As the only current Iowa Hawkeye wrestler to compete at USA Wrestling’s Senior Nationals over the weekend, No. 2 Jaydin Eierman departed Coralville with a fifth-place finish and a whole lot of dominance left on the mat. 

Eierman, who wrestled as a member of Hawkeye Wrestling Club over the weekend, transferred to Iowa from Missouri in 2019. He took an Olympic redshirt and didn’t compete last season, and he’ll be slotted into Iowa’s 141-pound lineup spot for his upcoming final collegiate season. 

In his debut as an unofficial official Iowa Hawkeye, Eierman opened the weekend on Friday with an abundance of points scored against his opponents without allowing them a single one. He took down unattached Joey Jones and Titan Mercury Wrestling Club member Jordin Humphrey by technical falls, 10-0 and 11-0, respectively. 

Despite a little different style than the one Iowa fans will see whenever the 2020-21 season gets going, Eierman’s attack approach on the mat is one that should get them excited to see him wear the black and gold singlet. 

In his Round of 16 match vs Ethan Lizak of New York Athletic Club, he improved on his technical falls for a pin 35 seconds into the second period, his first of two on the tournament. Prior to the fall, he racked up an 8-0 lead on his opponent, showing his versatility of attack styles to stack points towards what could mean bonus team points for the Hawkeyes. 

Eierman earned his first takedown with an underhook hold that forced Lizak to his knees, allowing him to move behind for the points. He followed with back-to-back takedowns in the final 20 seconds of the first period, trapping each of Lizak’s legs to turn him onto his stomach at the edge of the mat. 

The final takedown and the fall came in succession of each other, with Eierman turning Lizak on his back to advance to the quarterfinals. 

From there, his path to the 65 kg finals – where he would have liked to end up – got significantly harder. He took a decision vs New York Athletic Club’s No. 7 Matthew Kolodzik, 6-5, and lost his first match to Titan Mercury’s No. 3 Evan Henderson, 13-5. 

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With a berth to the third-place match on the line, Eierman found himself on the other side of a technical fall to Titan Mercury’s No. 1 Joey McKenna, 10-0. 

Despite the second loss and falling into the fifth-place match at 65 kg, Eierman kept up his pace to finish the three-day event on a high note. Facing Kolodzik for the second time, he made quick work of the match with a single leg to turn Kolodzik on his back for the fall in just over a minute. 

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The fifth-place finish for Eierman was a step up from 2019 Senior Nationals, when he ended the tournament off the podium. 

He was just one of two current or former Hawkeye wrestlers to compete in 2020. Former Iowa wrestler Jeremiah Moody also competed, losing his Round of 32 match by technical superiority. He won his first consolation match, 9-7 vs. Grant Henderson, but was eliminated on a 12-2 technical fall in Session II at 74 kg.

Anna attended the University of Iowa, where she covered multiple sports from volleyball to football to wrestling. She went to Pittsburgh in March 2019 for the NCAA DI Wrestling Championships and did live coverage of the entire event and Spencer Lee’s second-straight NCAA title. Follow her on Twitter.