Two athletes sign letters of intent at Hanks High School

Two Hanks Knights signed letters of intent Wednesday afternoon to continue their careers in college.

Jacquelin Maciel, who was the basketball team’s leading scorer, will attend Victor Valley College in Victorville, California.

Tory Marrufo, a member of the dominant Hanks wrestling team which has won four straight state titles, signed with MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois.

Interestingly, both athletes today joked about that fact they didn’t originally intend to play those sports when they came to Hanks.

Marrufo, who placed fifth at the Pan-American Cadet Championships this past summer in Peru, says she was actually a soccer player growing up.

“When I got here, I wasn’t really into soccer anymore, so I kind of thought that I just won’t play sports anymore, and that’s when I got into wrestling,” she said.

Meanwhile, Maciel was a gymnast and cheerleader who didn’t initially want to play basketball.

“My mom would force me to play basketball at the time and make me go to practice,” she said. “And I didn’t like it, but when I met the girls and saw how good they were, I wanted to be just like them.”

Both expressed how happy they were that they made the decision to try new sports.

“And the older I got, I fell in love with the sport,” said Maciel. “And I’m glad I did.”