Ethan Perry enters his seventh season coaching for the Denison University Track & Field programs in 2025-26. Perry works with the men's and women's throws and as the recruiting coordinator. In January 2025, Perry earned a promotion to Associate Head Coach of Track & Field.
In the 2024-25 season, Perry would help lead the Denison men’s track and field team to a third-place finish at the NCAC Indoor Championships and the women to fourth-place. Perry had a plethora of Big Red throwers receive all-conference honors. For the men’s, Chris Slater (shot put, first, 16.05m; weight throw, second, 17.86m) received All-NCAC distinction twice. For the women’s, Sydney Flores (shot put, first, 12.51m) and Mariel Dorst (weight throw, first, 13.90m) took home first-place after impressive performances across the board. Perry would then help coach Slater to an All-American performance in the weight throw, with the senior grabbing 13th after a throw of 18.26m. Slater would not stop there, as a couple weeks later at the Denison Lid-Lifter meet, he would break the school record in the hammer throw with a toss of 61.85m to give him the record. With the outdoor season coming around, another record was broken, as Andrew D’Asaro broke the school record in the javelin with a throw of 64.07m at the Bison Outdoor Classic. At the NCAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Denison men’s would grab second with a total score of 137.5 points, while the women took home fourth with a total of 77.5 points. The Big Red had three out of the four throwing events take All-NCAC honors, as Slater (first, hammer throw, 57.04m), D’Asaro (second, javelin, 58.51), and Reed Nobili (third, discus, 42.48m) displayed performances to land all-conference. For the women’s, Sydney Flores (discus, second, 38.46m; shot put, second, 13.12m), and Mariel Drost (first, hammer throw, 44.84m) put up a strong showing in the field. D’Asaro and Slater both earned all-region honors, and punched their ticket into the NCAA Championships in Geneva, Ohio. Both Slater and D’Asaro earned first-team All-American honors, as Slater threw 61.85m in the hammer throw to land fifth-place in the event. D’Asaro would place eighth on his final throw, as he threw a 63.02 to earn first-team distinction.
The Denison men's track & field team finished first overall at the 2023 North Coast Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship, bringing home the seventh conference title for outdoor track & field in program history but the first since 1991. Denison scored in all 21 events and finished with 162 points, 33 points in front of second-place Wabash College with 129 points. As a team, Denison earned five individual conference championships and 12 total All-NCAC performances throughout the conference championship meet while Coach Perry and the rest of the Big Red coaching staff were awarded the NCAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year award. It was the second NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year award for the Big Red in 2023 after closing out the NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championship in second place. Perry helped coach sophomore Andrew D'Asaro (javelin), senior Gabe Springer (discus) and senior Mikaila Carpenter (shot put) to All-Great Lakes Region honors for outdoor track & field. At the conference championships, Perry saw sophomore Chris Slater win the NCAC title in the hammer (49.47 meters) while D'Asaro did so with a new school record throw of 61.59 meters in the javelin. D'Asaro then capped off his sophomore season with an 11-place finish out of 22 competitors in the javelin at the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Championship.
In 2022, Perry helped coach the Big Red men's track & field team to a fourth-place finish at the NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championship, followed by a second-place finish at the NCAC Outdoor Championship, the best finish at the outdoor championship for Denison since winning its sixth conference title in seven years in 1991. The 10 All-NCAC performances Denison collected between both days of the outdoor championship and the decathlon were the most by the Big Red in a single outdoor championship since also earning 10 all-conference honors in 1998. Additionally, the Big Red men also won the 2022 All-Ohio Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet for the first time in program history. On the women's side, Denison finished fifth at the NCAC Indoor Championship and was fourth in the outdoor championship. The lone Big Red track & field student-athlete to compete at nationals in 2022 was junior Gabe Springer, who broke the Denison school record in the discus while qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship. In addition to Springer, other All-Great Lakes Region selections in the throwing events for Denison in 2022 included freshman Andrew D'Asaro (javelin) and freshman Chris Slater (hammer), all for outdoor track & field.
In 2021, Perry coached two athletes to NCAC conference titles. Ashley Schmoll placed first in the javelin while Kylee Silverman took first place in the hammer throw. Both the men and women's teams earned a third place finish at the NCAC Outdoor Championships. At the 2021 NCAC Outdoor Championships, Perry coached seven All-NCAC throwers and the women's throwers earned 71 of a possible 156 points.
In 2019-20, Perry helped lead both track & field programs to seven combined All-NCAC finishes during the indoor season, including the first-career conference title for Bryce Stricker (weight throw). The Denison men's team also left the 2020 NCAC Indoor Championships with a third-place finish, their best since 2009.
Prior to arriving at Denison, Perry worked as the assistant cross country and track & field coach at D-I Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, from 2015-19. Working primarily with the field events, including the shot put, weight throw, discus, hammer throw, and javelin, Perry helped the Red Flash secure eight different school records (men and women) while also securing 18 All-Northeast Conference honors, six NEC All-Rookie selections, and the conference’s Most Outstanding Field Performer Award for Jordan Collins (2016) and Ben Ross (2018 & 2019). Perry was also a member of the 2019 NEC Indoor and Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year and played a pivotal role in helping Sara Phelan, a standout javelin thrower, qualify for the NCAA Championship as the first woman in school history to achieve this milestone. Phelan finished the year ranked #29 in the United States with an impressive mark of 50.67m (167 feet).
From 2013-15, Perry assisted the track & field program and also served as the interim cross country coach at the University of Toledo, overseeing each of the programs while developing and maintaining strength training, recruiting, and program operations.
He arrived at Toledo after one season as the assistant track & field coach at his alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan University. A 2013 graduate, Perry received his Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Geology.
He is a certified USATF Level 1 & 2 (Throws) Coach and a USAW Sports Performance Coach.
Ethan and his wife, Katie, live in Granville with their children, Everett and Riley.
