Freshman heavyweight Eloheim Palma is no stranger to competition.
‘There were high expectations in the house,’ said Jainor Palma, Eloheim’s older brother and a former four year starter for the Pack and ACC heavyweight champ in 2007. ‘There was a competition between us. It always felt good to come home and try to challenge each other every day, comparing accomplishments and all that. We definitely competed against one another.’
Eloheim’s older sister, Norjai Palma, is a senior track athlete at UNC-Chapel Hill who finished in the top 20 in the shot put at the 2009 ACC outdoor championships. His parents were also both athletes. The Palmas are from Costa Rica, where Eloheim’s father was an amateur boxer and his mother ran track and played basketball for her high school.
Such an upbringing might help to explain the success the former high school National Champion has enjoyed during his freshman season. After a high school career during which he won his final 117 matches, Eloheim turned down the likes of defending national champion Iowa to wrestle for coach Carter Jordan and the Wolfpack. So far, Eloheim, whose 17-12 record is the second best on the team, has met and exceeded the expectations brought about by his dominance at the high school level.
‘It’s quite amazing what he has done at heavyweight as a freshman,’ Jordan said. ‘He has wrestled a brutal schedule. I would imagine his RPI is up there in the top 5 in the country. He has wrestled just about every ranked guy, from the no 1 guy in the country all the way to the 17th guy in the country.’
The strength of the opposition he has wrestled this season has made Eloheim’s success all the more impressive. He has squared off against more nationally ranked opponents-a total of four-than any of his teammates. His 10-3 defeat of No. 11 Benjamin Berhow of Minnesota is the only victory any Wolfpack wrestler has posted over a nationally ranked opponent this season.
‘I’ve been in the exact same position, being a starting heavyweight at N.C. State as a true freshman,’ Jainor said. ‘And I understand the transition you have to make from high school to college. I definitely am very proud of him and I think he has done a fabulous job.’
Jainor said he suspects that much of Eloheim’s success is due to the young age at which his younger brother began expecting excellence of himself.
‘Me and him wrestled a lot as we grew up together,’ Jainor said. ‘He learned from my mistakes and understood what were the right things to be successful and what were the wrong things, what to stay away from. He started earlier than I did and he was able to learn from my experiences wrestling. We definitely competed against each other always. Whether it was in the living room of the house or actually in the mat room, he definitely pushed himself at a higher pace than he would have otherwise.’
His three losses to ranked opponents include a 1-3 loss to No. 14 Nathan Fernandez of Oklahoma, a 2-6 loss to No. 13 Tucker Lane of Nebraska, and a 0-6 loss to No. 5 Scott Steele of Navy.
‘He has not been overpowered by anyone he has wrestled,’ Jordan said. ‘That’s what is amazing, to come in as a freshman and be in that position. He has been right in there in every match he has lost.’
Eloheim said he is pleased with the steady improvements he has made as the season has progressed.
‘I’m doing pretty well with how I’m progressing every week,’ Eloheim said. ‘It’s an awesome thing, not taking any steps back, especially as a freshman.’
In addition to what he has already accomplished, Eloheim is also in position to break an N.C. State record set by Tab Thacker, who was a three-time All American and won the National Championship at heavyweight in 1984.
‘I think it’s a fair bet he’s going to win more than 20 matches, which will break the record set by Tab Thacker for true freshmen,’ Jordan said.
Though his coach and older brother have been blown away by his effort so far this season, Eloheim said he is concentrating on improving upon what he calls a ‘tough’ start to his college wrestling career.
‘It has been tough and I’ve realized firsthand the difference between high school and college athletics,’ Eloheim said. ‘It’s all a learning experience. But I haven’t limited my expectations. I’m still going out there with the intention of going to nationals and hopefully doing well out there.’
His older brother Jainor said he expects even more from Eloheim.
‘He is on his way to doing big things,’ Jainor said. ‘He is on his way to becoming a national champ. It’s not a question of if he can be a national champion; it’s a question of how soon he can do it and how many times he is going to do it.’
