Senior Kailey Warren jumps, dribbles and dives en route to being a Bearcathlete

There’s something to be said about a student who can take three AP classes, pull straight A’s, and still finds the time to play 3 varsity sports.

There’s considerably more to say about senior Kailey Warren, who has earned female Bearcathlete of the Year by excelling on varsity track, basketball, and volleyball while managing a sky-high 4.2 GPA.

What makes Warren so valuable as an athlete is her versatility; obviously, it takes a competitor with a wide array of abilities to start and compete at the varsity level of three separate sports. Digging deeper yields that Warren also contributed to each individual sport in profoundly differing ways. On varsity track, Warren competed in three events; long jump, high jump, and triple jump. For basketball, she took on the “Swiss Army Knife” role, playing any and every position asked of her by her coaches (though she’s a natural forward) while leading the team in scoring with 6.3 points per game. However, Warren’s athletic prowess reaches its apex when she’s prowling the volleyball court.

“I’m way better at it than I am at the other sports. I was on varsity for three years. And I just love it. I never get tired of it. It’s something I want to continue playing for the rest of my life,” said Warren, whose contributions include being top four on the team in kills (4.4 per game), digs (3.5pg), aces (1.3pg), and blocks (0.4pg).

Warren describes herself as a player with strong court vision, which aides her ability to block shots, hit the ball in the gaps of opposing defenses, and react quickly to hit balls in order to make outstanding saves. Her coach, DJ Bigelow, is most impressed with the power Warren shows off while playing.

“She’s a fierce competitor. She’s a really strong player, whatever she’s doing. There are players that are good but they’re not…strong; whether she’s passing or hitting she’s definitely a strong player,” said Bigelow, who coached Warren this year.

Such praise is backed up by Warren’s sophomore teammate Chloe Kerns.

“She was one of our best hitters and she was a great digger in the back row,” said Kerns, who added that, “She encourages everyone and always gives 110 percent…She was always willing to help us with anything.”

Helping is something Warren excels at both on and off the court; as a member of both advanced peer and athletic training, where she managed to work games all year even while constantly playing sports of her own, Warren has dedicated a large portion of time to helping those around her. It’s characteristics like this that make her a natural leader, someone willing to say and do everything the team needs.

“I’ve learned that the best way to win is to communicate. I’m constantly talking to make sure everybody is on the same page, and this year I feel like my biggest role was uniting the team and keeping them together through tough games. I’ll be the one to pick someone up after a dive, or give small tips for improvement, or get everyone together in between plays to celebrate. I lead by example. It’s easier to keep a positive attitude, when you know the rest of the team is depending on you,” said Warren.

Bigelow lauded Warren’s organization as another large leadership trait.

“She’s very organized, and especially off the court, that impacted us in a bunch of positive ways, she wanted to be able to be doing things together, and planning things together whether it was team lunches or something else. She’s very organized and took the initiative to lead,” said Bigelow.

Warren is preparing to head off to Boise State on academic scholarship this summer, where she hopes to continue playing the sport she loves. Though she’s received offers to play volleyball at different schools, she’ll attempt to walk-on to Boise’s volleyball team and play club if she doesn’t make the school team.
In leading the volleyball team, competing at the highest level in basketball and track, and putting together an academic record to be proud of, Warren exemplifies what the student-athlete should strive to be; she is without the shadow of a doubt a Bearcathlete.