2 Utah moms, best friends go head-to-head on ‘American Ninja Warrior’

Best friends Mady Howard and Ally Tippetts Wootton have a lot in common: They’re moms to boy toddlers. They were both college athletes — Howard a gymnast at Southern Utah University, and Tippetts Wootton a diver at Brigham Young University. They both work in the medical field.

And they’re both competitors on “American Ninja Warrior.”

Howard, a nurse from Washington, Utah, and Tippetts Wootton, a physician assistant from Vineyard, both made it to the “ANW” semifinals — where they ended up having to compete against each other for a spot in the national finals.

It was a neck-and-neck race from start to finish, but only one could advance to the finals.

Related

• This Utah teen is really, really fast — and he’s dominating on ‘American Ninja Warrior’

• ‘The battle of Utah’ just played out on ‘American Ninja Warrior’: Who won?

‘ANW’ semifinals: Mady Howard vs. Ally Tippetts Wootton

“If this was a movie, it would be an action-packed movie,” one of the announcers said during a race Howard described as a “best friend showdown.”

The two competitors navigated the semifinals obstacle course side by side with similar pacing, and ultimately ended up adding another commonality to their friendship: They both splashed down on the same obstacle, just a few seconds apart. But because Howard finished the previous obstacle first, she got the win and secured her spot in the finals.

This will mark Howard’s third time in the finals. She first made it on her “ANW” debut in 2019, when the show’s announcers called her a “breakout star” who “instantly became one of our top competitors.”

Howard also made it to the finals last season, which was filmed roughly six months after she gave birth to her son, Beckham.

Related

• She had a baby. 6 months later she competed on ‘American Ninja Warrior’

• Utah teen dominates on ‘American Ninja Warrior’ — and wins $10,000

“I think that ‘Ninja Warrior’ is a great outlet for me,” Howard previously told the Deseret News. “It’s my fun outlet where I can play like a little kid on a playground, where I can go and be competitive and kind of chase my own dreams. It challenges me to be a better person and a better mom. I seriously just love it.”

A part of Howard’s strategy on “ANW” is to picture every obstacle in her mind before she runs it, because you don’t get a practice run on the show.

“What you guys see on TV is the first time that we’ve touched those obstacles, so that’s what makes it even more challenging,” she told the Deseret News. “I do get nervous before I compete, but I just try to let the nerves help me instead of hinder me. … And I always try to get into a mental state where I’m excited to be there. I always do the best when I just want to have fun, so I try not to put too much pressure on myself.”

A strong Utah showing on ‘American Ninja Warrior’

Howard isn’t the only Utah ninja appearing in the finals. Kai Beckstrand, a 17-year-old from St. George, is one of the toughest competitors this season — and a favorite to win the show, the announcers have said.

At least eight Utahns competed this season, with the majority making it to the semifinals.

“This year was extra special for a few reasons,” Howard recently shared in a post on Instagram. “Beckham understood a lot more of what was going on this year and it was so much fun seeing him experience the show (he was constantly wanting to hang on all of the warmup bars backstage 😆)- I had so many friends from @thegripninjas competing with me this year, which made it so much fun. Go Utah!”

According to Instagram, you can expect to see both Howard and Tippetts Wootton on “American Ninja Warrior” next season.

Note: The semifinals continue Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. MDT on NBC.