Not to be confused with the Power Tower, a mega-obstacle used in ANW and some other Ninja formats. The Towers of Power are a team on the American Ninja Warrior team competition franchise. Team members have included Brandon Mears, Dan Polizzi, Selena Laniel, and Nate Burkhalter. The team name came from the alliance of the same name that firefighters Mears and Polizzi had formed, when they both competed in Kansas City on American Ninja Warrior 5. The team is centered around a roster of firefighters, with Laniel as the third member.
Team Ninja Warrior[]
Towers of Power made their debut in team competition on episode 2 of Team Ninja Warrior. They competed in the second matchup of Round 1 against Team Midoryama:
- Dan Polizzi win the first race against Dan Yager,
- Selena Laniel fell on the Dancing Stones and lost the second race against Meagan Martin,
- Brandon Mears also lost the anchor run against Ian Dory, giving Team Midoryama the win in this matchup.
Towers of Power then got immediately sent back to the starting line for Round 2 to compete against the Golden Hearts, where they switched up the running order:
- Brandon fell at the Dancing Stones and lost the first race against Neil Craver,
- Selena then injured her right shoulder after falling on Bungee Road and losing the second race against Natalie Duran,
- Dan won the Anchor Run against Grant McCartney,
- Then in the sudden death race, Dan pulled off another victory up against Neil Craver, sending the Towers of Power to the relay showdown.
Unfortunately, they suffered a huge setback after Selena got pulled from the game due to her shoulder injury. The team was able to continue to the relay showdown, with Traci Dinwiddie getting called in as an alternate. The Towers of Power gave it a valiant effort, despite the sudden change. It wasn't enough, though, as they lost the relay showdown in a rematch against Team Midoryama and got eliminated.
Team Ninja Warrior 2[]
Towers of Power regrouped for season 2 of Team Ninja Warrior, and Selena, now fully recovered from her shoulder injury, rejoined the team as they competed in episode 7. They ran the second matchup in Round 1 against Ninja Brittens, led by the first American Ninja Warrior Geoff Britten. Selena won the first race against Geoff's wife Jessica, who fell at the Ring of Fire. Dan Polizzi followed it up with a victory in the second race against Mike Chick. In the Anchor Run, Brandon Mears got a lead early on against Geoff. However, he had a bad dismount off the Flying Wheels and fell off the course, disqualifying him and sending the matchup to a sudden death race. Selena and Jessica ran against each other in a rematch. This time, Jessica fell at the swing into Cargo Net, and Selena continued on to hit the buzzer, becoming the oldest woman to scale the Warped Wall in the American Ninja Warrior franchise.
After winning Round 1, they took the winner's bracket in Round 2 against the InvincAbels. Selena, Dan, and Brandon all won their respective races and shut out the InvincAbels, advancing to the relay showdown. Just like the first season, however, the Towers of Power got eliminated at the relay showdown, losing to Team Ronin.
Their season was not over, however, as they got selected for the wildcard round, returning in episode 9. They ran the second matchup in Round 1 against NorCal Ninjas. Brandon won the first race against Brian Kretch. However, Selena lost the second race against Anna Shumaker after falling at the Swinging Spikes. Then, Dan Polizzi lost his first ever race in team competition after losing the Anchor Run against David Campbell. Dan then went immediately back to the starting line to run against Kevin Klein of Karsten's Fast Kats in Round 2. He shook off the lingering effects of his first loss and won the first race after Kevin fell at the Swinging Spikes. However, Selena lost the second race at the same obstacle, failing to beat Joy Strickland to the Swinging Spikes and then falling into the water. Finally, Brandon lost the Anchor Run to Karsten Williams, and the Towers of Power got eliminated for good.
American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja[]
The Towers of Power returned for year 3 of ANW's team competition, after Team Ninja Warrior got revamped and renamed American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja. Brandon Mears was set to join his team for episode 5. However, his newborn son had been admitted to the hospital before the competition kicked off, resulting in Mears pulling himself from the game. The team carried on without him, with Nate Burkhalter taking his spot and his partner-in-crime Dan Polizzi assuming the captain role. They ran the second matchup against the Three Wishes, dedicating their run to Mears and his family. Sadly, the Towers of Power lost all three races and got eliminated early.
Team Ninja Record[]
Brandon Mears[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Team Midoryama | Ian Dory | Loss | 0-1 | |
| 1 | 2 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Golden Hearts | Neil Craver | Loss | Brandon fell at the Dancing Stones. | 0-2 |
| 2 | 7 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Ninja Brittens | Geoff Britten | Loss | Brandon got disqualified after falling off the course at the Fly Wheels. | 0-3 |
| 2 | 7 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | InvincAbels | Abel Gonzalez | Win | Abel fell at the Ring of Fire. | 1-3 |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round One | 1 | NorCal Ninjas | Brian Kretsch | Win | Brian pulled his left shoulder during the race. | 2-3 |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Karsten's Fast Kats | Karsten Williams | Loss | 2-4 |
Dan Polizzi[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 (Qualifying) | Round One | 1 | Team Midoryama | Dan Yager | Win | 1-0 | |
| 1 | 2 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Golden Hearts | Grant McCartney | Win | Dan beat Grant to the buzzer by 0.3 seconds. | 2-0 |
| 1 | 2 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 4 (Sudden Death) | Golden Hearts | Neil Craver | Win | Neil fell at the Dancing Stones. | 3-0 |
| 2 | 7 (Qualifying) | Round One | 2 | Ninja Brittens | Mike Chick | Win | 4-0 | |
| 2 | 7 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 1 | InvincAbels | Geoff Lancaster | Win | 5-0 | |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | NorCal Ninjas | David Campbell | Loss | 5-1 | |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round Two | 1 | Karsten's Fast Kats | Kevin Klein | Win | Kevin fell at the Swinging Spikes. | 6-1 |
| 3 | 5 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 1 | Three Wishes | Thomas Stillings | Loss | 6-2 |
Selena Laniel[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 (Qualifying) | Round One | 2 | Team Midoryama | Meagan Martin | Loss | Selena fell at the Dancing Stones. | 0-1 |
| 1 | 2 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 2 | Golden Hearts | Natalie Duran | Loss | Selena fell at the Bungee Road and injured her right shoulder in the process. Traci Dinwiddie served as her alternate for the rest of the season. | 0-2 |
| 2 | 7 (Qualifying) | Round One | 1 | Ninja Brittens | Jessica Britten | Win | Jessica fell at the Ring of Fire. | 1-2 |
| 2 | 7 (Qualifying) | Round One | 4 (Sudden Death) | Ninja Brittens | Jessica Britten | Win | Jessica fell at the Swing Jump and got injured. | 2-2 |
| 2 | 7 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 2 | InvincAbels | Jeri D'Aurelio | Win | Jeri fell at the Floating Tiles. | 3-2 |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round One | 2 | NorCal Ninjas | Anna Shumaker | Loss | Selena fell at the Swinging Spikes. | 3-3 |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round Two | 1 | Karsten's Fast Kats | Joy Strickland | Loss | Both of them fell at the Swinging Spikes. However, Joy reached the obstacle first. | 3-4 |
| 3 | 5 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 2 | Three Wishes | Brittany Hanks | Loss | Selena fell at the Spin Cycle. | 3-5 |
Nate Burkhalter[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 3 | Three Wishes | Brian Burkhardt | Loss | Nate fell at the Tick Tock. | 0-1 (1-3 Overall) |