Match Preview · 2026 Season

Grid League Match Preview: New York, August 8 and 9

The United Grid League runs six matches in New York on August 8 and 9, three each day. Saturday’s matches use the Triple Trouble format and Sunday’s use Over Under. A match format is the set of movements and races that make up a match, so a player who does well in one format may struggle in the other. Only the top three teams in each conference reach the playoffs, so every result this weekend moves the standings.

Saturday, August 8

Southwest Florida Sharks (2-0) vs Fort Lauderdale Lions (1-1)

This is the best matchup of the weekend on paper. The Sharks lead the West Conference at 2-0. The Lions sit on top of the East at 1-1. Two conference leaders in one match.

The Sharks roster includes two Kuhlmans, Jessi and Jacy, and Kyra Milligan is in the starting lineup. For the Lions, two players to watch are Paula Leyes and Megan Medeiros, alongside veterans Eric Cardona and Janine Nicole.

Tampa Bay Brigade (1-1) vs Palm Beach Breakers (0-1)

The Brigade sit at 1-1, third in the West, and they bring one of the steadiest lineups in the field. Chris Cioffi and Nathan Tsuji are the Brigade’s bodyweight standouts.

The Breakers are 0-1 and looking for their first win. Four players are set to play their first match for the Breakers this weekend: Nicky Rodgers, Loredana Niroda, Billie Dodd, and Andrew Dodd.

Carolina Flight (0-1) vs New York Wolves (0-1)

The two newest teams in the league are on the grid at the same time. Both joined for 2026, and both come in at 0-1.

The Flight bring back nearly the same roster, led by Alexis Turpin, Madalyn Davis, and Hunter Williams.

The Wolves are the home team, and several of their players are local. Brandon Ferraro, a strength specialist and Army veteran, was born and raised in Queens. Christa Devine, a bodyweight specialist, is a former Division I gymnast. Sigbert Guy and Francis Nuzzo are New York players too, and Mike Rosa comes off the bench.

Sunday, August 9

Two of Sunday’s three matches are inside a conference, where the standings tighten fastest.

Tampa Bay Brigade (1-1) vs Southwest Florida Sharks (2-0)

A West Conference match, and the second in two days for both teams. It is also a rematch of last year’s playoff meeting between the two. The Brigade come in at 1-1 against a Sharks team that has not lost. For the Brigade, beating the conference leader would be their biggest result of the season.

Palm Beach Breakers (0-1) vs South Beach Palms (0-2)

An East Conference match between two teams still looking for a win. The Palms are 0-2 and come in missing some of their key bodyweight specialists, which matters in the Over Under format. The Breakers are 0-1, and on the second day of the weekend they will lean on their full roster. Bryleigh Hansen, Samantha Secord, and Jess Plasencia lead the Palms lineup.

Las Vegas Venom (1-0) vs New York Wolves (0-1)

The Venom are 1-0 and have not lost yet. Their most accomplished player is Alec Smith, a four-time CrossFit Games athlete who moves into the starting lineup for New York after coming off the bench in the team’s first match. Around Smith, the Venom lineup includes Tori Hite, Whitney Koetter, McKenna Neeb, and Marisa Maher.

For the Wolves, this is a different test than Saturday, given the Venom’s record and the level of talent on their roster. It is the Wolves’ second match of the weekend and their second chance at a first win.

The Stakes

This is the final event of competition for two teams vying for playoff spots, and the rest of the league will be positioning themselves to make a playoff push in Dallas at the end of the month.

How Grid League Works

For anyone new to the sport: two teams line up on two lanes of a floor called the Grid and race each other on the same movements at the same time.

Up Next

All six matches run at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, across Saturday and Sunday. Here is where to get tickets and watch.

Have a question? Email us at staff@unitedgridleague.com