Hunter Guerard

**Hunter Guerard** is a Ninja gym manager from Mounds View, Minnesota. He is known for his nickname, "**The Lizard**" for his unorthodox talent of curving his tongue, as well as his fast pace while taking on the course. Guerard commonly works alongside Sarah Schoback as well. He has had impressive results in local ninja competitions, but first started his ANW career in season 9.

It was also revealed in an interview by ANWNation's Nikki Lee that Guerard grew up with a military childhood, as both of his parents served in the military.

## American Ninja Warrior 9

Guerard first competed in American Ninja Warrior 9 in Kansas City. In the Qualifying round, he sped through most of the obstacles at an almost reckless pace. However, he got careless on the Bar Hop, where he fell after attempting to lache- rather than using the "hand-over-hand" technique- to the stationary bar, thinking it would've been easier to do so. Additionally, he tried to do so while facing away from the stationary bar. However, his quick pace landed him in 13th overall.

In the City Finals, Guerard got revenge on the Bar Hop, using the "hand-over-hand" technique to reach the stationary bar. However, he was one of many to fail the Floating Monkey Bars. Once again, his fast speed benefitted him, as placed 3rd overall.

In Vegas, Guerard hit his first buzzer, clearing Stage One with an impressive 43.84 seconds left, placing 5th out of all 41 finishers. In Stage Two, he cleared the first 4 obstacles with ease, but was one of many to fail on Wingnut Alley ending his season. However, Hunter became one of the top rookies of the season, tied with Josh Salinas and Matthew Ilgenfritz.

## American Ninja Warrior 10

Guerard spent his sophomore season competing in Minneapolis in American Ninja Warrior 10. His qualifying run was cut from broadcast, but he failed on the Battering Ram. However, he once again qualified for the city finals, placing 17th overall. It was shown the next season that he accidentally grabbed the support structure of each pin after sliding off the cylinder, resulting in a disqualification.

Guerard's city finals run was digested, but it was shown that he failed the Iron Maiden. However, his time was still good enough for him to place 9th overall.

On Stage One, Guerard had a small stumble on the Razor Beams but otherwise moved at a quick enough pace to finish the course with 16.32 seconds to spare.

Guerard's Stage Two run was also digested, but it was shown that he was one of many competitors that night to fail Deja Vu.

## American Ninja Warrior 11

Guerard competed in Los Angeles in American Ninja Warrior 11. This season, Hunter flew all the way from Minnesota to California to compete alongside his training partner, Kyle Soderman.

In qualifying, he put up a very strong run. Even though he missed his first attempt on the regular Warped Wall, he cleared the qualifying course with the fastest time, earning a spot on the new Power Tower. He managed to narrowly outrace David Campbell, winning the Speed Pass and automatically qualifying for Las Vegas. It is also worth noting that this was his first time successfully clearing a qualifying round.

In city finals, Guerard still decided to run the course at a chance at going back to the Power Tower to get the Safety Pass. He ran at a reckless pace, clearing the first 8 obstacles in just over 2 minutes. Despite being on pace to beat both Brian Kretsch's and Flip Rodriguez's time to get at a shot at the Power Tower, he fell on the Leaps of Faith. He tried to skip the blind catch, dismounting straight from the third set of handles, but whacked his head so hard on the final grab that he started bleeding. Luckily, he was alright, but this meant that he didn't get to go back to the Power Tower.

In Vegas, Guerard's Stage One run was digested once again, but it was shown that he finished the course for the third year in a row (this time with 17.70 seconds to spare) despite nearly failing on Tire Run. Guerard then finally cleared Stage Two with almost 29 seconds remaining, becoming one of 21 people to do so that night. However, he became the 3rd person to fall on the dismount of Ultimate Cliffhanger, and the 6th person to fail the obstacle that night. This remains Guerard's best performance yet.

## American Ninja Warrior 13

Guerard was actually originally selected to compete on American Ninja Warrior 12, but due to COVID-19, he was one of the many who were not invited to compete on the modified season. Likely to make up for unprecedented circumstances, he received a call to compete on American Ninja Warrior 13.

Hunter ran in the final qualifying episode. His run was digested, but he once again cleared the course, placing 8th overall and under 2 seconds slower than Kyle Soderman. He later competed in the final semifinals episode, with his run once again being digested. After a close call on the Lunatic Ledges, Guerard went for The Dungeon at Split Decision and cleared, making it the first time that he got past the ninth obstacle and subsequently the first time that he cleared the semifinals course. He placed 6th overall and made his fourth trip to the national finals. In Vegas, his Stage one run was also digested, but he struggled severely- a significant comparison to his previous trips to Stage 1, which were marked with nothing but grace and speed. He was forced to dismount the Jumping Spider using only his hands, slipped on Tire Run, took four attempts to get up the Warped Wall, and tripped on the Dipping Birds. He timed out right after he cleared that obstacle, making it the first time that he failed Stage 1, and becoming another victim of the Stage 3 Curse.

## American Ninja Warrior 14

Hunter returned for his fifth season in the final qualifying episode. His run was digested, but he once again cleared the course with the second fastest time. He later competed in the second semifinals episode. His run was also digested, but he failed on the first drop of Box Office. He placed 7th overall and made his fifth trip to the national finals. His run in Vegas was cut, but he surprisingly failed on Tetherball, going out on the fifth obstacle and he once again failed Stage One, ending his worst season to date.