |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | NorCal Ninjas | David Campbell | Loss | 5-4 | |
| 3 | 6 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 3 | Big Dog Ninjas | Josh Salinas | Loss | Brian fell at the Tilting Ladders. | 5-5 |
| 3 | 6 (Qualifying) | Final Matchup | 3 | The Ballers | Paul Kasemir | Win | 6-5 | |
| 3 | 15 (Playoffs) | First Matchup | 3 | Young Bloods | Tyler Gillett | Loss | Brian fell at the Floating Tiles. | 6-6 |
| 3 | 15 (Playoffs) | Final Matchup | 3 | Team Ronin | Flip Rodriguez | Loss | Brian fell at the Hanging Staircase. | 6-7 |
Chris Wilczewski[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Iron Grip | Sam Sann | Win | Sam fell at the Dancing Stones. | 1-0 |
| 1 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round One | 4 (Sudden Death) | Iron Grip | Daniel Gil | Loss | Chris fell at the Doorknob Arch. | 1-1 |
| 1 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 2 | Elet-Trikz | Elet Hall | Win | 2-1 | |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Round One | 1 | Storm Team Moravsky | Rob Moravsky | Win | Rob fell at the Dancing Stones. | 3-1 |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Round Two | 2 | ExpendaBulls | Alan Connealy | Win | 4-1 | |
| 2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round One | 1 | Iron Grip | Nate Burkhalter | Win | Chris pulled his left shoulder during the race. Arnold Hernandez served as his alternate for the rest of the season. | 5-1 |
| 3 | 6 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 1 | Big Dog Ninjas | Jody Avila | Loss | 5-2 | |
| 3 | 6 (Qualifying) | Final Matchup | 1 | The Ballers | Lorin Ball | Win | Lorin fell at the Rumbling Dice. | 6-2 |
| 3 | 15 (Playoffs) | First Matchup | 1 | Young Bloods | Kevin Carbone | Win | Kevin fell at the Hanging Staircase. | 7-2 |
| 3 | 15 (Playoffs) | Final Matchup | 1 | Team Ronin | JJ Woods | Win | JJ fell at the Zig Zag Climb. | 8-2 |
Michelle Warnky[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round One | 2 | Iron Grip | Richelle Hepler | Win | 1-0 | |
| 1 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 2 | Elet-Trikz | Cassie Craig | Win | Cassie fell at the Swing Jump. | 2-0 |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Round One | 2 | Storm Team Moravsky | Marybeth Wang | Win | 3-0 | |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Round Two | 2 | ExpendaBulls | Luci Romberg | Win | Both of them failed at the Warped Wall after 3 attempts. However, Michelle reached the obstacle first. | 4-0 |
| 2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round One | 2 | Iron Grip | Barclay Stockett | Win | 5-0 | |
| 2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 2 | Team Grit | Maggi Thorne | Win | 6-0 | |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round One | 2 | Karsten's Fast Kats | Joy Strickland | Win | 7-0 | |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round Two | 2 | NorCal Ninjas | Anna Shumaker | Win | 8-0 | |
| 3 | 6 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 2 | Big Dog Ninjas | Brandi Monteverde | Win | 9-0 | |
| 3 | 6 (Qualifying) | Final Matchup | 2 | The Ballers | Meiling Huang | Win | Meiling fell at the Floating Tiles. | 10-0 |
| 3 | 15 (Playoffs) | First Matchup | 2 | Young Bloods | Bree Widener | Win | 11-0 | |
| 3 | 15 (Playoffs) | Final Matchup | 2 | Team Ronin | Meagan Martin | Loss | 11-1 |
Arnold Hernandez[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 1 | Team Grit | Lance Pekus | Win | Arnold serves as an alternate for Chris Wilczewski. | 1-0 |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round One | 1 | Karsten's Fast Kats | Kevin Klein | Loss | Arnold fell at the Swinging Spikes. | 1-1 |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round Two | 1 | NorCal Ninjas | Sean Bryan (alternate for Brian Kretsch) | Loss | 1-2 |