Fuquay-Varina girl exudes a warrior's spirit on NBC obstacle show

Lilah Nathison is 15 years old and said she was eager to compete on the big stage with a nationwide audience.

It is the show’s second year with a lower age requirement which allows competitors as young as 15 to pursue the challenge.

"So no matter how old you are, you are competing against the others, like 400 or 500 people, no matter how old they are," said Nathison.

She’s been a part of Fuquay-Varina High School’s gymnastics team so flipping and high flying are not new to her. The competition requires strength and mental toughness, but Nathison’s gym friends don’t call her “L-GRIZZ” for nothing.

"Just day after day now, like the whole gym calls me 'old Grizz.' I don’t think they use my real name at the gym anymore," said Nathison.

She’s had challenges with ADHD at school, especially during the pandemic and virtual learning.

"I couldn’t focus. I would never like really get all my work done," she said. She received help from a therapist she also refers to as a mentor.

"He helped a lot as a mental coach. He taught me a lot of things like breathing exercises," said Nathison.

She also turned to journaling and found that ninja training helped to improve her focus. Lately, her biggest challenge has been keeping a BIG secret about the outcome of her time on American Ninja Warrior’s first installment of their 14th season.

"Because I’m naturally an over-sharer, like I’ll pretty much tell anyone my whole life story, and it’s been really hard so that’s why I’m super excited that it’s finally happening tonight and I don’t have to keep anything a secret anymore," said Nathison.

In all, the new season of "NBC’s American Ninja Warrior" has six competitors from North Carolina. In addition to Nathison, Brett Hernandez Strong from Wendell and Megan Budway of Holly Springs are also part of the challenge.