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BALTIMORE ? Sandy Grillo, 16, a member of Milford Mill UMC, is the top-ranked under-18 sabre fencer in Maryland. He has fenced 'since he was nine years old, ' said his mother Stacy Yuhasz. It's unusual for someone under 18 to achieve his level of competence.

STACY YUHASZ

Sandy Grillo, 16, left, is a Maryland champion fencer.

Grillo trains with the former coach of Johns Hopkins, Richard Oles, and enters state and national competitions through a club. He attends St. Paul's School for Boys in Baltimore, which does not have a fencing program.

There are three kinds of fencing sports: foil, epee and sabre. Like any sport, fencing has competitions and rankings, and requires talent and skill that takes a lot of practice. 'It's a year-round commitment, ' said his mother.