Elly Cash didn’t celebrate with an all-state medal when she competed in the 100-meter dash at the Class 1 state meet last year as a freshman at Wellsville-Middletown.

But Cash still had reason to celebrate. She left Jefferson City as the Tigers’ record holder in the 100 after finishing with a time of 13.21 seconds in preliminaries. She broke a mark that was previously set by Elizabeth Bohl in 2003.

Cash was coming off a sectional championship in the 100 the week before. She said she was thrilled to end her freshman season with her name in the school record books.

“I said after I won sectionals that I was going to beat the school record at state,” Cash said. “After I got done with my run, I didn’t qualify, but my mom told me that I beat the record. So that was really great. I loved that.”

Now, she’s hoping for another strong season for the W-M girls track team. She started her sophomore year on March 24 with a third-place finish in the 200 and a seventh-place effort in the 100 at the season-opening Van-Far Open Meet.

“I definitely need to work on my speed and get my strength back,” Cash said. “I need to work on my stamina. I really don’t have good stamina.”

Cash ran 14.27 seconds in the 100 and 29.06 seconds in the 200. She said she had some signs of jitters in her first meet of 2025.

“I was really nervous,” the sophomore said. “I’ve been nervous about track season ever since last track season. It’s cold and it was kind of hard to keep my body warm.”

Cash competed in track for the first time last year. She had a successful debut, winning the 200 and placing third in the 100 in the Van-Far meet.

“I really enjoy it,” said Cash, who also plays softball and basketball. “When I’m doing my event, I don’t really enjoy it. But it’s really social. The environment is so positive and I love being around it.”

Cash said she wanted to stay active after her basketball season ended three weeks before.

“I thought I could give it a try,” Cash said. “I’m not really too good with off-seasons. After basketball, I thought I would do track to keep me in shape.”

Cash qualified for sectionals by placing third in both the 100 and 200 at the Class 1, District 2 meet in New Haven. She was one of seven W-M sectional qualifiers.

The next week, Cash won the 100 in 13.36 seconds and came within a place of qualifying for state in the 200 as she finished fifth in 28.67 seconds.

Cash was one of five W-M athletes who competed in Jefferson City.

“It was so much fun,” Cash said. “I won sectionals and I didn’t think I was going to. So then after I crossed the finish line, I knew I was going to state. So that was really exciting. It was a great experience as a freshman. There was a lot of competition there. But I expected it because it was state.”

This year, Cash is part of a group of returning athletes that includes seniors Cooper Henderson, Jonah Slovensky, Gage Marshall and Della Gosseen.

“They’re really motivational,” Cash said. “Jonah helped me a lot and Della helped me a lot. It’s so nice being around that group of people. They’re great. They do great in their stuff. They’re not just worried about their events. They really want you to do better on your own. I really appreciate them for that.”