Beasts from the East

Beasts from the East are a team that competed on the first season of American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja, the third year of American Ninja Warrior's team competition spinoffs. The team consists of captain James "The Beast" McGrath, Dave Cavanagh, and Erica Cook.

This team is a reincarnation of McGrath and Cook's previous team from seasons 1 and 2 of Team Ninja Warrior, the Real Life Beasts, which was formerly led by Drew Dreschel, who chose not to participate on American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja due to scheduling conflict. McGrath and Cook carried on without him, and they chose Cavanagh as the third member.

The team name, Beasts from the East, comes from captain McGrath's nickname, The Beast, as well as the fact that all three members live on the east coast.

American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja


Beasts from the East made their debut on episode 1 during the first matchup of Round 1 against the Hashtag Ninjas:
 * Captain James McGrath was beaten by Nicholas Coolridge in the first race, handing McGrath his first ever loss in team ninja competitions,
 * Erica Cook lost the second race to Larissa Cottle after falling on the Floating Tiles.
 * Dave Cavanagh did, however, win the next race after Jesse La Flair fell at the Flying Shelf Grab sending the matchup to a relay race.
 * Unfortunately, they lost to the Hashtag Ninjas and was the first team to be eliminated.

The season was not over for Beasts from the East, however, as they were selected for the wildcard round. They returned to face off against Wisco Warriors in Episode 11: Beasts from the East competed again in episode 12, going up against Iron Grip in Round 1:
 * James won the first race against Drew Knapp, who fell at the Floating Tiles,
 * Erica won the second race after passing up alternate Christine Ahn, who fell at the Floating Tiles.
 * The third race was also decided by the Floating Tiles. This time, however, it was Cavanagh that fell, giving Andrew Philibeck the win for Wisco Warriors, while handing Cavanagh his first loss in team ninja competitions.
 * Finally, in the relay race, the Beasts from the East took a commanding early lead and never looked back, clinching a spot in the playoffs.
 * Cavanagh won the first race against Mathis Owhadi, who fell at the Hanging Staircase,
 * Erica Cook had an early lead against Tiana Webberley in the second race, but her knee, still recovering from an injury in Team Ninja Warrior 2, was not strong enough to get up the Warped Wall, and Tiana tied it up,
 * In the third race, James tried to go over the top of the Parallel Pipes and block Daniel Gil. It didn't work, as he ended up being hung upside down and allowed Gil to break free, putting the Beasts from the East down by 1 point.
 * Finally, in the relay race, the team fell behind and lost to Iron Grip, resulting in the Beasts from the East's second elimination.