And every time senior heavyweight Eloheim Palma steps on the mat for Cary High, all three things are exemplified.

He's been named Most Outstanding Wrestler in three tournaments already this season, and the No. 2 ranked heavyweight in the nation and back-to-back state champion is currently undefeated. He's got his sights set on a third straight state title at 285 and even a national championship, and has no problems in discussing how to get there.

"I don't like to set any limits for myself. A lot of people shoot for the state championship or a conference or regional championship. I know how good I am, and I don't want anything less than a national title," said Eloheim, who finished national runner-up last year. "Every day, whether I'm practicing or wrestling on the mats or in tournaments, it's all practice for that one moment when I'm in the national final."

In 2007, Eloheim became the first 285-pound wrestler in the school's storied history to win a state championship and also the first sophomore.

His dominance has continued throughout his Imp career, wrestling with an aggressive style that most other heavyweights stay away from. Most other matches at 285 feature two cautious wrestlers, both trying not to give up any points and ride out the match after getting any sort of lead — but that's not Eloheim's style.

"He'll put it right on the line and attack, attack, attack ... Eloheim wrestles more like a lighter weight, he just opens up and goes after it," Cary coach Jerry Winterton said. "He's probably going to have to tune it down some, but with good coaching he's really going to be a heck of a heavyweight. He's got all the tools because he's quick and he's powerful, and that quickness is what makes him different from all of the heavies."

It usually doesn't take long for a Palma match to end, as Eloheim has made it a ritual of pinning opponents, typically within the first period.

"He is a ball of fire. He goes out there from the time the whistle blows to the end of the third period, he's 110 percent going 100 miles an hour. That's just his style, he just never takes a break," older brother Janior Palma said. "That's probably one of his best qualities, wrestling-wise, that he just keeps on going."

Janior went 50-1 at 285-pounds in his final year at Cary before going on to N.C. State, where he was ACC Champion his senior year.

Athletic excellence seems to run in the Palma household, as sister Norjai is also a junior thrower for North Carolina's track and field team.

"It's just the mentality we grew up with. Nothing less than the best for us," Eloheim said. "If we win or lose, we have to compete at a level that when we go home and look in the mirror we can say 'I gave it all I had.'"

Eloheim got an early jump to his wrestling career. He began when Jainor did, even though Jainor was in high school and Eloheim was in fourth grade. The two have wrestled in the living room as well as the mat room ever since, and for now, older brother still has the upper hand.

"It would make sense that I would have him because I wrestled him in college and he's young and five years younger than me. But I tell you what, he's catching up to me. I still have a bit of the experience, and that's what I'm hanging onto, but he's getting better and better everyday," said Jainor, now an assistant coach at Cary Academy.

"He wants to dominate. He's trying to dominate his opponent and trying to be perfect. He understands that when he gets to nationals in a couple of months or in college that he has to fix all these little mistakes or weaknesses, so he tries to get the fastest pin or the fastest takedown so he can finish his matches as efficiently and as fast as he can."

Eloheim said he would wait until after the season to focus on where he wants to wrestle next year, and he will have no shortage of options.

"He's one of the best wrestlers ever to come out of North Carolina in that he's already gotten five or six full-rides," Winterton said. "For a kid from North Carolina to get a full-ride, there's only a handful of kids that have ever gotten that. Most kids get some kind of package deal."

Appalachian State, N.C. State, North Carolina, Virginia, Purdue and Boston University are just a few of the schools expressing interest, although it's unclear which schools have offered either full or partial scholarships.

And when the time comes to decide where to wrestle next, Eloheim will have a pretty good consultant in his corner, as Jainor has already been through the process and isn't far removed from college wrestling himself.

"I try to prepare him for what he should expect to come to college. I pretty much just ask him what he wants to do and I help him look at all the positives of the schools he's looking at and the negatives too," Jainor said.

"When the time comes, he'll just look at what's good for him academically and athletically and what opportunities each college holds."

Until that time comes, Eloheim remains committed to excellence. Even if his match is less than a minute, he said he often finds something to improve upon.

And as he continues to cross out the lofty goals set before him this year, he will continue to live up to the meaning of "Palma."

"One thing I always remember since I've began my freshman year, is no matter what, it's going to take work. Nothing's going to be handed to you easy," Eloheim said.

"I'm very dominant right now, I know I'm in the states, but I know to always be prepared whether I'm up 15 points or down 15 points just to keep wrestling because that's what has brought me from my freshman year to where I am now."