Early in his eighth-grade year, Hector Cintron had it all figured out: he planned to attend a Catholic high school in his hometown of Lawrence, Mass., and make a name for himself on the gridiron. Of course, that was before he got some sage advice. “After seeing my grades, my friends told me I should apply to prep school,” says Cintron, who thought such places were reserved for only hockey players and troublemakers. “They said, ‘No, no, Andover is cool. If you get in, they’ll pay for your education if you need it.’ And that was what really caught my eye.” Financial aid would cover only half his Catholic school tuition, so the thought of greater savings appealed to Cintron, the eldest child in a workingclass family. He speaks highly of his parents. From his mother he gets his determination and people skills, he says. From his father, solid morals and athletic drive. Those traits have served him well at Andover. His football dreams dried up as a lower, when he failed to make varsity, so he refocused on wrestling. He had taken up the sport in eighth grade and liked it from the start. “I was no good at first, but I would come in every day fired up for practice,” he reports. “I’m still on the up— getting better every week.” This year, while at Johns Hopkins, he aims to be a national champion. Cintron purposely sets the bar at heights that are likely a stretch. “I feel if you set goals high you should always expect failure, no matter what you’re trying to do. It’s not how hard you work, it’s what you do when you fail.” Cintron does quite well. Although not a national champ his senior year (his goal), he did earn All-American status and an impressive seventh-place finish at the U.S. prep school tournament. He lost only one regular-season match all year, in week one, but refused to let it deter him. The next time, he prepared that much harder. He applies the same philosophy to academics. Though top of the class when an eighth-grader, his PA studies taught this future electrical engineering major humility. It was tough going as a junior, but he settled in—so much so he has plans next year beyond the wrestling mat: “In terms of academics, I want to be that kid who gets a 4.0 average…who’s an All-American, the one everyone looks up to and says, ‘Wow, I wish I could do that.’” —Scott Aubrey
HECTOR CINTRON 20