Luke Archibeque
Rick Ball Fords Junior Legion shortstop Luke Archibeque is everything a team wants in a shortstop — good glove up the middle, good range, strong throwing arm and speed. As an added bonus, Archibeque is hitting .350 this summer.
“Baseball is my favorite sport,” he said. “It’s always been a family sport. I think I’m better at it than other sports,. Baseball is fun.”
Archibeque, entering his junior year at S-C this fall, is also a good student. He has a 9.7 grade point average on an 11.0 scale. He has not taken the ACT but plans to take it this coming school year. He was not able to find his class academic ranking on the Internet.
“I want to go there to Mizzou to vet school,” he said of his future educational goals. “Unless I get an offer from another school, I will probably not play baseball in college but focus on my classes.”
Archibeque has taken weighted courses at S-C, taking Honors American History and Honors English II last year and this year plans to take Honors English III and Honors American Government.
Archibeque doesn’t belong to any clubs or associations at S-C except the wrestling and baseball teams.
Before high school, Archibeque played in the Sedalia Youth Football League and wrestled in the Sedalia Little Kids Wrestling program.
He started playing baseball at age five in the Sedalia Tee Ball League, progressed up through the Sedalia Little League system, then played traveling baseball with the USSSA division, is now in his third season with the Rick Ball Ford Junior Legion getting called up when he was in eighth grade and has played two years at S-C.
Archibeque started wrestling again in high school, earning second-team All West Central Conference honors in the 120-weight division and was awarded the Most Inspirational Wrestler Trophy by Tiger head coach Joel Sherman this past season.
“I don’t remember who it was against, but it was during the high school season this year,” Archibeque said of his athletic highlight. “I dived sideways and leaped and caught a line drive up the middle.”
For hobbies, Archibeque enjoys working out to strengthen his arm, working with his nephew on baseball and swimming and fishing with his family.
To say the least, Archibeque has a large family with five brothers and sisters: Kurtis Garrett, 31, Sedalia; Michelle Bailey, 28, Sedalia; Eric Archibeque, 26, Sedalia; Adam Archibeque, 22, Butler, Mo., Shea Archibeque, 19, Sedalia and Danyle Archibeque, 12, Sedalia.
Archibeque is the son of Teresa and Paul Archibeque, Sedalia.
