Dane Warp up for Little Sullivan Award Sunday

For the second year in a row, local student-athlete is up for one of Montana's most prestigious awards, and that award has as much to do with life away from sports, a sit does on it.

Former Havre Blue Pony great, and former Carroll College All-American Dane Warp is a finalist for the 2020 AAU Little Sullivan Award, which will be announced Sunday night via a virtual ceremony from Fairmont Hot Springs.

The banquet, originally scheduled for May 9 at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, will be broadcast virtually via YouTube at 6 p.m. Sunday night. The eight finalists - four females and four males - will be honored, and the two winners will be announced.

Warp is one of four men's finalists. The list also includes former Oregon State star basketball Tres Tinkle, originally from Missoula, former Dickinson State star wrestler Gresch Jones, from Sidney, and former Montana Western linebacker Jason Ferris, who hails from Dillon.

"The Montana AAU Little Sullivan committee hopes everyone enjoys the presentation," said Mike Ward, chairman of the Montana AAU Little Sullivan committee. "While we would have preferred to hold the event in person, because we truly enjoy getting to meet the finalists, we are excited to be able to honor the finalists that have earned their place."

The honor is given to the top amateur athletes in Montana who have showcased excellence on and off the playing fields.

Warp has certainly done that.

Not only was he an NAIA All-American for the Fighting Saints in 2020, but he is a two-time First-Team Frontier All-Conference performer, who averaged nearly 20 points per game for the Saints over a brilliant last two seasons. Warp played for Carroll for four straight seasons, but really broke out in his junior campaign, and that carried over into his senior season, where he averaged 19.4 points per game, while grabbing five rebounds per night. In a season that was cut short by the pandemic, Warp also shot 49 percent from the field, 44 percent from the 3-point-line and 85 percent from the foul line, all team highs for the Saints.

Warp leaves Carroll 13th on the all-time scoring list, accumulating 1,545 points with a career average of 12 points per contest - 19.4 this season. During his four years, Carroll won 110 games compared to 29 losses, while also making it to the 2019 NAIA national championship game.

Of course, off the court, Warp is equally as talented, driven and hard-working. He has been an honors student all through his time at Havre Public Schools and at Carroll, where he earned a pre-med degree. He now attends Pacific Northwest University Medical School in Yakima, Washington, where he intends to become an emergency room doctor. While at Carroll, Warp was one of only 10 NAIA academic all-Americans recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Warp, of course, has been that way his entire academic career. While becoming Montana's All-Time leading passer in football for the Blue Ponies, and the Havre boys' all-time leading scorer in basketball, he carried a 4.0 GPA throughout his high school career, while also volunteering and helping in numerous community service and school-related activities.

"He's going to go to medical school, wants to be an emergency room doctor, keep the blood pumping. He wants some excitement and he'll be a great doctor," Carroll head coach Kurt Paulson said of Warp earlier this summer. "Shoot, I'll be calling him to donate back to the program here before you know it. I anticipate some great things out of him and know that he'll still be involved (with Carroll) and we'll keep in touch with him and wish him well at the next phase."

Warp will be honored during Sunday night's ceremony from Fairmont Hot Springs, where the Male and Female AAU Little Sullivan Award winners will be announced. Former Northern wrestler Brandon Weber won the award last year. The four female finalists are: University of Montana golfer Teigan Avery, former North Dakota State University track and field athlete Paige Harris, former University of Montana basketball player McKenzie Johnston and former Butte state swimming champion Catherine Russo.

The Little Sullivan Awards Ceremony can be viewed on Youtube starting at 6 p.m. Sunday night.