Chenango Forks senior finishes career with victory
By DAN HOWLEY, Staff writer
ALBANY — Troy Nickerson laid claim Saturday night to being New York’s best high school wrestler ever.
The 125-pound Chenango Forks High senior captured an unprecedented fifth state wrestling championship with an emotional 20-5 technical fall victory over Sean Bauer of Orange County’s Valley Central High at Pepsi Arena.
“I’m feeling huge relief, “said Nickerson, after taking about 15 minutes to compose himself and steel his emotions. “I mean, this is something that I’ve been after my whole life. I’m so happy to get it over with. I just wanted to get out there and get it done.”
Nickerson, whose record is 209-7 with four of the losses coming in seventh grade, brought the Division I match to a merciful end with a 15-point lead with 59 seconds left in the second round.
“It’s great to be the first five-timer, “said Nickerson, who was among the most sought-after college recruits in the country before picking Cornell so he could be close to home. “I wish all the eighth-graders out there good luck in trying to tie it, but it’s just great to be the first one.”
Shenendehowa’s Austin Meys could get a chance, having defeated Marc Zurlia of North Rockland 12-6 for the Division I 103-pound title.
Though Chenango Forks coach Rick Perkins said he wasn’t surprised by the way Nickerson dominated the match, he was breathing an emotional sigh of relief when it was over.
“He’s just a super kid, “a teary-eyed Perkins said. “He’s worked so hard and so long for this that I think we are all just glad that it’s over. It’s a lot of pressure for a kid, a lot of pressure for his family. It’s certainly a great accomplishment.”
Perkins said it was “extra special “it happened at Pepsi Arena, the site of another astonishing wrestling first in March 2002 when Iowa State’s Cael Sanderson finished an undefeated collegiate career with his fourth NCAA title.
Nickerson eclipsed the record he shared with Jesse Jantzen, who won four state titles at Shoreham Wading Rivers High on Long Island from 1997-2000.
Jantzen, who was in Albany to help coach a younger brother in the meet, said earlier in the day that if Nickerson got the record it would fall to a great competitor.
“I’ve seen him wrestle a few times, “said Jantzen, who wrestled at Harvard and won the 141-pound NCAA championship as a senior last year. “We tried our best to get him to come to Harvard.”
Nickerson’s historic achievement is the latest in an illustrious career in which he has parlayed his intensity, skill and speed to become a five-time national champion and two-time Beast of the East Champion.
“He’s got something special, “said Joe Bena, the legendary former Niskayuna High coach who was inducted into the New York chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “The outstanding athletes, the ones that really excel, have got something that the rest of us don’t have. They’ve got that instinct that they can feel when to move. It’s just there.”
Words didn’t come easily for an emotional Bob Nickerson, Troy’s father, who stood watching his son sign programs in the corridor under the seats.
“I think I’m just blessed, “he said. “He’s just an amazing kid.”
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