Josiah Singleton, a graduate student in Divinity at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia qualified for the “American Ninja Warrior” finals, which aired on August 29^th. Singleton first competed in “America Ninja Warrior,” which features a series of increasingly difficult obstacles, in the show’s fifth season in 2013. He was most notable during his first run for his Jesus costume but fell on the Jumping Spider course in the first stage. The next year, he made it to Stage 2, succumbing to the Salmon Ladder. For the 2022 season, he made it through all six obstacles in the season’s qualifier round in San Antonio, Texas and then advanced in the semi-finals round in Los Angeles, California, completing 8 out of the 10 obstacles.

Known as “Country Boy Ninja” on the show, Singleton didn’t begin with a dream of Ninja stardom. In a 2019 interview with “Liberty Game On”, Singleton spoke of his original passion for golf and how that soon became a part of his identity. He came to Liberty University on a golf scholarship, with a dream to compete professionally. As his time went on in Liberty, however, he noted how golf had become the center of his life. His golf game suddenly began to plummet. Singleton soon found himself struggling between his love for God and his identity as a golfer. By the end of sophomore year, he finally gave into God’s call on his life to get into ministry.

Singleton spoke with WLNI 105.9 FM about qualifying for the finals and how he got involved with “American Ninja Warrior.” “I wish I had like a really crazy story, but I don’t. I just thought it looked like fun. Oh, that looks cool. I think I’ll just go for it,” he told the hosts. His training started on a playground but now there is a Ninja group that trains together in his area. He revealed that this year had actually been the year he had trained the least, being busy as the student discipleship director at Highland Heights Baptist Church in Rustburg, Virginia. In an interview for the “American Ninja Warrior,” he spoke about how Lynchburg is becoming “a hub for ninja.” For the 2022 season, the “Lynchburg Loonies,” a group of four competitors from the Lynchburg area debuted during the season premiere.

Singleton was able to qualify for the finals by using his “Safety Pass” during the semi-finals round, which he described as “almost like a mulligan.” During his semi-finals run, Singleton fell on his first attempt on the “Dragon Back” obstacle. Using his Safety Pass, he was able to redo his run and completed it in 3 minutes and 36 seconds, which was the 27^th fastest time of all the semi-final finalists. Despite the success, Singleton remained most focus on the opportunity the show had given him to speak more about the Lord. “It’s just been a blessing,” he said.

The 2022 “American Ninja Warrior” finale aired Monday night, with 16-year-old Kaden Lebsack winning the $100,000 prize for the second year in a row. Singleton made it to Stage 2 of the finals, wiping out on the Piston Plunge.