Paolo Tavares, New Bedford High School
It's very early in the season but Milesplitmass will begin the process of picking the Marathon Sports Athlete of the Week. This week's male winner will go to New Bedford Senior Paolo Tavares. Tavares ran away with the Martha's Vineyard Inivitational with a nice early season time of 16:07 on the Vineyard 5k course. As a Junior, Tavares ran a respectable 9:37 for 2 Miles, and without a doubt he is headed well south of the 16:00 Minute barrier. The 2011 Big 3 Cross-Country Champion will be looking to defend his title once again, and should be a major player in the Eastern Massachusetts Division 1 Championships.