Fairmont Preparatory Academy

Fairmont Preparatory Academy
School Founded	1953
Team Established	1999
History
City	Anaheim, California
Team Colors	Green and Black
Principal	Carolyn Lucia
Head Coach	Robert "Bob" Varnold (1999–present)
Associate/Other Head Coach(es)	John Sonnichsen (1999–2009)
National Championships
State Championships	2023 (Division III)
Regional/County Championships
Region/County Location	Orange County
Highest Finish	1st in Division III at California State 2023
School Website	https://www.fairmontschools.com/campuses/preparatory-academy/

Team History

The Forgotten Era (before c. 2021)

Fairmont Prep’s Academic Decathlon team has long been led by the venerable Robert Varnold, better known as Dr. V or Bob. The team has also received much support from the school’s founder, Mr. David Jackson.

Little is known about the team’s early history beyond short snippets of stories Dr. V tells his current students, and thus the Forgotten Era is largely lost to time due to the limitations of oral history.

A few notable events include Fairmont Prep’s team moving into Division I for one year, although the team was unable to win any medals that year; varsity student Cameron (last name unknown) breaking 6,000 points, setting a school record that has yet to be broken over ten years later; honors student Aaron S. placing tenth in the county in 2014, becoming the only Fairmont student to place within the top 10 individuals in their GPA category until seven years later (varsity student Felix T. in 2021); and the 2017-18 team achieving one of the highest scores in the school’s history and nearly qualifying to the state competition (although records of this score have since been lost).

The Rise of the Huskies (c. 2021-2023)

In the 2021-22 competition season, Fairmont Prep’s team flourished under the leadership of captain Pola P. The team qualified for the state competition for the first time in the school’s history, and local legends purport that Dr. V was so happy after hearing the call from Kristin Rigby that he jumped out of his chair and danced around in circles; however, limited documentation exists to support this story, and many historians believe it was fabricated. Given the unprecedented and unexpected nature of the team's state qualification, several students struggled to adapt their preexisting commitments around this new and exciting opportunity, leading to notable memories such as team member Lindsay Y. delivering her speech and interview from a golf course. Additionally, since the competition was virtual this year, the team faced unique challenges such as team member Samira M. having to wait over four hours in a Zoom waiting room to give her speech and interview. The team went on to win the 3rd place award in Division IV of the competition, as well as 11 individual subject medals and 2 overall individual medals.

The next year, Pola P., Arnold G., Samira M., and Noelle K. returned, and many new members such as Kim H. quickly proved to be valuable assets to the team. Dr. V was so excited that his team could qualify for states again that he sent out copies of the resource guides over the summer and began hosting meetings as often as six times per week. Together, Fairmont Prep’s team qualified to the state competition once again, becoming the first team in the school’s history to attend the state competition in-person. Ultimately, the team placed 1st in Division III and amassed a total of 23 individual medals and K club pins. However, what was much more valuable than the awards won this year was the lifelong memories they made in Santa Clara, especially the CAD-sponsored Nerd Ball, an impromptu viewing of the hit film Cocaine Bear, and the rooftop gatherings to view the sunrise in the mornings and go stargazing in the evenings.

During this short time period, several school records were broken, including but not limited to the highest overall team score (2023), the highest scholastic score (Arnold G., 2022), the highest honors score (Noelle K., 2023), and the highest state score set by a freshman (Kim H., 2023). As the locals often state, this team was “peak.”

The Fall of the Huskies (2023-24)

The team suffered a great loss after notable members such as Pola P., Arnold G., and Samira M. (collectively known as “the OGs”) graduated. However, in the 2023-24 season, the team grew in size to amass upwards of 25 students. The team was promoted to Division I and was even listed first on the county roster. Pessimists may argue that this occurred solely because the roster was listed alphabetically, but Dr. V knows in his heart that it was because of the team’s greatness.

At the county competition, Fairmont Prep achieved its highest regional score to date (34,3671.1) and ranked fifth in the county, and team members Ryan K. and Noelle K. set their school’s record for regional scores in the scholastic and honors categories, respectively. Additionally, this season marked the first time in the school’s history that any awards were won in Division I of the regional competition. However, only four teams from the county qualified for the state competition this year, and Fairmont Prep was not one of them. In spite of this shocking news, the most tragic part of this competition season is that even today, several team members still owe their captain $7.50 for the furry costumes they wore to Super Quiz.

Although captain Noelle K. considered the team’s performance a success, many students were left disappointed after not qualifying for states, and some sources even allege that the majority of the team ditched the after-party at Yogurtland. However, those that did attend had a great time and grew very fond of their fellow Decathletes at Woodbridge High School and Westminster High School. Additionally, Dr. V was left largely unsatisfied with the team’s performance, allegedly telling Noelle K. “You slacked off” after the award ceremony ended. She has still not recovered from the incident.

The Return of the Huskies (2024-25)

Fairmont Prep’s team will score 40,000 points at regionals and qualify to both states and nationals in the upcoming 2024-25 season. They will walk away with several medals and thousands of dollars in scholarship money, and the lowest individual score will be a whopping 6,500 points. (Source: trust me.)

Performance Chart

Year	Round 1 Score	Round 1 Rank	Regionals Score	Regionals Rank	State Score	State Rank
2024	19,994.2	5	34,367.1	5 (Division I)	DNC	DNC
2023	20,074.2	5	33,985.4	2 (Division II)	35,789.6	1 (Division III)
2022	Unknown	---	30,756.3	2 (Division II)	31,933.1	3 (Division IV)
2021	Unknown	---	Unknown	---	DNC	DNC
2020	15,105.7	12	31,578.8	4 (Division II)	DNC	DNC
2019	16,279.9	10	Unknown	---	DNC	DNC
2018	14,239.9	17	Unknown	4 (Division II)	DNC	DNC
2017	16,877.2	11	Unknown	---	DNC	DNC
2016	17,845.7	12	31,830.6	---	DNC	DNC
2015	9,691.3	28	32,459.6	7 (Division II)	DNC	DNC
2014	Unknown	---	26,157.4	11 (Division II)	DNC	DNC
2013	Unknown	---	Unknown	5 (Division II)	DNC	DNC