Following April surgery, special needs student Misha Barrett runs in state track meet

Misha Barrett enjoyed every minute of the spotlight when he raced in the state Special Olympics 100 meter dash on June 24. The Niwot High special needs student, who may be better known for his talents on the basketball court, took fourth place in front of a packed Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood.

Born in Ukraine, Barrett has dealt with cognitive issues his entire life after he suffered an anoxic brain trauma at birth. As his senior year was coming to a close, Barrett underwent surgery to remove a mass in his brain. The surgery was a success, but had Niwot athletic director Joe Brown concerned as to whether his star runner could recover in time for the state track meet.

With another roadblock facing him following surgery, the multi-sport athlete took the challenge and ran with it.

"He's just such a good kid and he went through so many struggles after that surgery that he had to have," Brown said. "We were kind of worried that he might be able to come back from that, so we wanted to see and he was able to.... The way he progressed and the dedication that he put in and to push forward and then to rebound and come back and be able to do this, it's incredible."

After months of battling health issues, Barrett was locked in when he battled the best special needs runners in Colorado.

"It was great," Barrett said. "I had a lot of fun and I'm glad to be here."

The opportunity for Barrett to compete in the state's biggest stage reminded Brown how crucial it is to support special needs athletic programs.

"It's incredibly important because they're all our kids," Brown said. "It doesn't matter what they do, what their ability levels are, all it's about is supporting kids."

Brown said that Barrett's spirit shined during the basketball season and has only grown since then. Barrett, who played for Silver Creek's unified team before making Niwot's D team his junior year, hopes to help out in future seasons.