Arlington Heights boy set to appear in 'Junior Ninja' finals Friday

Regardless of how he finishes in Friday's finale of "American Ninja Warrior Junior" on the Universal Kids network, Owen Pham is guaranteed at least $2,500 in prize money.

The 11-year-old from Arlington Heights, a student at Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary School, thought about spending the money on tickets to a Green Bay Packers game, or maybe saving it for college. After the events of the last couple weeks, though, Pham changed his mind.

"I'd like to donate it to a Black Lives Matter organization," he said, noting the impact the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis had on him and his family. "I think it's really important."

His immediate family already knows how he finished in the competition's 9-to-10 age group - the event was filmed last July in California when he was 10 - but to everyone else the results of Friday's episode will be a surprise. The champion wins $15,000, second place earns $7,500, the third-place finisher wins $5,000 and fourth place nets $2,500.

With restrictions eased on gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the family plans to have a viewing party in their garage and on their driveway to still allow for proper social distancing.

"It's even bigger now so people are bugging me even more about how I did," Pham said.

"They'll have to wait until Friday."

Thirteen-year-old Emerson Smith of Wheaton, a Franklin Middle School student who was 12 when she competed in the 11-to-12 age group, advanced into the quarterfinals in her first "American Ninja Warrior Junior" episode but she fell short in her attempt to reach the finals in last week's episode.

"Advancing to the quarterfinals was so exciting," she said.