Warmerdam got his start in pole vaulting in his backyard using the limb of a peach tree and landing in a pit of piled up dirt.

Vaulting throughout his career with a bamboo pole, Warmerdam was the first vaulter to clear 15 feet (4.57 m), accomplishing that feat at UC Berkeley on April 13, 1940.

His highest outdoor vault was 15' 7-3/4" (4.77 m), achieved at the Modesto Relays in 1942,[6] a record which stood until 1957 when Bob Gutowski broke the mark using a metal pole.

Warmerdam won the James E. Sullivan Award in 1942, but was never able to compete in the Olympics because the 1940 and 1944 games were cancelled due to World War II, and by 1948 he was coaching professionally and therefore ineligible.

His team won the second NCAA Men's Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, essentially at home at Ratcliffe Stadium.