Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Maddie Pulis of Fort Dodge wrestles against Clear Lake's Olivia Fausnaugh inside Xtreme Arena on Thursday in Coralville.

Before heading off to the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s State Wrestling Championships, which started on Thursday at the Xtream Arena in Coralville, Webster City’s Maddie Pulis had a big goal in mind.

As a member of the Fort Dodge girls’ wrestling team, Pulis’ main objective is to get on the podium. All it takes is to win two matches on Thursday and one match on Friday.

Unfortunately, she fell just a bit short.

On the first day of the girls’ state wrestling tournament, venturing into the third round on the consolation side of the 155 lbs. bracket. However, Pulis was pinned by Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Erika Brokovich in 3:41 on Thursday evening.

Pulis finished her campaign with an 18-8 record.

“(The tournament) was really stressful,” Pulis said, summarizing her grueling slate of matches. “Most of my matches went for at least three periods, but I’ve learned to fix my attitude before I stepped on the mat.”

“It’s made the most difference, and it also helps knowing so many girls here,” she continued. “All of them are so nice, and with my coaches being by my side, I know that my last match is going to be hard.”

With the end of Pulis’ season, there are two Dodger grapplers remaining, as teammates Alexis Ross (135 lbs., quarterfinals) and Mariaha Benedict (125 lbs., fourth round of consolations) remain alive and well in their respective brackets.

Macy Brown (130 lbs.) bowed out in the first consolation round on Thursday afternoon.

Starting her day on the right foot, Pulis defeated Olivia Fausnaugh of Clear Lake with a 3-0 decision. However, Maddie ran into trouble by way of a 7-0 setback at the hands of Western Dubuque’s Josie Jecklin.

Shifting over to the wrestlebacks, Pulis had her hands full with West Fork’s Joslyn Bordwell. Despite holding a 4-1 lead midway through the second period, Bordwell also caught Pulis with a reversal and a nearfall.

Going into the third, Pulis trailed by two at 6-4. Maddie responded with a takedown with 1:06 remaining, forcing the match to move into extra time.

With 54 seconds left, Pulis scored a takedown and advanced to the third round. There, Brokovich ended Pulis’ season.