U.S. medalists Wynn Michalak (96 kg) and Nicole Woody (48 kg) at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Freestyle Tournament in Jalandhar City, India. Dave Bennett photo JALANDHAR CITY, India – Two U.S. wrestlers won medals on the first day of the 2011 Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Freestyle Wrestling Tournament on Saturday. Capturing a silver medal at the 96 kg/211.5 lbs. division in men’s freestyle was Wynn Michalak (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC). Michalak won his first two bouts, defeating Sumit of India, 2-0, 1-0 and Levon Setutidze of Georgia, 1-1, 3-2. He was defeated in the gold-medal finals by 2010 Asian bronze medalist Mausam Khatri of India, 1-1, 1-3. “Michalak wrestled tough all the way through,†said U.S. coach Dr. Dave Bennett. “He got caught in a throw and an inside trip in the finals, with not enough time to battle back. He managed a takedown but the clock ran out as he was about to turn Khatri.†Michalak, who was an All-American at Central Michigan, is a USOTC freestyle resident athlete. Winning a bronze medal at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. in women’s freestyle was Nicole Woody (Odenton, Md./OCU/Gator WC). She lost her opening match to 2010 Commonwealth Games silver medalist Nirmela Devi of India, but battled back with two wins. She defeated Rekha Dahaya of India, 0-3, 2-2, 1-0 in the bronze-medal bout. “She lost the first period in both of her victories and was trailing in the second period both times, but she managed to suck it up and find a way to win,†said Bennett. Woody was a 2006 Junior World champion, and was a 2011 WCWA Women’s College national champion at 44 kg/97 lbs. Placing fifth at 67 kg/145.5 lbs. was Christen Paysse (Fullerton, Ca./Univ. of the Cumberlands). In her opening bout, she lost to 2010 Junior World bronze medalist Chiaki Iijima of Japan, 0-2, 0-2. She was pinned by 2009 Junior World bronze medalist Kaur Navjot of India in her bronze-medal bout. Two U.S. wrestlers will compete on Friday, Marty Usman (Colorado Springs (GRIT Athletics) at 84 kg/185 lbs. in men’s freestyle and Carlene Sluberski (Fredonia, N.Y./USOEC) at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. in women’s freestyle. Three other U.S. athletes compete on Saturday. Coach Bennett reported that there was a crowd of more than 2,000 youth at the tournament, as well as many adult fans, creating a lot of excitement and enthusiasm in the arena. He said that the atmosphere has fired up the U.S. wrestlers. “The athletes are in good spirits and ready to continue to battle for medals in the remaining weight classes,†said Bennett. SHAHEED BHAGAT SINGH INTERNATIONAL at Jalandhar City, India, Feb. 10 U.S. men’s freestyle performance 96 kg/211.5 lbs – Wynn Michalak, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC), 2nd WIN Sumit (India), 2-0, 1-0 WIN Levon Setutidze (Georgia), 1-1, 3-2 LOSS Mausam Khatri (India), 1-1, 1-3 U.S. women’s freestyle performance 48 kg/105.5 lbs – Nicole Woody, Odenton, Md. (OCU/Gator WC), 3rd LOSS Nirmela Devi (India), 0-3, 0-1 WIN Prianka (India), 1-2, 1-0, 4-0 WIN Rekha Dahiya (India), 0-3, 2-2, 1-0 67 kg/145.5 lbs – Christen Paysse, Fullerton, Ca. (University of the Cumberlands), 5th LOSS Chiaki Iijima (Japan), 0-2, 0-2 LOSS Kaur Navjot (India), 2-4, pin U.S. draws for Friday 84 kg/185 lbs. Men - Marty Usman (Colorado Springs/GRIT Athletics) vs. Gersewak Singh (India) 51 kg/112.25 lbs. Women - Carlene Sluberski (Fredonia, N.Y./USOEC) vs. Neha (India)