But you won't find this 13-year-old eighth-grader on a football field or basketball court.

Jacob Easler is a fencer.

"I've been fencing for about three years," he said. "I had been doing karate for a long time, but it just got kind of boring. My dad got me into fencing because he has been fencing for a while now."

Easler practices at Touche' Fencing Club off Woodlawn Road, and he is a two-time state champion.

Jacob says that despite all the accolades, his school friends haven't warmed up to the sport.

"They don't really care," he said with a giggle. "You really have to be into the sport to care, I guess. My friends are more into paintball, skating, all the normal stuff I guess."

Jacob says fencing is demanding. He says a fencer must practice continuously and study his or her opponent. Fencers hold foils and employ attack moves; the aim is to touch the opponent with the foil.

Jacob has proof of his success.

"I've got about four trophies, one plaque, four gift certificates ," he said recently. "I've got about 13 medals, I think ... I've lost count."

Unlike football or basketball, fencing is a sport in which size doesn't play as big of a factor in whether you win or lose, Jacob says. The sport demands that you use your brain.

Jacob is an A-B honor roll student, is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. He found fencing more attractive than other sports.

"Fencing is a tougher sport to play I would think because there is a lot more strategy," he says. "In football and all those other team sports you have to use strategy too, but I just think it's a little more challenging. Mainly the thing I like about fencing is the challenge."

Jacob's coach, Peter Zay, says Jacob's early start in fencing will benefit him in the long run.

"It's a great age to start," Zay says. "Even younger than 13 is good. Fencing is like playing a chess game, and Jacob can stay with the game mentally, which is very important."

When Jacob isn't at Touche' honing his skills, you can catch him walking his dog, Anubis. The dog draws a striking resemblance to the Egyptian god of the underground, hence the name Anubis.

Jacob credits his father, John Easler, with having the biggest impact on his young fencing career: "He was very helpful ... I learn a lot from him."