The Southern Conference kicked off in incredible fashion with two intense and highly entertaining matches.

 

The first match between the Pompano Pulse and Palm Beach Elite started with each taking one of the first two races. 

 

From there the Elite rattled off 5 race wins, largely on the backs of East Grid League players Zach Trolley and Carissa Macay, Texas based rookie Sophia Davenport, and NPGL player Roderick Holloway returning to the GRID for the first time since 2016. 

 

The Pulse fought hard even with some missing key members, and also had some standout rookie performances including former gymnast Pierre Elliot, and former GRID 6 player and competitive weightlifter Nicole Moore who cleared the Ground to overhead ladder as quickly as anyone that took the GRID that day. 

 

In the end, the Elite emerged victorious with a 10 point win. 

 

The second match of the day was the highly anticipated matchup between Southern Conference rivals the Miami Freaks and Fort Lauderdale Lions. Adding to the anticipation was the return of NPGL rookie of the year Monique Lalonde to the GRID for the Lions. The match beyond lived up to the hype, with the lead switching back and forth every few races.

 

One highlight race was one of the closest ladder finishes ever. The Freaks took an early lead in the race with multiple quick ladder clearances including by new additions Joseph Gomez and Winter Rodriguez. Although the Lions had some early 4th quadrant failures, their later players leveraged ideal timing and strategy to yield higher points per player than the Freaks, and capped with a last second 1st bar hit that sealed the race win by Laura Sanchez

 

Ultimately there was a one point difference heading into the Sprint Relay. The winner of that race would determine the match. The race was extremely close until the burpee to ring touch which had been an important movement in this race for every match so far this Season. Shane Kaufman completely these faster than any other team in the League and grabbed the lead that the Freaks held to complete the thrilling victory. 

 

If the first matches of the Season are any indication, this year will be an incredible one for the Florida Grid League. Don’t miss your chance to get in on the action and grab your tickets to the next match now at thefgl.com/old/tickets