An impressive total of 167 Syosset student-athletes joined 25,000 others from the Tri-State area and beyond to show their pride in their country and raise a significant amount of money for an important cause. Members of the Syosset High School Braves girls and boys cross-country teams, girls and boys soccer programs, football team, kickline squad, girls swimming team and girls volleyball team participated in the annual Tunnel to Towers Run on Sept. 27. The 5K run traces the footsteps of fallen FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller,
who strapped on his gear and ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 to help save lives, ultimately losing his own. The event raises money to construct specially adapted smart homes for the most catastrophically injured first responders and service members.
This is the 13th year Syosset High School athletes have fundraised for the cause. The group sported T-shirts that read “Syosset Braves — Proud to be an athlete! Proud to be an American!” Even more remarkable than the student turnout was the amount of money raised by the Syosset athletes for Tunnel to Towers– $10,480, which brings the school’s 13-year total to just over $80,000.
“All the athletes and coaches did a phenomenal job…it was a great day to be a Brave,” said Diane Malley, a business education teacher and coach who coordinates the district’s participation in the program with other coaches and the athletic department. “We have all grown very fond of this event and the greater experience it creates for our student-athletes.”
Photo Caption: Syosset student-athletes donned T-shirts that read “Syosset Braves
— Proud to be an athlete! Proud to be an American!” for their participation in this year’s Tunnel to Towers run, through which they raised $10,480 for firefighters and first responders.
Photo courtesy of the Syosset School District
