Pack the Place, a night of Raider pride and celebration marked a historic first for the Glenbard South girls’ basketball team. For this year’s Pack the Place, senior Allie Mizwicki advocated for and secured the 7 p.m. time slot for the girls’ basketball team. 

Pack the Place is an annual event to celebrate all the winter sports at Glenbard South, except swimming since South does not have a pool. The night consists of wrestling, gymnastics, boys and girls basketball, cheer and dance- all happening at the same time. This year’s Pack the Place was scheduled for Friday, January 12th. 

Typically, Pack the Place begins with the girls’ team playing first at 5:30 p.m. and the boys’ team playing second at 7 p.m. However, for this year’s Pack the Place the girls’ team played at 7 p.m. 

“A few girls saw the inequality of guys playing second every year,” said Kate Bruhl, sophomore, and power forward for the girls varsity team. These students were Bruhl herself along with Allie Mizwicki and Jamie Mizwicki. 

Bruhl explained how she viewed the inequality, “Well, there’s a reason JV plays before varsity. And so why were girls having to play before boys every year?”

It was Allie Miwicki who took the lead in advocating for the 7 p.m. slot.

“In the spring I sent emails to Mr. Carlson and Ms. Santee about getting the time changed and wondering why it was always like this, and they didn’t really have an explanation,” said Mizwicki. Mizwicki is team captain of the girls’ varsity team along with Sofia Alcala, and has been a varsity player since freshman year. 

Mizwicki and Bruhl both emailed Ms. Jessica Santee during the spring of 2023. 

“Allie Mizwicki was the one leading the charge on this, and was just like why? Asking the question, right,” said Ms. Julie Fonda, the Assistant Athletic Director at Glenbard South. 

“And so they emailed me back and were like, I will let you know. We’ll get back to you more in the fall and we’ll talk about it throughout the summer,” said Mizwicki. “And then in the fall time I followed up.”

“I just had to keep on letting them know, like, this is what we want. This is something that should be happening,” said Mizwicki. 

Santee reflected on receiving Mizwicki’s initial email, “I remember going ‘wow, you’re really thinking ahead.” She was impressed with Mizwicki, “I was thinking, ‘you go girl!’” while reading the email. “Legitimately I was thinking thank you, thank you for being thoughtful about this and putting it out there because it is a thing, why does the boys game get that highlight time on a regular basis,” said Santee. 

“So I started to work with Mr. Carlson about it. We went back and forth a few different times just kind of talking about the pros and cons,” said Santee. 

“Some of the concerns were, you know, traditionally boys games draw bigger crowds,” said Mr. Timothy Carlson, the Athletic Director at Glenbard South. “It has happened in other schools and school districts where the boys have played first and the girls have played second, and a lot of the crowd left after the boys game. There’s always that in the back of your head, like how would that be perceived if people got up and walked out? So that was a challenge.”

Ms. Julie Fonda elaborated on this, sharing her own experience as an athlete at South, “I remember as an athlete asking the question too and the answer was always that they didn’t want the crowd to leave. Like the boys played. They came to watch the boys and then the crowd would leave and the girls would be left with no one in the stands. And as an athlete, I kind of just took that answer.” 

“Allie wasn’t satisfied and that’s what’s great about her,” continued Fonda. “And we can accommodate, you know it’s not rocket science that you would alternate boys play one year and girls play the next. She’s been advocating for this for a few years and this year we just decided we were going to do it. ” Said Fonda. 

The administration ultimately decided to go through with the time change, even though they were unsure how the fans would respond. “We want the girls to know that, hey, we, we support you, we believe in you,” said Carlson. 

Santee explained that they planned the night in a way that would encourage fans to stay. “We had the boys cross country banner that was going to be unveiled planned for halftime of the girls’ game,” said Santee. This was done in hopes of giving the girls an even larger crowd. 

“It wasn’t only about scheduling it last, it was about moving the night around to be sure that the heart of the activities and excitement were happening during the girls’ game,” said Santee. 

Unfortunately, though the later time slot was secured, a snow storm prevented the girls from the night they had planned. “We were all ramped up and ready to go, and then the snow hit,” said Fonda. The game was originally scheduled for Friday, January 12th but due to inclement weather was rescheduled for Saturday, January 13th. The cancellation dampened the turnout for the evening. 

“People didn’t even know it was on Saturday. So this year was kind of a fluke,” said Mizwicki.  

While this is a new shift for Glenbard South it appears to be a welcomed change. “At least the conversation is in the forefront instead of just being background noise,” said Fonda. “From this point forward we’re going to try to make it as even as possible,” she promised. “I’d like to give the girls that spot next year,” to accommodate for the letdown of the cancellation and smaller crowd.  Carlson and Santee both agreed, each stating that the girls should be given the 7 p.m. spot next year. 

When asked if an alternating schedule would be permanent, Mizwicki said, “I have no idea. I mean I hope so.” 

“I think they have laid the groundwork very well, it’s definitely a conversation.” Said Fonda. 

Bruhl was optimistic. “They’ve already done it once before so it’ll be easier to do again.” 

Santee stated that she would talk with Carlson and that, “we will continue to alternate, but we are planning for the girls’ game to have the 7:00 pm time slot for 2025 since we didn’t have a normal Pack the Place this year.” 

Fonda did note that, “Sometimes we are handcuffed based on who we’re playing. So sometimes if we’re playing separate teams… that might play a part in dictating who goes where.” 

When reflecting on the moments leading up to the game Mizwicki shared that, “Some people on the team were more nervous about having so many fans.” The later time slot typically draws the larger crowd. 

For others, “they thought people would leave but we were like that’s not going to happen,” said Jamie Mizwicki, sophomore, varsity player and sister to Allie Mizwicki. 

While some on the team were nervous, Mizwicki and Bruhl opened up about the rallying support they received from friends and family. “My grandparents are very on board. My grandma got a bunch of family to come,” said Mizwicki. 

“So did we, we got all our neighbors,” said Bruhl. 

When it came to wondering about the size of the crowd Carlson added, “if people walk out that’s on them because you know what I think they’re missing a good thing, and if it truly is a community event, which I believe it is, then you stay and you watch both and all of our students get that level of support.” 

While the night did not turn out the way the team had hoped due to the snowy weather, Mizwicki has created a legacy for herself and the entire girls’ basketball team at South. 

Mizwicki will continue to play basketball in college, she is committed to Edgewood College in Wisconsin for basketball next year.

“I’m proud of Allie for staying on it and advocating for herself and her teammates and just girls sports in general,” said Fonda.