Pat Porter, running what he considered a...

Pat Porter, running what he considered a subpar race, won the men’s title in the U.S. Cross-Country Championships in New York for the sixth consecutive time, in course-record time.

Porter, from Alamosa, Colo., covered the 6.2 miles over the Van Cortlandt Park course in 29 minutes 58 seconds, breaking the record of 30:34.2 held by John Mason of Fort Hays (Kan.) State.

Porter defeated James Farmer, a senior at North Carolina, by only three seconds as the top three finishers beat Mason’s mark.

Lynn Jennings, the 1985 women’s champion and 1986 third-place finisher, regained the women’s title, winning handily in 19:35 over the 3.7-mile course.

The winners automatically qualified for the U.S. team that will compete in the World Cross-Country Championships March 26 at Auckland, New Zealand.