Towson University Gymnast Makes History on American Ninja Warrior

American Ninja Warrior contestant Kacy Catanzaro has a fan base nationwide after becoming the first woman to qualify for the finals on the popular NBC obstacle course show. But here in Towson, she's had admirers for years.

Catanzaro was named NCAA Southeast Regional Gymnast of the Year and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Gymnast of the Year as a senior at Towson University, where she competed from 2009 to 2012, according to Towson Athletics. Her degree was in early childhood education.

“After I graduated from Towson and completed by gymnastics career, I knew I needed something else to put all of my time and effort into; [so] I started doing research into American Ninja Warrior," Catanzaro told Towson Athletics.

Since the obstacle course show began in Japan in 2009 and moved to the U.S. in 2011, a woman has not yet made it through the first two rounds to qualify for the finals.

Among the scores of people who haven't finished the difficult course are Olympic athletes and Army soldiers, according to US Weekly, which said Catanzaro "didn't just finish the course—she destroyed it."

Catanzaro made history in May when she was the first woman to scale an obstacle called the "warped wall," a curved wall that is 17 feet high. The petite gymnast is 5 feet tall and 100 pounds. 

Next, Catanzaro will compete against dozens of others in the finals, which take place in Las Vegas, the Huffington Post reported.

“We are seeing one of the greatest competitors—man or woman—we have ever seen in America Ninja Warrior,” American Ninja Warrior cohost Matt Iseman said.