Drayden Bell: East High swimmer ends stellar high school career
Drayden Bell is a senior at Northeast Magnet who swims for East High School and has signed to swim for the University of Alabama. He plans to study kinesiology and exercise science and hopes to get a master’s degree in sports management. He would love to become a strength coach in the Southeastern Conference.
Bell, who has been swimming competitively since he was a child, has won numerous state and national titles during his high school swimming career.
This year he won the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyles for the third straight season. He won the 50 freestyle for the fourth straight year, becoming the second swimmer in state history to win an event all four years at the highest classification. He holds the school record for the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 200 freestyle, 200 free relay and 400 free relay. He was a six-time All-American and an academic All-American.
He has also participated in track his freshman and senior years.
Bell said he will miss his swim teammates most when he graduates.
“The team chemistry and camaraderie was one of the biggest things that East High’s team had,” said Bell. “Even before I came to East, I had heard great things about how they treated each other.”
Joe Hutchinson, the East High swim coach, said that Bell is not only talented but hard working.
“He’s a lot of fun to work with,” said Hutchinson. “I will miss his personality and the energy he brought to practice. He brought a lot of fun leadership to the team.”
