This former Fresno State cheerleader is so strong and agile, she’s like a ‘Ninja’

She used to cheer and flip and fly around at Fresno State during the late 1990s.

Now, this former Fresno State cheerleader is getting national attention for her athletic prowess.

Lindsay Eskildsen, 36, advanced to the “American Ninja Warrior National Finals,” which will be broadcast on NBC starting Monday (Sept. 4).

For those who haven’t seen “American Ninja Warrior,” understand: The obstacle course is quite challenging, requiring great upper body strength, body control and balance, as well as the ability to think and move quickly.

Eskildsen was one of 12 women who reached the finals in Las Vegas. Also in that championship field is Visalia native Zhanique Lovett, along with Fresno native Gabe Hurtado.

Filming of the championships took place in June.

“Initially, I was terrified,” says Eskildsen, who is under orders not to talk about any events that have yet to air. “Going into the qualifiers, I was literally shaking. There’s lots of cameras on you, the crowd, the announcers.

“You put a lot of work into it and make a lot of sacrifices for this one moment in time. You don’t want to mess up.”

A gymnast since she was 3 until her junior year at Casa Roble High in Orangevale, the Sacramento-area native soon found out that some of the skills needed to excel at an “American Ninja Warrior” course came with relative ease because of her background.

As a Fresno State cheerleader during her freshman year, Eskildsen regularly stood out among the cheer squad because of gymnastics skills and high flying stunts performed at Bulldogs football games back when Billy Volek started at quarterback and David Carr redshirted in 1999.

Eskildsen transferred to Sacramento State a year later to join a powerhouse Hornets cheer squad. She was named Universal Cheerleaders Association college national champion in the co-ed partner stunt division in 2005.

And after college, she continued to look for opportunities to compete and challenge herself physically – participating in a marathon, mud running, a triathlon, and a 100-mile bike race.

Then Eskildsen discovered the ninja warrior circuit and how some gyms had a course set up to practice specifically toward getting on the popular TV show, which has generated as many as 6 million viewers per episode from this season alone, according to Variety.

“When I first started (ninja warrior) training, I was already working out 4-5 times a week,” Eskildsen says. “It’s not easy. You start to realize quickly where your weaknesses are.

“It’s different from working out and, say, bench pressing. It’s different holding your own weight. Unless you’re a rock climber, it’s really not like anything you’d traditionally do at a typical gym. I was intimidated a little in the beginning. But I just threw myself into it and eventually got the guts to try out for the show.”

Eskildsen had been a longtime fan of “American Ninja Warrior” and auditioned two years ago.

She didn’t make the cut on her first go-round.

But as she improved with regular practice on ninja courses at Stone Core Ninja Fitness in Vacaville and APEX Movement NorCal in Concord, Eskildsen eventually was selected to participate in a qualifier for this season.

“For the past year, I dedicated my entire life to being on the show,” Eskildsen says. “I trained 5-6 days a week. Watched what I ate. Everything I did was to get on the show and do well.”

Mastering the course proved to be a whole other challenge – especially for the 5-foot-2 Eskildsen.

On the “American Ninja Warrior” episode that aired Aug. 7, Eskildsen can be seen bruising her face during the city finals (a qualifier) at Daytona Beach, Fla.

While holding onto a padded cylinder that essentially “ziplined” competitors from the first challenge to the next, Eskildsen got hit in the face by the padded bar and crash landed on her way to advancing to the third obstacle.

Then on the fifth obstacle when competitors must pull a wheel contraption across water while hanging from it, Eskildsen hit her face again.

“I had a fat lip that was numb for three days,” Eskildsen says.

The “Rolling Thunder” ended up being her course demise. Eskildsen failed to complete the stage and plunged into the pool of water below.

But because she had the second-best performance at the Daytona Beach final behind professional stunt woman Jessie Graff, the ex-Bulldogs cheerleader advanced with producers selecting the top two women from each of the six qualifiers.

“I got a little beat up out there,” Eskildsen says. “It was worth it.

“It’s been a dream of mine just to test these obstacles. The fact that I made it to the finals, that’s a dream come true. Can somebody pinch me?”

This story was originally published August 30, 2017 at 9:21 PM with the headline "This former Fresno State cheerleader is so strong and agile, she’s like a ‘Ninja’."