MARSHALL, Mo. - Sean Sax won the Most Outstanding Wrester Award and first place in the 149 weight class at the Missouri Valley Open.

Sax won by a tech fall over Missouri Valley oppoent Seth Johnson, 16-1, easily taking the victory on his way to being named Most Outstanding Wrestler. He pinned a Missouri opponent on his way to first place along with Missouri Valley and Lindenwood-Belleville, top NAIA opponents. 

"He's wrestled the longest and has so much confidence right now, which is important to not be second guessing your techniue and decisions," said Westminster Head Coach Tony Eierman. "He's in great shape right now and it's showing with every match. He's teching or pinning someone with almost every match, so he's peaking at the right time and doing a great job."

Along with Sax, Westminster placed three more wrestlers, including two fourth-place finishes from Hunter Tessman and Zachary Hazen.

"We started off a little rough but both Zach and Hunter came back even stronger than they started," said Eierman. "They weren't tired and were ready to go at the end of the day. That's important at this point in the season with Regionals coming up, we're not tiring out and peaking at the right time."

"There was a lot of good competition there today and it can be intimidating for a young team like us, but we are really proud to be where we are in just two years as a program," said Eierman.

Deryl VanNostrand earned fifth-place in the heavyweight bracket. 

"Deryl pinned an SIUE opponent and number one seed," said Eierman. "Deryl kept winning and kept fighting to earn his place on the day. It was unexpected since he joined the team late after football, but he's really making up for that and doing a great job.

"The whole team fought and wrestled hard," Eierman continued. "We're going to these tournaments to gage where we are and see what we need to work on to prepare for the toughest Regionals in the country."