• In the Loop: Andrew Yori, Mayo’s Own K-9 Ninja!

Mayo Clinic employee Andrew Yori on Ninja TV showAndrew Yori doesn't strike us as a gambling man. But if he were, we're guessing he might have bet against himself making it to the American Ninja Warrior finals in Las Vegas. As we've reported, Andrew, a lab technician at Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus, was thrilled just to make it to the Indianapolis qualifier. "This was my rookie year on the show, and so nobody really knew who I was," he tells us. "I felt like I needed to prove myself." And prove himself he did. He crushed the course, launching himself into the Indianapolis city finals.

That episode aired last week. And for Andrew's fans, it was a nail biter. Fifteen contestants would move on to the finals in Las Vegas. And with one contestant yet to run the course, Andrew was in 15th place. Standing between him and a ticket to Sin City was Lorin Ball, a five-time finalist who has posted some of the fastest course times on the show. "I was fully expecting to watch Lorin beat me and to be sent home," Andrew tells us. Instead, Lorin fell on the second obstacle of the course — guaranteeing Andrew a spot in the Vegas finals. As his reaction in this clip suggests, he was "shocked" by the turn of events. "It wasn't really the way that I wanted to advance, but falls are part of the show, so I'll take it," he tells us. Read the rest of Andrew's story.
__________________________________

This story originally appeared on the In the Loop blog.