Eierman continues to grow as he plunges into Senior Freestyle

Jaydin Eierman in the 5th place match at the 2017 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo. Photo by Shane Epping, Mizzou Athletics.

Ambitious and driven, 2017 NCAA All-American Jaydin Eierman of Missouri moves into his first Senior freestyle season ready to improve.

When Eierman was just five years old he started pursuing a wrestling career, thanks to both his mom and late uncle. It wasn’t long before his now step-dad, Mike Eierman stepped into the picture and the rest is history.

Mike was a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. and wrestled internationally in the early 2000’s. He was also an All-American for the University of Nebraska in 1993. He has influenced Jaydin tremendously through the years, constantly helping him succeed as a wrestler.

“He’s been a big influence. He’s raised me since I was eight years old and now I’m 21. He’s been my inspiration. Every day I look up to him and see all the accomplishments he’s had in wrestling. He wants me to always push to be the best that I can be and to be the best in the World,” he said.

Mike is currently the owner and head coach at Eierman Elite Wrestling Club, where both Jaydin and J’Den Cox wrestled while growing up. It was this wrestling club that built an inseparable bond between Jaydin and J'den, one that has continued in college.

The two men consider their relationships to be that of brothers, with the only thing separating the two is blood. The relationship between them has made the difference in how they have grown into the wrestlers they are today. They drive each other day in and day out, helping one another chase their dreams

“We like to push each other every day in everything we do. We, as competitors always want to win but we’re also here to grow as wrestlers with each other. We push each other to be the best we can be. It’s the brotherly bond that we have because we want each other to thrive and succeed in everything we do,” Eierman said.

Heading into his redshirt sophomore year, Eierman has been able to have a companion and someone to turn to during his time at the University of Missouri. Cox was a junior when Eierman became a Tiger. With the hard transition from high school to college, his strong bond with Cox helped him to ease into college more smoothly.

“If I needed anything he was always right there and I could count on him. I could just go to him and talk to him about anything. He took me under his wing and showed me what I needed to do to be successful at this level. It’s great to have him as a teammate and as a brother,” he said.

Last year, Eierman decided against joining the 2016 Olympic journey as an athlete but instead decided to help Cox prepare for the Olympics. This year, the two wrestlers are chasing their dreams together.

Falling just short of qualifying for the Senior Freestyle World Team Trials at the U.S. Open, Eierman entered into the Last Chance Qualifier at 65 kg. This will be the last opportunity Eierman will have to continue on this year’s quest to Worlds.

“I have to believe in what I can do. I know that I can wrestle with the best of guys. I’m ranked 10th at the Senior level and I just have to go in with that mindset of I’m here with these guys and I have to do what I can do to get my offense going,”

Heading into the freestyle season Eierman comes off of a successful college season, claiming fifth place and securing All-American status at the NCAA Championships after defeating No.3 Joey McKenna, No. 4 Matthew Kolodzik, and No. 5 seed Anthony Ashnault. He got back on the mat immediately after the NCAAs to prepare for the U.S. Open.

“I was back in the week after Nationals training for the U.S. Open. It was a tough grind but I love the sport and I love everything about it,”

His first year at Mizzou he took a redshirt year and spent the year wrestling unattached. The year was a focus on growth, both mentally and physically. The year has ultimately made the difference in his wrestling.

“I’ve grown a lot maturely, I’ve seen what you have to go through in the season to be an All-American. The first part of the season was a little rough on me, it was wearing on me. When we made the bump up my work ethic change tremendously and I started getting after it in the practice room. You have to have that maturity to go in there every day and get better,” he said.

Eierman has taken not only the last year to continue to learn and grow as a wrestler but has also taken the time to learn from his U.S. Open experience.

“In the long run, we’re gonna get better. We learn from our mistakes and I’ve come back and trained even harder. I’ve fixed some mistakes that I’ve made. Hopefully, I can go get it and get to the World Team Trials,” he said.

As Eierman continues to set goals and heads further into the Senior level he moves forward with the drive to beat the guy in front of him.

“I always feel like there’s gonna be someone better than me in the World and that’s what keeps me driving. I want to be able to reach that goal or be able to overpass them at some point in my life. I want to be the best and if I know that there’s someone better than me it’s going to keep me driving,”

Eierman will continue his quest to punch his ticket to the World Team Trials this weekend at the Last Chance Qualifier in Rochester, Minn. If he wins, he will join J’den Cox at the World Team Trials in Lincoln, where they can continue to push each other to a higher level.