Mercer Island High School graduate Jesse Johnson helped the University of Washington crew team to its first NCAA National Championship in a decade Saturday morning.

Johnson and the Huskies took first place with 216 points, just ahead of Harvard (191) on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J.

The eight-man shell took a sizable lead during the first half of the race but boats from Harvard, Stanford and Brown Universities made a charge during the halfway point of the 2,000 meter race.

The Huskies, comprised of Johnson, Max Lang, Steve Full, David Worley, Rob Gibson, Aljosa Corovic, Heath Allen, Will Crothers and coxswain Katelin Snyder, won the race with their best time of the weekend, 5:33.16.

The win caps an undefeated season for the team.

The championship is nothing new to Johnson who helped his U.S. Junior National team win the world title in 2003 and 2004.

Johnson, who is currently a junior at the UW, also took third place at the state wrestling tournament for Mercer Island High School during his junior and senior years.