Stayner named to Allstate NACDA Good Works Team

Brooke Stayner does a little bit of everything for Montana track and field as a multi-athlete. A junior on the track team, Stayner has scored for Montana eight times at Big Sky Championship meets.

As a pentathlete indoors and heptathlete outdoors, Stayner runs, jumps, and throws for the Grizzlies, putting her body to the ultimate test every year in the multis. It's also indicative of the way that Stayner lives her life. She's much more than just an athlete.

Stayner has been selected as one of 20 athletes across the country to the Allstate NACDA Good Works Team for the spring thanks to her service work in the community.

The Good Works Team honors student-athletes who lead in their sport, academics, and in their communities. It was created to help spotlight students for their meaningful community service.

"This is a really, really prestigious award that Brooke is receiving and we couldn't be more proud because that just epitomizes who Brooke Stayner is," head coach Doug Fraley said. "She is obviously a very talented athlete on our team, but she is so much more than that with the things that she accomplishes academically and service oriented. She's a tremendous young lady and we couldn't be happier for her to be recognized like this."

There is perhaps no greater service to one's community than helping to save a life, which is exactly what Stayner did in 2024 when she donated bone marrow as part of the National Marrow Donor Program.

It started with a sign-up in the oval, a signature on a piece of paper that Stayner didn't know would change her life and that of a complete stranger. She received a text six months later saying that she was a possible match to a patient in need.

Stayner didn't flinch. The healthy 19-year old went through the long process with NMDP, going through phone calls, blood draws, physicals, and interviews over a six-month span. It culminated with a call saying that the doctors thought Stayner was the best match and called her out to Seattle for a donation.

She completed her indoor season at the Big Sky Championships, scoring for the Grizzlies in multiple events, and then went to Seattle. She went through a PBSC donation that lasted nine hours with needles into both arms for the entirety of the procedure.

"At the end of those nine hours, getting to hold that bag of millions of stem cells. It's an interesting process because it's so valuable, they take it so seriously," Stayner said. "They immediately had someone grab the bag of stem cells and they can go anywhere around the country. They get in a car, go on planes, immediately. It's really cool to see the impact. It's such an amazing program."

Stayner has served as an inspiration to not only her teammates and fellow students at UM, but to student-athletes around the country. She also inspired her family through the process.

Her mother, Kristin Stayner, said that it was Brooke who had the maturity and poise through the whole situation.

"It's such a lesson in giving. You give without expectation of return. I've seen a lot of maturity in her through this and what she's learned," Kristin Stayner said of her daughter. "I'm very proud of her for so many reasons. Everything she does, she does 100 percent."

The donation is just part of the reason that Stayner is so deserving of the Good Works Team honor. She gave part of herself, literally, during that process but she also gives so much of herself to her local community.

Stayner has since helped to recruit other students on campus to the national registry for the NMDP while also working as a hospital volunteer and a mentor to others with the goal of strengthening healthcare access and understanding.

She does all this while balancing an incredibly difficult course load at the University. She graduated in just three years and is now pursing her Masters in Integrative Physiology. Stayner has a 4.0 cumulative GPA.

She's had success both in her service and her academics, but she has also been one of the top athletes on the Griz track and field roster for the previous four seasons. Stayner scored as a true freshman in the pentathlon and heptathlon. She's only improved since then, redshirting her junior year but returning this season to earn All-Conference honors indoors.

When selecting the Allstate NACDA Good Works Team, the organization was looking for student-athletes who "go above and beyond in volunteerism and civic engagement, complementing their achievements in academics and sports."

"That's Brooke. She's a high-quality young lady and has so much going for her," Fraley said. "When I heard that she was (donating stem cells), it wasn't a surprise at all, that's just the kind of person that she is. To have her do it and plan it out where she could do it between the seasons is kind of a microcosm of Brooke Stayner."

About the Allstate NACDA Good Works Team: The Allstate NACDA Good Works Team was established in 2024 to recognize male and female student-athletes annually across all sports and divisions for their leadership in community service, academics and athletics. The initiative surpassed 500 nominees during its inaugural year. Past honorees include women's basketball center Audi Crooks, who launched the Audi Crooks Foundation in 2025 to provide financial assistance and resources to youth engaged in education, athletics and arts programming; Loyola Chicago goalkeeper Aidan Crawford, who founded Special Olympics Loyola University Chicago to support adults with disabilities; Penn State golfer Jami Morris, who launched Hit Fore Hope, a cancer research fundraiser; and Auburn gymnast Sophia Groth, who supported student parents through nonprofit advocacy with Baby Steps. These student-athletes were recognized as Allstate NACDA Good Works Team captains for their leadership and dedication.

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