It has been a long journey for Eastside seniors Dylan Baynes and Nolan Christian, but the pair made history this past month by reaching win No. 100 as an Eagle.

Baynes was the first to reach the century mark by grabbing his 100th win at the Quad Meet at South Forsyth. A little over a week later, Christian captured his 100th win at the South Paulding Duals.

With the memory still fresh in their minds, the pair spoke about what was a surreal experience for them.

“I never thought I would get to 100 wins,” Baynes said. “I didn’t even think I would be wrestling right now. I was just happy. I have been working on this since ninth grade so it was a big accomplishment to finally reach 100 wins.”

“I was geeked, I was so excited. I was jumping — I was doing a whole bunch of things when I won my 100th match,” Christian said. “I wasn’t in varsity in ninth grade, so just being able to build up and get to 100 wins, it felt nice.”

While they both reflected on their respective journeys to 100, Christian spoke about how he got started wrestling.

“My older brother wrestled, so I figured I would give it a try,” Christian said.

Although Baynes’ path is a little different, his start in the sport arrived through a family connection, too.

“I accidentally started wrestling,” Baynes said. “I was a bad kid. I was supposed to be going to our little club house that we had. But instead, I missed the bus and wrestling tryouts were in the gym. My cousins were wrestling so I just went out there and tried out.”

Both wrestlers shared the belief that the sport has changed their lives for the better.

“It got me in shape, it changed my mindset about things,” Christian said. “It just gives you more drive [and] a better mentality. It makes you want to win everything.”

Along with the win totals and their starts in the sport, the pair of Eastside wrestlers also share an identical record of 23-6 this season.

At the annual South Metro Invitational earlier in the season, Baynes (144-pound weight class) and Christian (126-pound weight class) led the way for Eastside with first place finishes in their respective weight classes. This finish led to the Eagles having one of their best finishes ever in the event.

With the region and state meets on the horizon, Eastside head coach Caleb Payne took the time to talk about the two wrestlers and what has made them special on the mat.

“Their tenacity and pace of which they wrestle,” Payne said. “Both Nolan and Dylan have grown so much these past four years. Dylan is a three-time state qualifier and placed at state last year. Nolan is also a state placer as well. These two have the potential to go very far this year as individuals and will help our team tremendously in helping us accomplish our goals in the dual setting.”

The respect and admiration goes the other way, too.

Both Christian and Baynes discussed the impact Payne has had on their wrestling careers and labeled him as the main reason they were able to reach win No. 100.

“He [Payne] has that motivation that makes you want to win, he is a great coach,” Christian said.

According to the two wrestlers, Payne also tasked the two with taking a leadership role along with other seniors on the team.

“Coach Payne makes sure we are staying on the wrestlers because they like to joke and play around, so we have to stay on their heads and keep them on track,” Baynes said.

With the success the two wrestlers are having on the mat, Payne wanted to make sure to share how the two are as people.

“These two, along with the other senior leaders, are not only great wrestlers, but also great to be around,” Payne siad. “They have great personalities and have great character and Integrity. They are going to be successful no matter what they do after high school.”

With more meets ahead, Baynes and Chrisitan might have company in the 100-win club by season’s end.

“[I’m] extremely proud of them,” Payne said. “100 wins is a massive milestone! We also have two other seniors [Malchi Riley and Jordan Amedee] who are close to hitting this number as well.”

“At the start of the season we were a little shaky, we didn’t have our full lineup,” Baynes said. “

“I think our team is getting to the best it can be,” Christian said. “We are getting better. We already have a full lineup. Everybody is solid — no one is a scrub. We have a good chance of winning the region.”

“I started out at 155 this season. I was struggling with my weight early on in the season,” Baynes said. “When I finally got down to 147 I have been good ever since then.”

“My weight hasn’t been that hard,” Christian siad. “I was 132 at the start and I dropped to 126 and I have stayed at this weight class. It has been easy for me.”