09/11/2025
STUCKER STORIES EXTRA
The Wrestlers of 9/11 (Part 3)
Written by Hall if Fame Coach Mike Henry
On September 11, 2001, 10 year old Thea Trinidad was living in Queens, New York with her mother and brother. She happened to be home from school that day due to a doctor's appointment. In the morning, their phone rang with a familiar voice on the other end.
It was her father Michael who worked as a telecom analyst for Cantor Fitzgerald at the World Trade Center. His office was on the 103rd floor of the North Tower.
He greeted his former wife Monique with stunning news, " I'm calling to say goodbye."
Michael explained that he was trapped in the building with no way out. He spoke to Monique who was unaware that little Thea was listening on an extension phone. The conversation was brief because by 10:28 am, the tower quickly began collapsing and was soon became a pile of rubble. For the more than 1400 victims who had been trapped inside the massive skyscraper, the nightmare was over.
“My dad was a wrestler in high school,” recalls Thea. “He was really good and had a great amateur background."
Michael was a 1987 graduate of Newburgh (NY) High School, about 60 miles north of NYC, where he was a member of the school's mat squad.
Thea didn't have an opportunity to grapple in high school as it wasn't offered to girls back then but in 2010, she began a career on the television side as a "professional" wrestler. Today, she performs under the moniker Zelina Vega but her thoughts are never far from her father.
"I use wrestling as my connection with my dad because that's something that me and him shared," Trinidad said. " And I pray to my dad and hope that he gives me good luck. I want to show people that my biggest inspiration was taken from me physically, but he will never leave me emotionally and spiritually."
* * * * *
There are events in New York City that are held on a daily basis which was also the case in September 2001. In the fall, the Yankees were taking on the Arizona Diamondbacks in baseball's World Series; the Giants and Jets had just started their football seasons; and the Phantom of the Opera was still the hottest theater ticket on Broadway after 15 years.
But as search crews rummaged through the carnage of where the World Trade Center had once stood, arrangements had already been underway for two years by USA Wrestling to serve as host for the 2001 World Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden.
The tournament was set for September 26-29 with a total of 692 athletes from 82 nations expected to arrive in New York, making the field for that year's tournament the largest in history. The competition was part of a plan to showcase the city as they prepared to submit a bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.
USA Wrestling contacted FILA (the sport's international governing body) about postponing the event but still keeping it in the New York metro area. FILA originally agreed with the World Championships being held in a venue of neighboring New Jersey like the Meadowlands Arena.
But those plans fell by the wayside. The 2001 competition went through several sets of alternate plans that included potential sites in Las Vegas; Baton Rouge, LA; and other locations on foreign soil.
With the tremendous impact of all of the horrible events of 9/11, USA Wrestling and FILA closely examined what they would do about the championships that were only days away.
After a brief break, Major League Baseball, the National Football League and College Football returned to their stadiums but their situation vastly differed from wrestling. Security issues that didn't exist prior to 9/11 had to be moved to the forefront as the terrorists had hailed from countries in the Middle East which were known for their rabid enthusiasm of the mat sport. It was anticipated that a large number of fans from the region would be coming to America to view the international competition in person.
A great deal of work had already gone into the preparation for the tournament but nobody expected an act of war to take place just blocks from the competition's site. On Friday, September 14, USA Wrestling issued a formal request to FILA that the World Championships be postponed.
On Monday, September 17, the organization announced to all international wrestling federations that the tournament had been postponed out of respect for the families of the victims. But it was noted that the Championships would go forth on a different date and at a new location that would be announced in the near future. It was eventually decided that the freestyle competition would take place in Sofia, Bulgaria with Greco-Roman matches being held in Patras, Greece.
Two college wrestlers, Cael Sanderson (freestyle) of Iowa State and Garrett Lowney (Greco-Roman) of Minnesota, had qualified for the World Championships. Each decided not to compete in the rescheduled format due to their college obligations.
It took time to heal the wounds but in 2003, the Freestyle Wrestling Championships for both men and women were held at Madison Square Garden with Sanderson representing the USA. He won a silver and went on to capture the gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Since then, the Utah native has become the ultra-successful head coach at Penn State where his teams have won 12 out of the last 14 NCAA team championships during his tenure.
The Greco-Roman Competition was held in Créteil, France that year but Lowney was unable to compete due to injuries. He did return to take part in the 2004 Olympic Games. The University of Minnesota graduate has gone on to a productive career in private business.
Each event was a tremendous success and marked another victory for America over the terrorists who had tried once again but failed to destroy the United States.
Below: Thea and Michael Trinidad in happier days.
