ESPN College Sports

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Hooker sisters were once the terrors of their San Antonio neighborhood. No two-person basketball team -- stocked with either boys or girls -- was safe when facing the sharp elbows and feisty nature of the uber-competitive family in those rough-and-tumble driveway games back home.

That same competitive streak has continued in college. Texas sprinter/long jumper Marshevet Hooker and her younger sister, Destinee, a precocious freshman high jumper, have become vital cogs in the Longhorns' No. 1-ranked women's track program.

The seeds for that came long ago, manifesting when Marshevet was 13 and Destinee 10. While playing two older boys in a pickup game, the Hookers provided more competition than expected. After scoring what they thought would be the winning point, the two boys were ready to walk off the court victorious. Only neither Hooker was quite ready to concede.

"I got right up in their faces and really got after them," Destinee says, laughing at the memory. "Next thing you know, there was a little scuffle and fists were flying. We had a little trouble explaining to our mom and dad how our clothes got a little ripped up."

The Hookers held their own in that skirmish and have continued honing their athletic talents over the years.

Today, they are one of the top sister acts in college sports, dominating track and field during their first year together in college.

Both have emerged as top contenders in this week's NCAA championships in Sacramento, Calif. And both are considered to have strong chances to make the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing in 2008 if they can keep improving in the next two years.

When healthy, the Hookers are point-making machines who accounted for 42½ points to help Texas win the Big 12 championships last month.

Marshevet, a junior, has emerged as one of the nation's top sprinters and high jumpers. The nine-time All-American was named the NCAA South Central Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year last week.

She notched three individual victories at the Big 12 meet and anchored Texas' winning 4x100 relay team. But her performance at the NCAA meet this week might be hampered by a mild left hamstring strain.

Before the injury, Marshevet was expected to challenge for multiple titles in Sacramento. She was tied for third nationally in the 100 meters (11.09 seconds), third in the 200 (22.75) and first in the long jump (21 feet, 11¾ inches) and anchored Texas' top-ranked 4x100 relay (42.84).

Destinee's rapid assimilation to college has been just as remarkable. She should have been in her final semester at San Antonio's Southwest High School this spring but opted to leap forward so she could compete immediately in track with her older sister.

Only days after she started classes at Texas as a midterm enrollee, she entered her first college meet and immediately qualified for the NCAA indoor track and field championships. Before she took her first college exams, she had posted the top women's high-jump mark in the country. She later won the Big 12 indoor meet with a personal best of 6-3½ and placed third in the national indoors.

That development has continued outdoors. Her outdoor best of 6-2¼ won the Big 12 title and ranks third nationally.

"One thing we knew when she made her decision is that she had the maturity of a national-caliber competitor, " Texas track coach Bev Kearney said. "Destinee is as competitive as they come. And with her performance this year, she's been off the Richter scale."

Some of the Hooker sisters' athletic ability is hereditary. Their father, Ricky, was an NAIA basketball All-American at St. Mary's (Texas). Their mother, Marvetta, was a speedy basketball player at the school at the same time.

Their father's old coaches remember that he used to become so emotional before games that he would cry shortly before the opening tip-off. Some of that fire clearly has stoked his daughters.

Earlier in the year, Marshevet had contemplated forgoing her final season at Texas to pursue a professional career in Europe. She says she still is considering that, although she won't make her final decision until later this year.

Wanting to compete against better competition also triggered her little sister's jump to college. She thrived as her jumping techniques improved throughout the season.

"It's been a huge transition for me, but I've just tried to stay myself," Destinee said. "It's helped to be there with Marshevet. I really missed when she wasn't around."

Making Destinee's track development even more amazing has been that she's on a volleyball scholarship with the Longhorns and started early workouts with that team as she also competes in track. She was an All-City basketball player in San Antonio and has talked about becoming a three-sport All-America at Texas if she has the chance.

After spending much of her first few weeks at college in her counselor's office, wondering what she had gotten herself into, Destinee has thrived in sports and in the classroom. She will finish her first semester with 12 credit hours after completing classes in African-American studies, political science, anthropology and children's literature.

"It's been hectic," she said. "I had track practice on Mondays and Wednesdays and would wake up early for my volleyball work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then, there was school."

She missed out on her high school prom back in San Antonio last month, but returned to receive her diploma with her old classmates last week.

All that hard work is paying off, though. With continued development, the national collegiate high-jump record of 6-6 set by Amy Acuff of UCLA in 1995 and tied by Kajsa Bergqvist of SMU in 1999 is considered well within Destinee's reach in the next couple of years.

"She's really learning and grasping the event," Kearney said. "I think her knowledge in what it takes to be a great jumper has really blossomed over the last couple of months. Everything is new and exciting for her. And I don't think anybody knows how high she eventually will be able to jump."

Destinee also was there to serve as her sister's chief cheerleader after her injury.

"I was shooting a video of her race when she got hurt," Destinee said. "I knew something was wrong when she didn't have a good start like she usually does. And then when she fell, it was really hard to watch. As soon as it happened, I turned the camera off and put it down. It was the shock of my life to see it happen."

Despite those injuries, Marshevet is still planning to participate in the long jump and 4x100 relays if she is healthy later this week. But she is careful not to put herself in a tenuous situation with other national meets approaching later in the summer.

"I'm feeling OK, but I'm not sure if I will be involved or not," Marshevet said. "I'm doing well and feeling healthier in the last couple of days. I've been doing a lot of rehab, and I'll make a decision after I get a chance to run before the meet."

Her father has said that Marshevet was at about 80 percent and that he hopes she will consider the rest of the season before making the decision whether to run and jump this weekend.

"She's a tough competitor and is undergoing her rehab," Kearney said. "If anybody can handle this and stay focused, it's Marshevet. I wouldn't count her out as a competitor because she's such a phenomenal athlete and person."

If "Vet," as her family calls her, can't participate this week, her younger sister plans to dedicate her effort in the NCAA meet to her and injured Texas long jumper Ychlindria Spears.

"I know how much it hurt her to watch, and I want to win it for her and Lynn," Destinee said. "They both won't be able to compete like they want, and I'd like to do well for both of them."

Tim Griffin covers the Big 12 and college sports for the San Antonio Express-News.