The latest high school national champion to sign with the Wolfpack is heavyweight Eloheim Palma of nearby Cary High School. Palma, the younger brother of former Wolfpack standout Jainor Palma, was ranked the No. 1 high school heavyweight in the nation for much of the past school year.
He won his third consecutive North Carolina 4-A state championship in February before rolling through through six matches and winning the national championship at the Senior National High School Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach earlier this month.
Palma officially finished his season with a 62-0 record, which does not count the six matches at the national tournament. Palma also won an exhibition match in January when he defeated third-ranked Sean Owen at the Dapper Dan Classic in Pittsburgh, Pa. At the national tournament, he defeated 12th-ranked John Glenn 5-4, fourth-ranked Toby Erickson by first-period fall, and second-ranked Roger McCovey 3-2.
Including his earlier victory over Owen at the Dapper Dan Classic, Palma either defeated or finished ahead of seven nationally ranked wrestlers between March 15 and April 5.
Palma finished his career at Cary as a three-time state champion with a career won-lost mark of 222-9. He went 62-0 as a senior and 55-0 as a junior. He won 181 of his final 182 high school bouts, again not counting national tournaments and national exhibitions.
As stated earlier, Palma is the third high school national champion signed by the Wolfpack for 2009-10. In November, NC State signed 189-pounder Andrew Tumlin of Harrison (Ohio) High School. Tumlin won the national freestyle championship at 189 pounds earlier this month. Two weeks ago, the Pack signed 130-pounder Dale Shull of Fort Lupton High School in Greeley, Col. Shull won the 130-pound bout at the Senior National High School Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach, the same tournament where Palma was crowned national champ.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now