Pembroke digs in out West

Runners vying for the national cross country title had no choice but to get dirty in the process.

The elite field wasn’t the only obstacle in the way of Pembroke’s showdown against the best teams in the country at yesterday’s Nike meet in Portland, Ore. A week’s worth of rain turned the challenging 3.1-mile Portland Meadow course into a heavy quagmire, slowing the finishing times.

A week after taking second in the Northeast meet in Wappinger Falls, N.Y., Pembroke raced to a 19th-place finish with 399 points. The Arcadia XC Club claimed the national title with 92 points.