UPDATE: Kacy Catanzaro was not able to make it through Stage 1 of the finals in Las Vegas.
According to an article in the San Antonio Express-News, “Catanzaro’s downfall was, not surprisingly, the jumping spider. The obstacle requires competitors to jump off a small trampoline and wedge themselves between two vertical walls with a hand and foot on each side, then scale the length of the walls without slipping into the water waiting below. At just five feet tall, Catanzaro didn’t have the arm span to stick the landing.”
“It has been such a dream,” Catanzaro said afterwards. “All of this has been so amazing. I wanted to do, obviously, better than I did here, but I couldn’t have asked for anything more this season.”
As for next year’s ANW competition? “I’ll definitely be there,” said the smiling, confident TU alum.
Towson’s own American Ninja Warrior, Kacy Catanzaro, was back on campus this past Saturday. And judging by the ever-present smile on her face, she seemed to enjoy every minute of it.
The 2012 grad arrived at SECU Arena about 90 minutes before the Tigers’ football team was scheduled to kick-off its season opener against Central Connecticut State University. Catanzaro brought no entourage, just current Towson gymnast and former TU roommate Nicollete Vignola.
Kacy Catanzaro was recognized at halftime of Saturday’s football game along with the members of the 2014-15 Towson gymnastics team.
“I’d never seen SECU Arena before, so I really wanted to see it while I was here,” Catanzaro said before heading over to lots 13 and 14 for some pre-game tailgating. Drinking only bottled water, the five-foot Belleville, New Jersey native met up with current gymnastics coaches Vicki Chliszczyk and Becky Schaller, along with the rest of the 2014-15 squad.
Catanzaro mixed easily with the tailgating crowd, posing for pictures and chatting about her post-Towson University life, before making her way to the student section in Unitas Stadium to cheer on the Tigers against CCSU. At halftime, she and the TU gymnastics team were escorted into the west end zone to be recognized. As Catanzaro waved to the crowd, a spontaneous “Let’s go Kacy” cheer broke out in the boisterous student section.
Before she left the field, Catanzaro had a chance to chat briefly with Acting TU President Dr. Timothy Chandler and Athletic Director Tim Leonard.
“They both seemed really nice,” Catanzaro said afterwards. “Everyone here today has been incredibly nice and supportive.”
Still smiling and unfailingly polite, Catanzaro posed for more pictures with fans before patiently sitting down for interviews with reporters from The Towerlight and The Baltimore Sun. With the football game winding down and her media interviews completed, it was finally time for the diminutive Catanzaro to grab some dinner.
“I’m starved,” she confessed. “I haven’t eaten anything since noon!”
Catanzaro said her goodbyes to coaches Chliszczyk and Schaller, then headed out of Unitas Stadium with Vignola in search of some post-game nourishment.
“I had such an awesome time here tonight,” Catanzaro said. “I really appreciate Towson University inviting me back.”
Catanzaro said she is hopeful her schedule will allow her to return to campus again during the Tiger gymnastics season so she can attend a meet in SECU Arena.
“I always wanted to compete in the new arena but I graduated before it was finished,” Catanzaro said wistfully. “I’d love to see our current team compete there!”
