Background and high school Nickal was born in
Rifle, Colorado, but moved to
Wyoming at a young age, where he started wrestling around five or six years old. In
fifth grade, he moved to
Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Nickal made the
varsity high school team while in
eighth grade and placed second at the
New Mexico state tournament that same season. As a high school
freshman, he moved once again, now to
Allen High School in
Allen, Texas. He placed second at the Texas state tournament his freshman year, and then won every state tournament he competed in from his
sophomore-year onward, becoming a three-time
Texas state champion. As a
junior, he placed fifth at the 2013 U17 World Championships in
freestyle. After finishing his junior year, Nickal committed to wrestle as a
Nittany Lion at the
Pennsylvania State University. He graduated from high school with a 183–7 record, including 131
pins, and was the
pound-for-pound ninth-ranked wrestler in the nation.
Pennsylvania State University 2014–2015 Nickal opted to compete under a
redshirt during his first
collegiate year, compiling a 15–2 record in open tournaments while wrestling unattached at 174 pounds.
2015–2016 Entering his
freshman season ranked fourteenth in the country, Nickal won his first eighteen matches, claiming titles from the Nittany Lion Open and the Southern Scuffle and notable victories over returning NCAA runner-up Brian Realbuto, multiple DI All-Americans in Zach Epperly, Bryce Hammond and Ethan Ramos, and future NCAA champion
Myles Martin. In his nineteenth match, Nickal, now the top-ranked 174-pounder in the country, was defeated by Nate Jackson on points, ending his streak. Afterwards, Nickal bounced back with eight straight wins, including another one over
Martin, to finish the regular season with a record of 26–1. Nickal entered the
NCAA's as the top-seed, defeating his first three opponents to make the semifinals, where he avenged his regular season loss to Nate Jackson on points, advancing to the finals. In the finals, Nickal faced the eleventh seed in
Myles Martin, whom he had already defeated three times earlier, but was defeated by the opposition in a close and frenetic
upset, claiming runner-up honors. Nickal then went up to 86 kilograms for the 2016 US Last Chance World Trials Qualifier (
freestyle) in April, where he placed fourth after recording a 5–2 record. He then attempted to make the 2016 U20 US World Team, but was stopped by
Zahid Valencia.
2016–2017 As a
sophomore, Nickal moved up to the 184 pounds division. During his unbeaten regular season, Nickal
pinned his way to the Keystone Classic title and went 14–0 in dual meets, dominantly avenging his
NCAA championship loss to
Myles Martin, and also including wins over
returning NCAA runner-up TJ Dudley and returning All-Americans Sammy Brooks and Nolan Boyd (both by fall). In the postseason, Nickal was upset in the semifinals of the Big Ten Championships by rival
Myles Martin, but came back to place third, beating TJ Dudley for the second time. At the
NCAA's, Nickal got a
technical fall in the first round and three straight falls to make his second finals, notably pinning Dudley and Sammy Brooks. In the finale, Nickal faced undefeated-in-the-season and defending two-time NCAA champion
Gabe Dean, whom he was able to edge by a point, claiming his first NCAA title and denying Dean his third. Fresh off his first collegiate championship, Nickal went back up to 86 kilos to place fourth at the US Freestyle Open, going 4–2.
2017–2018 As a
junior, Nickal compiled 23 wins and no losses during regular season, with 21 bonus–point victories, claimed multiple tournament titles and wins over the likes of
Domenic Abounader and his nemesis
Myles Martin. At the National tournament, he earned notable wins over '16
MAC champion Jordan Ellingwood, freshman phenom from
Cornell Max Dean and
Michigan's Domenic Abounader to make the finale, where he scored one of his signature pins in his career over
Myles Martin, ending the rivalry, claiming his second NCAA title and clinching the team title for PSU. Due to his dominance, he was awarded the NCAA Championship Outstanding Wrestler award (
MVP) and the prestigious
Schalles Award as the nation's top pinner.
