"The Punisher," Peyton Mullin, is headed home to Section V with the highest Fargo finish of her career!
Matching her No. 4 seed in the Junior 235-pound bracket, Mullin bounced back from a semifinal loss to Indiana's Aubrey Bartkowiak (No. 2 nationally by Sports Illustrated) to finish fourth, compiling an impressive 4-2 record over the three-day tournament.
In the consolation semifinals, Mullin wasted little time making a statement. After securing a takedown, she immediately transitioned to a power half and turned 2026 Illinois State sixth-place finisher and 2026 USAW Junior Folkstyle fifth-place finisher Jasmine Enriquez to her back for a dominant 41-second fall.
Her bronze-medal bout against Michigan's Mya Brandenburg (two-time state placer, 2026 state third) was more a case of bad luck than poor execution.
In an extremely even matchup, Mullin drew the second activity clock. Tied 1-1 on criteria in the second period, she was forced to open up offensively and surrendered a pair of counter spin-behind takedowns in the closing moments, resulting in a 5-1 loss that didn't fully reflect how competitive the match was.
The highlights of Mullin's trip to the Land of the Roughriders came Friday, when she knocked off two returning Fargo All-Americans—Shelby Wells (two-time 16U All-American) and Halle Spears (2025 Junior third-place finisher).
Her fourth-place finish surpasses the back-to-back sixth-place performances she recorded in the Cadet division in 2024 and 2025.
With one more year of scholastic eligibility remaining, we can't wait to see Peyton back under the Dome in 2027, chasing that elusive Fargo stop sign.