By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

At the conclusion of a high school athlete’s career, the select few have the opportunity - and a rare one, at that - to continue playing their sport of choice at the collegiate level. Even rarer is making the decision between multiple sports in college. A DHS Alum had that opportunity, and is making a move that will put her closer to home.


Abbie Warren, a 2009 graduate of Dexter High School, is the daughter of Phil and Cindy Warren, and is transitioning from a collegiate volleyball career at Mineral Area College to playing basketball at Three Rivers College


Warren enjoyed success in two sports during her time at DHS: volleyball and basketball. In volleyball, the team finished second in districts three years in a row. She was selected to the All-District Second Team her sophomore and junior year, the All-Conference Second Team her junior year, the All-Region Second Team and SCAA All-Tournament Team her junior and senior year, and the All-Conference and All-District First Team her senior year.


Impressed? That was just one sport.


The Lady ‘Cats finished fourth in the state, along with an undefeated record going into the Show-Me Showdown, during Warren’s junior season. She was named to the All-Region Second Team and received the team’s Rebound and Free-Throw awards during her junior season. Warren’s senior year, the team finished second in districts, and she was named to All-Conference, All-District, and All-Region First Team and the Twin Rivers Christmas Classic All-Tournament Team. She won the team’s Free-Throw, Rebound, Defensive, and MVP Awards, was named DHS Female Athlete of the Year, and was the Standard Democrat Player of the Year.


 Warren began playing basketball at a young age - her career essentially began once her family moved to Dexter from Bethalto, Ill. - and began playing competitively in elementary school.

“I started playing on a traveling team in fourth grade through sixth grade,” Warren recalled. “We were coached by Kim Waldner. I decided to just stick with school ball in middle school and high school though.”


Warren initially chose to take a volleyball scholarship to Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo., despite a full-ride offer from Three Rivers College and noting that basketball was always ‘the favorite’.

“I picked volleyball over basketball my senior year,” Warren said. “I had a week to decide if I was going to take the full ride offer [to Three Rivers]. I thought I would get burnt out on basketball since I’d played it longer. I thought I’d have more fun with [volleyball] and I had more room to improve, but it turned out that I missed my true love of basketball.”


“I’ve always liked the physicality of basketball more - the higher contact involved was more fun,” Warren added. “They’re both team sports, but with volleyball, if one person is down and one person isn’t doing their job, the whole teams gets down. I liked the teamwork aspect better, and all the trick plays, but basketball was definitely always the favorite for me.”



After an outstanding freshman season at MAC - the Cardinals posted one of the most successful seasons in school history, including a 26-8 record and being consistently ranked in the top 20 of the NCJAA national polls - Warren decided that it was time to make a change.

“I enjoyed [my time at] MAC, but I missed basketball,” Warren said. “I only wanted to play one sport; MAC wanted me to play both. That’s why I chose to switch to Three Rivers, because I could just play basketball and not both."


Warren contacted Three Rivers to see if there was still a chance for her to play basketball there.


“I decided that I just wanted to play basketball, so I contacted Three Rivers to see if there was still room for me to play,” Warren said. “They said there was, and I accepted.”


A tenacious rebounder during her high school days, Warren noted her older brother, James Ford - a key contributor on the Bearcat’s 2004 trip to the State Tournament - as a key influence on her physical style of play.

“My brother was a huge influence for me as a basketball player. James is six years older than me, and he was always playing basketball out in the yard. He taught me everything - I didn’t like it sometimes,” Warren said, laughing, “but he was patient and always went over and over things I needed to learn and get better at. I went to all his games and watched his journey to state, and I grew up always wanting to be like him - he was a good influence for me.”

Warren will be the third member of the Lady Cats’ State Tournament team to go on to play at Three Rivers College - Jill Temples and Ashlee Taylor graduated from TRC in 2010 - and the fifth player to move on to play at the next level - Katelyn and Cathryn Heil are currently playing at Missouri S&T.


Three Rivers College has already signed three other young ladies to fill an inside role, with Warren being the most recent addition to the roster. She aims to land a starting spot this winter, and to hopefully help lead the Lady Raiders to a national title.