High School
Nickens came to the U.S. as a high school freshman and attended Southport HS in Indianapolis, where he played basketball and football and ran T&F. He did not begin running track until his 2 nd year at Southport, but by his junior year, he was 2 nd in the Indiana State Track Meet 400 and be followed that up as a senior placing 4 th in the 400. By the time he left Southport, he was the Marion County and Conference Indiana record holder in the 400.

College before ACU 
Nickens went to Purdue and made an impact immediately, as he finished 12 th in the Big 10 400 and was All-Big 10 as the Purdue 4x400 relay finished 7 th at the conference meet. During his freshman outdoor season, he ran on the Purdue 4x400 team that placed 3 rd at Big 10 and would go on to placed 19 th in the D-1 4x400 – 3 rd team All-America. During his freshman year, the Purdue 4x400 relay also ran the 2 nd fastest time in Purdue history. Entering his 2 nd year at Purdue, Nickens had to take a medical redshirt for the indoor season. He missed the early season outdoors, but ran in three meets including a 14 th place finish at the East 1 st Round meet, missing a return visit to the national track meet by less than a second. He will have 3 indoor seasons and 2 outdoor seasons of eligibility left.

Personal 
Nickens graduated from Southport HS in 2023, with All-A Honors and having received Student-Athlete of the Week honors. His Mother is Malvina Ngo and he has 2 brothers – Moses and Serge Lemba and a sister- Princia Lemba. His host parents in the US are Elizabeth and Thomas Wright and his host brother is Anton. At ACU he is a Marketing/Health Science major.

Why did you choose ACU? It has a peaceful environment, great people, and it is a Christian institution.

What is your favorite thing about ACU? Chapel.