2018–2019 As a
redshirt senior, Nickal moved up once again to 197 pounds. At this new weight class, he comfortably won the
Big Ten Conference Championship for the second time consecutively and third time overall. At his
last NCAA tournament, he dominated all three matches to get to the final,
pinning his first two opponents and getting a
major in the semifinals. In the finals, Nickal defeated the second seeded
Kollin Moore by points (5-1) to claim the
NCAA title, becoming one of the four
Penn State wrestlers to win three
NCAA National Championships and the third one (along with
David Taylor and Jason Nolf) to be a four-time NCAA Finalist. At the end of the season, he was awarded the
Dan Hodge Trophy as nation's best
college wrestler and the
Schalles Award (for the second time consecutively) as US' top
pinner.
Freestyle career 2019 Once his final run in
collegiate wrestling was over, Nickal immediately turned his focus solely to
freestyle. He walked through his competition, stopping five opponents (three by
technical fall and two by
fall) and earning the championship. After winning the US Open, Nickal automatically advanced to the finals of the US World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, in which he faced Michael Macchiavello in a best-of-three rematch. He dominated the first match winning by
technical fall (10–0) and in the second match he would outscore his opponent 5–0, without letting him to score a point in either match. Nickal wrestled in two straight matches against
returning World Champion J'den Cox for the spot to represent the
United States at the
2019 World Championships. As a 23-year old
Final X contestant, Nickal had the right to compete at the US U23 World Team Trials against the Challenge Tournament winner, Jakob Woodley. He effortlessly passed the first round by
technical fall before facing
Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian (winner of the championship), who would nullify Nickal to a 0–10
technical fall, marking the first time he had been defeated in such fashion in
freestyle (since graduating) or
college. In the consolation bracket, he would also have a tough time, as he had a close match with
Alisher Yergali in which he was down 11–12 but was able to secure a last second
takedown and earn a 13–12 point-victory. Next in the bracket was
Kyle Snyder, however, Nickal did not appear on the mat, forcing the match to be ruled as a
forfeit victory for Snyder and also eliminating Nickal from the tournament, placing seventh. As a
2019 U23 World Champion, Nickal qualified for the
2020 US Olympic Team Trials. He was scheduled to compete at the event on April, however, it was postponed for 2021 due to the
coronavirus pandemic along with the
2020 Summer Olympics. As a champion at a non-olympic weight, Nickal was supposed to decide whether he was going to compete at 86 or 97 kilograms, but this decision never became public as the events were postponed. On September 21, he announced that he would compete at 86 kilograms in 2021. Nickal returned to the mats against
Alex Dieringer on September 19, at the
NLWC I, making his debut at 86 kilograms since completely crossing over. Dieringer scored the first point via
push-out early in the first period, however, he was put on the
shot-clock due to passivity with 1 minute and 30 seconds left on the match. Nickal tied it up after defending the attacks of his opponent, earning a point and therefore the criteria as the last one to do so. He was able to earn the victory via criteria after neither of them were able to score more points. Nickal was later scheduled to wrestle 2020 US National runner-up Nate Jackson on November 24, at the
NLWC III, but was removed from the card a day before the event.
2021 After a somewhat inactive previous year, Nickal wrestled
two-time NCAA Division I National Champion Gabe Dean in a rematch from their 2017 NCAA championship match, on February 23, at the
NLWC V. After a scramble-full match, Nickal was defeated by Dean in a close bout. In early April, Nickal competed at the rescheduled
US Olympic Team Trials as the sixth seed, in an attempt to represent the
United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In the challenge tournament Nickal defeated
'21 NCAA champion from
Penn State Carter Starocci (round of 16), '19 US Open champion and third-seeded
Pat Downey (quarterfinals), and '19 US National champion
Zahid Valencia (semifinals). In the best–of–three finals, Nickal faced fellow Penn State legend and
'18 World Champion David Taylor. Nickal lost twice by scores of 0–4 and 0–6, failing to make the US Olympic Team and break Taylor's 45–match win streak. Taylor would go on to claim the gold medal at the
Summer Olympics. In regards to their close relationship, Taylor then stated: == Mixed martial arts career ==