NORTHFIELD, Minn. (csssaints.com) – Senior Chelsea Johnson (North Branch, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) won her fifth straight race and her seventh this season, setting a new single-season program record for wins in leading the St. Scholastica women's cross country team to a fifth place finish at the NCAA Division III Central Region Championships on Saturday at St. Olaf College.

Johnson led wire-to-wire once again and finished with a winning time of 21:10.99. She beat the rest of the field by 20 seconds to capture the region title. She is the first Saint to win a NCAA Region Championship in program history. Johnson will be one of the favorites at next weekend's NCAA Division III Championship in Indiana.

The Saints as a team were also trying to qualify for nationals for the second time in program history. The top two teams from each of the eight region championships would automatically qualify for the next Saturday's championships.