Grid League 2026 – Wolves vs Lions: Wolves Take the Eastern Conference Final to the Last Race

Brandon Ferraro tied the Eastern Conference Final with one race left. Fans had voted for eight bar-facing burpees and a 200-pound sandbag over a yoke in the fan-voted ringer point, and the New York Wolves sent Ferraro against the Fort Lauderdale Lions‘ Ryan DeMattie, a former league MVP. Ferraro got to the sandbag first, put it over the yoke in 24.06 seconds and made the score 16-16 going into the Sprint Relay.

“It was a pleasure to go against him,” Ferraro said afterward. “Two ringers already in the season. To finish it off and go against someone like a former MVP. Absolutely amazing.”

The Lions won the Sprint Relay by five seconds and the match 19-17 on October 4 in Lakeland, Florida, which ended the Wolves’ first season one match short of the championship.

The first expansion team in the playoffs

The Wolves joined the league this year and finished as the top overall seed, which made them the first expansion team to reach the playoffs and earned them a bye through the first round. Lexie Wohlfort was named head coach of the year in her first season as a head coach, and the award was announced over the public address before the match. Mike Rosa was the only player on the roster with playoff experience.

Two races, two wins

The opening Partner Forward was thrusters at 185 and 125 pounds paired with a heavy jump rope. Steven Cupec and Jordyn Bush opened the race, and the Wolves reached the fourth quadrant first. Daniel Lynne closed it out for an 11.62-second win.

The Mirror is a barbell race where two players work through the same lift quadrant by quadrant, and this one was back squats at 315 and 210 pounds. Sigbert Guy and Kelsey McCall finished so close to the Lions that both teams raised a finger, and video confirmed the Wolves won. The Lions threw a challenge flag after the race, and the referees ruled it void because it came after the 30 seconds teams are allowed, so the Wolves led 4-2.

Lynne and the Ladder

The Ladder is the strength race, with players alternating down the Grid and pressing heavier bars in each quadrant, up to 300 pounds for the men and 200 for the women. Kara Petruzzelli cleared her bar to open it, McCall cleared every bar on her turn, and Guy pressed the top bar with five seconds left. The Wolves won it 78-69 to tie the match at 9-9.

Lynne won the second ringer point next. The race was 13 bar-facing burpees for him and 12 for the Lions’ Janine Stallings, and he finished in 20.57 seconds. The Lions challenged his reps, and the review found two that should not have counted. That was a three-second penalty against a lead of more than six seconds, so the result stood and the Wolves led 11-9.

Wohlfort talked to the broadcast about the team she built in year one.

“So win, lose, draw, we are going to always love each other and be there for each other at the end of the day.”

Lexie Wohlfort, New York Wolves head coach

Level going into the Sprint Relay

The Wolves still led 12-11 after Jack and Jill. The Lions won both triads to go up 15-14, and Ferraro’s ringer brought it back to even.

The Sprint Relay has one player on the Grid at a time across eight elements, and it pays three points to the winner. Guy and McCall opened on the clusters, Sydney Pawlak did the aerials, Rosa pulled the sled, Francis Nuzzo took the ring hang-to-handstands, Christa Devine the bar muscle-ups and Petruzzelli the kettlebells. The Wolves finished in 3:26.41.

Ferraro used the end of his interview to speak to anyone dealing with mental health issues. “I’d rather you call me at three in the morning than do something permanent,” he said. “Take care of yourselves. Take care of your families.”

The Wolves won five races in the conference final, led after each of the first three, and went into the last race level with a team that has won three championships.

Race-by-race results