Palo Verde senior earns rare fencing scholarship to Stanford

Stephen R. Sylvanie / Special to the Home News

Palo Verde senior Kian Ameli, left, gets some one-on-one training with U.S. Fencing Association Hall of Fame coach Maitre Yves Auriol inside the Las Vegas Sports Park on Dec. 3. Ameli has signed a letter of intent to fence for Stanford University, a first for his club.

By Christopher Drexel

Friday, Dec. 12, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Stephen R. Sylvanie / Special to the Home News

Palo Verde High senior Kian Ameli poses for a photo before a practice session inside the Las Vegas Sports Park.

Stephen R. Sylvanie / Special to the Home News

Two-time U.S. national fencing champ and Palo Verde senior Kiam Ameli practices inside the Las Vegas Sports Park on Dec. 3.

When Kian Ameli realized he had been accepted to Stanford, he was excited. A month later, when the Palo Verde senior learned he also earned a scholarship for fencing, he was downright ecstatic.

Ameli became the first competitor from the Fencing Academy of Nevada to receive a Division I fencing scholarship when he signed with the Cardinal in November.

"Getting a scholarship was the icing on the cake after getting into Stanford," Ameli said. "It's kind of overwhelming. I don't think I really understand how much it means, but I'd like to think that I do."

Stanford has two full fencing scholarships, one of a handful of schools that do. The list includes Notre Dame and Penn State.

Cynthia Ameli, Kian's mother, said, "So it's pretty amazing, especially at a school like Stanford."

Ameli had also been recruited by Harvard, Princeton and Yale, but their Ivy League schools don't award athletic scholarships.

Ameli was accepted to Stanford in October. He currently is ranked third in Palo Verde's 2009 graduating class, carrying a 4.72 grade point average and a perfect ACT score.

Ameli's 22nd fencing ranking for males ages 20 and younger earned the scholarship. Ameli is also a three-time national champion in the 17 and younger category.

"Kian is very talented, very smart and he sees the sport very well," said Yves Auriol, Ameli's coach at the Fencing Academy of Nevada, which is in the Las Vegas Sports Park.

"When he started fencing, he wasn't the best athlete, but then he went to the gym and got in shape. They are looking at him as a future Stanford standout."

Ameli became interested in fencing when he saw it on television during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He pestered his parents for the next few years to try it.

Because they wanted him to be in a sport — he didn't enjoy basketball, tennis or soccer — Ameli's parents first took him to fencing at age 10. After that, he was hooked.

"Once I started, I really enjoyed it because it was a sport I actually could do," Ameli said. "I think that's what kept me in it. But I never thought I would end up doing fencing in college, especially not with a scholarship."

Christopher Drexel can be reached at 990-8929 or christopher.drexel@hbcpub.com.