When Maddie Pulis hits the mat, there’s a switch that turns on.

It’s all smiles until the lights shine bright.

Pulis, a senior at Webster City, doesn’t necessarily enjoy being in pressure situations. But when it’s time to go, she finds another gear.

“I actually don’t really like competing,” Pulis said. “I hate all of the pressure, but my favorite part is shaking hands with the girl to start the match — then I lose all that pressure.”

Pulis will graduate from Webster City this spring, but with no girls wrestling program yet at Webster City, she had to find another place to compete.

For the past two seasons as a sanctioned sport, Pulis has been competing at Fort Dodge Senior High. She is now a two-time state qualifier.

The decision to travel 30 minutes west every day for practice was one she was glad she made.

“Coming to Fort Dodge was the best decision,” Pulis said. “It made me better as a wrestler and a person.

“The people over there accepted me right away. It feels like a second home.”

Before joining the FDSH wrestling team, she competed for the Dodger swim program and was teammates with current Dodger wrestlers Delaney O’Connor and Gracie Harvey.

“The first time I met Maddie was after a swim practice at Fort Dodge,” said Fort Dodge head coach Jon Koenig. “She is just a nice person who talks to everyone and is a good teammate.”

Joining wrestling was simple for Pulis. She just wanted to stay active, and the sport was one she had been familiar with

“She knew Delaney and Gracie from swimming,” Koenig said. “So she knew them from swimming and personally.

“She’ll definitely be hard to replace next year.”

It has been an easy transition from Webster City to Fort Dodge, which is in part due to her teammates.

“I haven’t had a lot of hurdles in competing for Fort Dodge,” Pulis said. “They accepted me from day one.

“I absolutely love the girls in Fort Dodge. It was almost right away that we all became friends.”

Pulis enters the state meet with a record of 32-8 and is the 11th-seed. She will face 22nd-seed Camryn Cothrell (21-4) of Cedar Rapids Prairie in the opening round on Thursday.

“My goals from the start of the year have been the same: just to place at state. So far, I’m getting close to that with only a few setbacks,” Pulis said. “After losing (at state) last year, it motivated me knowing I was going into this season with the same team and even more experience.

“I plan to just wrestle my matches. I’m not looking at the bracket or how good the other girl is. I’m just doing what I came to do.”

While being a Dodger, Pulis has found a new family who helped guide her on the mat and with her goals.

“My biggest influences have been my coaches and teammates,” Pulis said. “My coaches in season and out of season have pushed me and made me love the sport even more.

“My teammates have been right next to me the whole way.”

The state wrestling meet will begin in Coralville on Thursday at Xtream Arena.