Born in Weatherford, Oklahoma, he was the fourth child of Tim and Kerri Nixon. He was raised in Tulsa until he moved to Edmond as a high school sophomore. He attended Edmond Santa Fe High School, where he started taking part in decathlon competitions and broke the national high school record with a score of 8035 points (which brought him the Gatorade Track and Field Athlete of the Year Award in the men's section). He won at the Arcadia Invitational high school competition with a meet record of 7573 points (with junior implements). He entered the individual high jump at the 2012 Summer Youth Olympics and placed sixth in his final. At the 2011 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships he took the silver medal in the decathlon behind American team mate Kevin Lazas.