 At Chenango Forks, Nickerson became the first five-time High School state champion (Div IV) of New York and amassed a record of 217-6 while winning several junior national championships.He was so dominant as a schoolboy that Intermat named him the ninth best high school wrestler for the entire 20-year period ending in 2005.At the Fargo tournament, the most prestigious schoolboy wrestling event in the U.S., he captured five titles in six tries.