SIUE

2022-23: Came up one match short of All-American status at the NCAA Championships after wins over Lehigh's Nathan Taylor, Penn's Ben Goldin, and Northern Iowa's Tyrell Gordon ... Became SIUE's first-ever Mid-American Conference individual champion in wrestling with a 2-0 victory over Northern Illinois' Terrese Aaron ... Selected Athlete of the Year by fellow SIUE SAAC athletes at the Cougar Choice Awards ... Led all wrestlers with a 30-5 record ... Led the team with six falls ... In 18 of his wins, he did not allow his opponent a point ... Had seperate winning streaks of 13 straight matches and 12 straight matches.

2021-22: Tied for season lead in wins (16) with a 16-10 mark overall ... Finished fifth in the 2022 Mid-American Conference Championships with a 6-4 decision over Rider's David Szuba, who earlier in the tournament had defeated McKiernan ... Turned in fastest pine of the season at the MAC Championships in 35 seconds over Bloomsburg's Shane Noonan ... Pinned Michigan State's Ryan Vasbinder at the Lindenwood Open for third place ... Took third place at the Cougar Clash, besting Brown's Lear Quinton.

2020-21: Placed sixth at the 2021 Mid-American Conference Championships ... Finished season 7-5 overall with a 3-1 record in MAC regular season matches ... His first and last win of the season was overtime wins over Northern Illinois' Max Ihry ... Earned first period pin over Bellarmine's Darian Huff.

2019-20: Tied for second in Mid-American Conference dual meet wins (5) … Ranked among the top 35 heavyweights nationally all season … Started the season 6-0, including a third-period fall over Oklahoma’s Josh Heindeselman … Earned first-period fall over Old Dominion’s William Hilliard … Placed seventh at the MAC Championships with a 3-1 win over Jacob Bohlken, who had defeated him earlier in the tournament.

2018-19: Went from possibly redshirting to a spot at the NCAA Championships ... Worked a No. 6 seed at the Mid-American Conference Championship into an appearance in the Tournament finals ... Bested Buffalo's Jake Gunning 5-3 in the quarterfinals and pinned nationally-ranked Zach Elam of Missouri in the semifinals ... Gave a strong performance in SIUE's first-ever appearance in a MAC Tournament final, dropping a 12-7 decision to Central Michigan's Matt Stencel ... Led the Cougars in victories with 21 as well as falls with nine ... Had a 12-match winning streak at the end of the season halted by the loss in the MAC Finals ... Posted personal best 22-second pin against Missouri Baptist's Cory Flemming.

Prep: Projected 285-pounder for the Cougars and was runner-up in the 220-pound MHSAA Division 3 individual wrestling championship ... Placed all four years at state during his prep career, finishing second during his junior season, third his sophomore season and eighth his freshman season ... McKiernen is the younger brother of current SIUE wrestler Jake McKiernen and the son of Kevin and Jodi McKiernen.

 

Career Statistics