Bernard Lagat nosed at the finish of Fifth Avenue Mile...

New Zealand's Nick Willis (left/photo courtesy NYRR), the Olympic bronze medalist at 1500 meters in Beijing, used a late surge to nip former Washington State star Bernard Lagat and win the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York.

Lagat and Jon Rankin took the early lead, but Lagat pushed to the front before Willis matched his move, and they fought for a shoulder-to-shoulder race to the finish that was too close to judge by sight.

Willis leaned in at the tape and finished in 3:50.5, which beat Lagat’s best effort by one-tenth of a second. Nate Brannan, a Canadian Olympian and Willis’ training partner in Michigan, was third in 3:51.9.

Former Auburn High School standout Chris Lukezic finished sixth in 3:54.5.

You can click here to watch the video highlight of the race.