RESULTS (PDF)

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – Vaulting the Eagles to a tie for third place, Morehead State men's golfer Nick Wilkins was named medalist of the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship on Wednesday by way of a 3-hole playoff victory.

"I just tried to go out there today and win every shot like (head coach Matthew Martin) told us in our meeting last night," said Wilkins. "Going into the playoff, I just told myself that three pars were going to get it done, and that ended up being good enough."

Wilkins led the tournament field after an opening round of 69, but experienced a 4-over setback in the second. The junior recovered in dramatic fashion at the tail end of Wednesday's final sequence, eagling from 107 yards on the penultimate hole.

"I felt like I only missed one shot all day," Wilkins said. "I was worried that that one shot was going to cost me, but I was able to rebound and hit arguably the best shot of my life on (hole) 17."

Wilkins finished with an even-par 216 on the tournament, tying with Belmont's Jack Uselton atop the leaderboard. For the first time since 2004, the event was forced to an individual playoff, where Wilkins (3-5-4) defeated Uselton (4-6-4) by two strokes.

The tournament victory marked Wilkins' second of the season, as well as Morehead State's first OVC Championship medalist since Shawn Tipton in 2006.

"I am incredibly proud of Nick for his performance," said Martin. "He played so well that he survived a few wasted shots throughout the week. He missed one shot today tee-to-green."

As a team, Morehead State placed among the OVC's top three for the second time in three seasons. The Eagles carded four top-three tournament finishes in 2017-18.

"We played well enough to win this championship for the majority of the tournament," Martin said. "We came very close to putting our best 54 holes of team golf together, and that is what we needed."

Blake Cartwright, Morehead State's lone senior, tied for 13th overall with a 5-over showing (77-72-72). The Winchester, Ky. native was the only Eagle other than Wilkins to log two rounds of par or better.

"I am sad to see Blake graduate," said Martin. "He has been here for all four of my years at MSU and leaves behind a great example for the rest of our Eagles to follow."

Recently minted All-OVC performer Cooper Collins carded 75-75-74 in a tie for 21st place. Freshman Joe Muschong claimed sole possession of 30th with a score of 71-83-74, while Tyler Hillyer rounded out the Morehead State scoring in a tie for 37th place at 76-77-78.

While Jacksonville State earned the conference's automatic bid for next month's NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Wilkins will be participating as an individual. The selections announcement is scheduled for Wednesday, May 2 at 6 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel.