After a hard-fought win over All-American Matthew Kolodzik in the USA Wrestling Senior National quarterfinals, Iowa’s Jaydin Eierman seemed destined for a trip to the finals.

The top seed at 65 kilograms – Joseph McKenna – fell to unranked Andrew Alirez via 7-1 decision. With McKenna out, Eierman was the highest-seeded wrestler remaining in the hunt for the finals as the No. 2 seed.

Unfortunately for the three-time All-American, a trip to the finals was not meant to be. Eierman was upset by No. 3 Evan Henderson – a 28-year old veteran wrestler.

“I’m the old man here,” Henderson said.  “. . . I just turned 28 a little bit ago, September. So, I’ve been at this a little bit. I’ve got some little tricks up my sleeves and all that stuff.”

Henderson’s experience showed against the younger Eierman. After a little over a minute of wrestling, the pair was tied at four apiece. However, as the first period wound down, Henderson hung six points on Eierman in a hurry. Henderson took Eierman down with 53 seconds to go, and then earned a near fall call just 31 seconds later.

At that point, the deficit was too great for Eierman to come back from as he would go on to lose, 13-5.

Henderson will face Alirez in the finals at 12:30 on Sunday.

Eierman’s fellow Hawkeye Wrestling Club member – Jeremiah Moody – did not find much success in Saturday’s second session either.

After defeating Grant Henderson by 9-7 decision in his first consolation match, Moody was rapidly extinguished in his second consolation match. Jake Kaeting downed Moody by technical fall in two minutes and 51 seconds.

Eierman and Moody’s collective losses ensured that no Hawkeyes would be competing in the finals on Sunday.

However, some of the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten brethren will have a chance to become USA Wrestling Senior National Champions on Sunday.

One of those wrestlers is Michigan’s heavyweight Mason Parris. The Wolverine met a familiar foe in his semifinal matchup – Wisconsin’s Trent Hillger.

The last time the pair wrestled, Parris won by a thin margin, 3-1.

The rematch did not look the same as the two wrestlers’ first match. On Saturday, Parris defeated Hillger by fall in two minutes and 11 seconds.

Parris will meet Arizona State’s Tanner Hall in the finals.

Former Ohio State Buckeye Kollin Moore is the other Big Ten wrestler to make the finals. He defeated Hayden Zillmer for the first time in his career via 6-5 decision.

“[Zillmer and I] have wrestled a lot over the past probably two or three years, and he’s always beat me every single time,” Moore said. “A lot of the time I’ve been up. I think last time I wrestled him I was up 10-2. I would just mentally break down at the end of those matches. So, I would switch up what I was doing, try and protect. Body language got a little lazy. That was stuff I was focusing on more.

“I know my shots are going to come when I need them. Just staying in solid position, and making sure I didn’t give him an inch if I couldn’t. Trying to stay mentally tough the whole match was, I think, the big thing going for me this match.”

Moore’s finals appearance will come just seven months after the COVID-19 pandemic cut the end of his career at Ohio State short.  As a senior, Moore was the top seed at 197-pounds ahead of the eventually-canceled NCAA Tournament, boasting at 27-0 record. He was the Big Ten Champion at 197 pounds and a runner-up for the Hodge Trophy – which was won by Iowa’s Spencer Lee.

The last time Moore hit the mat before his Senior National appearance was on March 8 in Piscataway, New Jersey, for the Big Ten Championships.

“I think, especially since my season got cut short, that I’ve really felt like I got that closure to my college career,” Moore said. “I’ve just been itching for really the next opportunity like this, to come and wrestle, to compete against really hard guys. That’s what I was missing back in March. I never got that. So, I’ve been waiting for this for this. I was surprised, but really happy USA Wrestling did this. I’m extremely thankful because I think all of us were going a little crazy just trying to wrestle each other.”