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MOREHEAD, Ky. – After claiming medalist honors at the OVC Men's Golf Championship, fifth-year Joe Muschong now sets his sights on the NCAA Regionals.

Heading into the final round of the OVC Championship, Muschong was atop the leaderboard, but a difficult first three holes suddenly had the Lexington native needing a comeback to regain his top spot.

"It was definitely a rough first hour. We all joked around that it was a train wreck in slow motion to start six over through three," Muschong said.

Muschong, with grit and perseverance, regained focus on the fourth hole, and shifted his priorities towards ensuring the advancement of the team in the tournament over his individual success.

"I kind of just reset on the fourth hole and was really worried about the team score. I kind of totally forgot about the individual part. I was worried the whole time about getting the team to the next day, which was kind of a relief so I didn't have to worry about the individual [standings]." "I finished the front nine really well, and then started the back."

Muschong proceeded to shoot two under par on the final nine, his best performance on that segment of the course throughout the entire tournament, and managed to leapfrog his competitors with a birdie on the 18th hole. "I totally forgot about the start after the first six holes and I somehow just kind of lucked into winning," he said.

The victory marked the first career medalist honors for Muschong, despite a decorated career heading into the OVC Championship; an event where he finished third just last season.

"It definitely felt really good to win because I finished third last year [at the OVC Championship] and actually played with the two guys that won and watched them kind of battle it out."

Heading into what was potentially the final event of his collegiate career, Muschong had accumulated 11 top-5 finishes, including back-to-back second place finishes earlier this season at the Xavier Invitational and The Joust at Goose Creek.

"I finished in second so many times, but to finally win one, it definitely felt good. It's been a long five years of hard work. It kind of all wraps into finally getting a win, especially at what was potentially the last event; it feels really good to get that one."

By virtue of claiming medalist honors, Muschong becomes only the second Eagle in program history to clinch a bid to the regionals and compete at the Ohio State Golf Club. Former teammate, Nick Wilkins, also competed on the Scarlet Course in 2018 when he finished atop the OVC Championship leaderboard. Muschong believes that his skillset and style will translate well to the difficult course, which was recently redesigned by golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

"From what I've heard, it's just kind of that championship style golf course. It's long, there's trouble off the tee, tough green complexes, tough around the greens. I'll be able to scout it out when we go up there on Sunday and do my homework before that, but it should fit me well. I'm long off the tee and pretty accurate, so we'll go from there and just see what we can get, especially pulling on Nick and coach [Martin's] advice since they both been there before."

As a Lexington native and Lafayette High School alum, Muschong was pleased with the proximity of the regional site to his hometown and expects to see some familiar faces on the course.

"It means a lot. Our family is kind of all spread out, part of my dad's family still lives in Cincinnati, and then my mom and dad are both in Lexington. My sister is up in Syracuse, so I think she is going to stop on the way back, so I'm excited to have a few people up there. It'll be nice, especially to stay close to where family is and close to home so I can stay in the same routine."

The NCAA Championship Tournament will be a fitting conclusion for Muschong's collegiate career, which includes the most rounds played by any Eagle in program history.

"This program means everything. I mean, I came here five years ago and I was pretty much a glorified walk-on and then played into more scholarship money. Morehead State has been a really great place for me to continue and grow my game, grow as a person, and now it's going to be great to finish at the NCAA's and then hopefully go on from there. This place has definitely been awesome for me and a great fit," Muschong added.

The three-day, 54-hole tournament runs from May 16-18 in Columbus, Ohio, and features 13 teams alongside 10 individuals. The top four teams and one additional individual will go on and compete at the Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona.