Shadle Park's Kyleigh Archer is SBLive's WaFd Bank Class 2A Senior Athlete of the Year

Welcome to a continuing tradition at SBLive Washington – honoring the WaFd Bank 2022-23 senior male and female athletes of the year for each classification.

Because the SBLive crew gets so immersed in specific sports seasons, it is nice to take a step back to pick a statewide honor from a broader perspective.

The criteria isn’t too expansive: The starting point is finding seniors who are all-league/all-state performers in two or more sports. Totality of career is also a factor. So is administrator/coach/fan recommendation.

Enjoy as we honor some of Washington’s top multi-sport senior athletes!

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Body scars can tell Interesting stories.

Unless you have so many of them, they cloud the memory.

"There are scars," Shadle Park High School senior Kyleigh Archer said, "that I don't remember."

What folks around the school remember about Archer - SBLive WA's Class 2A senior female athlete of the year for 2022-23 - is her unwavering commitment to Highlanders' athletics and the teenager's ultra-competitiveness that produced many memorable moments.

With that came a few bumps and bruises.

"I go back to the first day I met her, and you could see her competitive drive to be successful," said Rik Robles, Shadle Park's former girls soccer coach who is also Archer's club coach at Washington East.

It came during a summer conditioning session called "Filthy 50" - or 50 repetitions of different exercises.

Back then, Archer was an incoming ninth grader who was trying to prove herself to a new coach - and older teammates. The competition center around plyometrics - or box-jumping exercises.

"The girls were jumping 30 inches, and she is doing that (height) - no problem," Robles said. "So she is jumping at 36 inches."

Archer said her left foot didn't make it all the way up on the box, causing her to slip backward.

"Took two chunks of skin (out of my shin) on the way down," she said.

How did she react? She put a Band-Aid over it and completed the feat.

"She leads by example," Robles said. "She will show them how it should be done."

That work ethic made her a popular choice as a team captain in girls soccer (forward), basketball (point guard) and track and field (sprinter, jumper). She is headed off to Pacific Lutheran University in the fall to play soccer.

But her competitive drive isn't limited to varsity sports. It can come out in any activity - including powderpuff football.

During Shadle Park's homecoming week, a girls' flag-football game was held between seniors and ninth graders taking on sophomores and juniors.

Archer scored three touchdowns, and had the highlight-reel interception that clinched the victory.

It also caused a little anguish as she landed on her back with the football as teammates rushed in to celebrate. 

"Got a scar on the back of my arm from that," Archer said. "It is still there and it's so pretty."

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KYLEIGH ARCHER BIO

School: Shadle Park.

Sports: Soccer, basketball, track and field.

Next step: Signed to play soccer at Pacific Lutheran University (NCAA D3) where she will study elementary education.

Senior-year highlights: Voted to the 2A Greater Spokane League first team for girls soccer as a forward, totaling seven goals and three assists. Led Highlanders to District 8 tournament semifinals. ... Voted to 2A GSL first team for girls basketball as a guard, averaging 12.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Led Highlanders to District 8 finals and then District 5/6/8 crossover playoffs. Invitee to postseason "Spokesman-Review Showcase, a regional all-star game. ... Voted to the 2A GSL first team for track and field as a jumper. Placed as the state runner-up in the triple jump (career-best 35 feet, 71/2 inches in first season participating in event) at the WIAA Class 2A meet, and was sixth place in the long jump (16-0). Was a runner on Shadle Park's state-participating 4x200 relay that did not make finals. Highlanders placed fifth as a team at state. Her season-best marks in the triple jump (35-71/2) ranked No. 5 in 2A, and the long jump (16-10) ranked No. 7 in 2A. Also threw the javelin and was a member of the 4x100 relay team. ... Named the 2022-23 GSL female athlete of the year for Shadle Park.

Career accomplishments: Four-year starter in soccer, basketball and track and field, earning 12 varsity letters. ... Was three-time all-league first-team selection, and finished with 27 goals and 22 assists in four seasons of girls soccer. ... Was three-time all-league selection in four seasons of basketball - honorable mention as sophomore (2020-21), second team as junior (2021-22) and first team last winter. Led team to top league finish during abbreviated COVID-19 spring season (2021). ... Was a six-time individual district track and field champion (100, 200 and 400 meters; three long jump titles) and won the regional title this spring in the triple jump. ... Voted team captain for three years in soccer and basketball, and this year for track and field. ... Named Shadle Park's outstanding female athlete twice (2021, 2023), and is the only underclassman in school history to win the award. ... Helped girls track program become academic state champions for 2A in 2023. ... Invitee to two postseason all-star basketball games in 2022 and last winter. ... Played club for the Spokane-based Scotties and Washington East in soccer, and Snipers in basketball.

School/community achievements: Weighted 4.35 GPA/unweighted 4.0 GPA in AP courses (one of three students in school to earn Summa Cum Laude honors); named Shadle Park's "Spokane Scholar in World Languages" for being bi-lingual (English, Spanish); four-year National Honor Society member; two-year member of school's Leadership Class, and was a senior-class ASB officer; named the 2022-earned Presidential Scholarship through PLU; volunteered for "Generation Alive" fund-raiser, raising more than $3,500 and packaging more than 29,000 meals for local charities, including food banks; volunteered for "Necessity Drive," which collected more than 1,700 hygiene-related products for local schools and the Union Gospel Mission; volunteered as a recess attendant and mentor at local elementary schools; volunteered through club soccer for "Blessings Under the Bridge," gathering food and blankets for local homeless shelters.

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