UNM Engineering student competes on American Ninja Warrior

If you think a college student studying nuclear engineering by day and training as a ninja by night sounds like the plot of a television series, you would almost be right.

Ixchel Valentino, a second-year nuclear engineering student at The University of New Mexico, is a contestant on season 16 of NBC's American Ninja Warrior.While she can't yet share how far she made it into the season, her next appearance is set to air on Monday, Aug. 12 on NBC and the next day on Peacock.

The season premiere shows Valentino's qualification run and her race against Liv Hackmann, a basketball player and fitness trainer. The nail-biter competition showed Hackmann slightly outpacing Valentino on the course until they reached a section of wing nuts hanging over a pool. Hackmann slipped off into the water, but the race wasn't over yet. Valentino had to make it to the other side to win. Swinging back and forth, Valentino leaped through the air and grabbed onto the last wingnut when her hand slipped. The audience and announcers gasped and shouted as Valentino supported her body weight with just one hand. After regaining her grip, she was able to swing herself onto the platform at the end of the obstacle, sticking her victory landing.

Competition isn't new to Valentino who has taken on the alias of "the nerdy ninja." From age five, she competed in robotics competitions. Her STEM background empowers her to better analyze ninja obstacles, she said in an interview on the show. But ninja is a dynamic sport that requires more than just the ability to think on your feet, it's also highly athletic and competitors must have speed, agility, balance and strength to succeed.

In addition to robotics, Valentino was also a competitive gymnast growing up, which she credits as a foundational element of her ninja skillset -- a fact made clear when she launches herself into a flip after swinging from a metal bar hanging from her gym's ceiling.

"Once I found this sport, I dropped the others and committed fully to this one," Valentino said. "Ninja is amazing for many reasons, but my favorite is the community. There is so much sportsmanship in ninja where everybody is always cheering you on. Everybody wants you to be your absolute best."

Valentino also liked that the training and movements in ninja feel more natural to the human body than gymnastics and, as a result, she has fewer injuries than she did as a gymnast. Ninja allows you to grow with the sport, she said, and as you build strength and endurance, you become more advanced.

Looking around Ninja Force Obstacle Gym,the Albuquerque gym where Valentino trains, it's easy to see how the sport has grown in popularity since American Ninja Warrior first aired in the U.S. in 2009. A metal handle attached to a zipline on the ceiling leads to moving balance beams and from there, a peg ladder transforms into monkey bars atop a climbing rock wall. A panoramic view of the room reveals dozens of other colorful obstacles and challenges. Next week, everything in the gym will hi be moved to create brand-new obstacles.

Ninja Force has had several of its members compete on American Ninja Warrior. Another member of the gym encouraged Valentino to submit an application video for season 16 while they were training together. She recorded a quick video unsure if she would hear back, but when she got the call to be on the show, Valentino was ecstatic. The qualification runs and semi-finals were both filmed in Los Angeles last year.

A ninja course looks a little bit like an extreme version of a playground but watching an athlete compete in the sport, it's clear no one is playing around. American Ninja Warrior was inspired by the Japanese show Sasuke, which started airing in 1997, according to Sports Illustrated.The popularity of the ninja sport followed shortly after and has since led to the development of two professional leagues with their own sets of rules.

Completing 20+ hours of intense training a week leads to serious nutritional demands. During her regular training, Valentino tries to eat lots of protein balanced with carbs. Leading up to competitions, the only thing she drinks is water and her fitness routine is paired back to keep her active while avoiding injury. Last year, Valentino's UNM meal plan helped her focus on her nutrition even more.

"Having La Posada definitely helped me balance those meals with healthy options. I was always able to create those really well-balanced meals and not have to fight my siblings for food," Valentino laughed. "It was a lot easier to balance what was going into my body when I had the dining hall option."

Valentino considered going to school across the country, but things at UNM fell into place after she visited the School of Engineering and landed a spot on the show.

"I absolutely fell in love with the engineering school. I really wanted to pursue that and they were more than willing to help me through the application process," she said. "It was also really conveniently located to my gym, so I could really pursue training ninja. Once I got on the show, I found a new passion for training ninja and I decided that was going to be a top priority for me along with my studies."

With the Fall semester fast approaching, Valentino has some exciting opportunities ahead of her. Not only will her next episode of American Ninja Warrior air, but she's also beginning her first year in pro sports. The transition to pro brings the challenge of balancing classes and competitions -- each school break is already accounted for with competitions around the country and the travel necessary to attend.

Tune into NBC on August 12 to watch Valentino's next episode of American Ninja Warrior or follow along with her journey on Instagram.

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