DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — With their sights set on winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for the first time, the Iona University women’s lacrosse team recently partook in a special event that has already made them feel like champions.
Twenty-three members of the lacrosse team, known as the Gaels, participated in the 24th annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run and Walk on Sept. 28, running together as a group from the starting point in downtown Brooklyn, through the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, and into lower Manhattan to the foot of the World Trade Center.
“Honestly, it was just a super feeling,” said team captain Victoria Curreri, who is a defender on the team. The senior was a member of the 2025 squad that went to the MAAC finals, where they were bested 12-7 by Fairfield University. The 2026 season begins in February.
“We really wanted to do the run together as a team because it’s for such a good cause, and we know it’s good to give back,” Curreri said.
Sponsored by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the 5K run and walk raises money for the foundation while simultaneously honoring the memory of firefighter Stephen Siller, who was killed when the Twin Towers collapsed in the Sept. 11 attack.
The foundation is a non-profit that builds mortgage-free housing for injured first responders, veterans, and 9/11 survivors.
Siller was off duty on Sept. 11, 2001, but headed to the World Trade Center as soon as he heard about the terror attack. When the tunnel was closed to traffic, he got out of his car, put on his firefighting gear, which weighed approximately 60 pounds, and ran to the towers. The 5K run/walk recreates Siller’s last journey.
This year’s event drew 30,000 participants, according to the foundation’s website.
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The Gaels’ day began with a visit to the Prospect Heights offices of DeSales Media Group (the ministry that produces The Tablet), where they were treated to breakfast and met Msgr. Sean Ogle, chairman of DeSales, who offered a blessing and led the group in prayer.
Taylor Tavernite, a freshman, said the blessing was a gift that got the team off to a good start. “I feel like it really set the tone,” said Tavernite, whose dad, George Tavernite, is a facilities manager for DeSales. “Starting our morning off with a prayer really opened our horizon. We all felt super focused.”
Members of the team agreed that the sights and sounds of the day had an emotional impact.
“Seeing everyone running through the tunnel was an amazing experience,” Curreri said.
“There were a lot of firefighters with gear on running, and people with American flags. And everyone’s chanting, ‘USA! USA!’ Once you get out of the tunnel, you see a bunch of people in the military lined up and a bunch of NYPD and FDNY lined up. Some of them were holding flags. Some were holding banners with pictures of those they’re remembering.” Tavernite, who is an attacker for the team, said the run was a great experience, noting that the spirit of generosity of the participants and spectators struck her.
“You could feel the excitement in the air,” she said. “All those thousands of people. And everyone knew they were coming together for a good cause.”