Katie Tallett never imagined she would run cross country, let alone make it to state.

But Tallett, a senior at Cedar Rapids Xavier, decided to run her final year in high school and will be competing Saturday in Fort Dodge at the state championships.

Tallett finished 12th out of 92 girls and qualified for state with a time of 20 minutes, 14 seconds.

“I decided to go out for cross country because I went out for track last year for fun and was recommended by my teammates and coach to go out for cross country,” Tallett said.

Tallett joined the team because she thought it would be a good fit and something new to do. On Aug. 27, at the Prairie Invitational, Tallett ran the first meet of her high school career. She finished with a time of 22:48.

“Since it was her (Tallett’s) first season running cross country, there were no big goals for her to start off with,” head coach Bryan Jones said. “After her first few races, the main goal became keeping her healthy throughout the season as she adjusted to the higher mileage that cross country requires.”

Tallett didn’t know her potential, but set a goal for herself. In each meet she ran, she wanted her time to improve. Halfway through the season, she set another goal — run a personal best under 20 minutes. Tallett accomplished that with a 19:59.

Before each meet, Tallett had some things she would do to prepare.

“If the meet was far away, I normally would nap on the bus and listen to music. I always have to wear the same brand and color of socks for good luck,” Tallett said. “Right before we would run, my teammates and I would engage in a huddle with Coach Jones.”

State was not one of Tallett’s initial goals.

“I never imagined making it to state,” she said. “My realistic goal for the season wasn’t to make it to state because I didn’t think it was something that was realistic. It was more my dream.

At state, Tallett finished with a time of 20 minutes, 30 seconds. Not only did Tallett reach her goals, she reached her dream.

Sometimes, dreams do come true.