Football
A four-year starter, Troy Ethen established himself as a force on the gridiron scene at both defensive end and defensive tackle en route to setting the Knights’ record with 22.0 career sacks.
He was the 1985 recipient of the Matt Zell Award for outstanding sophomore football player and picked up all-conference honorable mention that season. He was an All-MIAC second-team pick the following season, and as a senior captain in 1987, Ethen established two defensive records that still stand 25 years later.
In a Sept. 21 contest at Augsburg, he recorded 4.5 sacks. Not only has no Knight surpassed that total, but Carleton football history lists only one other player tallying more than three sacks in any contest. To go along with his single-game record, Ethen also established the program record with 10 sacks that season.
Following the completion of that campaign, the conference coaches voted Ethen to the All-MIAC first team. He also received the Lippert Award, which recognizes the player who contributes the most to the Carleton football team.
The Knights held the “Goat Trophy” only twice in the two decades prior to his arrival, but Ethen’s play helped Carleton top St. Olaf in 1985, 1986 and again in 1987 to launch the Knights’ longest run of success ever in the battle for this famed keepsake.