Servite Sophomore Hewko Has Been Making a Big Splash

Adam Hewko is an accomplished two-sport athlete. In Southern California, that’s not such a big deal, but what separates Hewko is the speed at which he reached the top in each.

Only a sophomore at Anaheim Servite High, Hewko was a Southern Section Division II second-team selection in water polo last season--the only freshman picked to one of the 18 teams in the sport’s six divisions.

He also won the 500 freestyle last spring at the Southern Section Division I swimming championships and still holds Southern California Swimming’s 13-14 age-group record in the 400 individual medley.

Servite Coach Jim Sprague has seen some good performances during his 32-year career, but none from athletes as young as Hewko.

“Not under the circumstances that he comes in on,” Sprague said. “He only spends three months of the year playing water polo.”

Hewko spends the other nine months swimming. He recently rejoined the prestigious Irvine Novaquatics swim club, training site for young Olympians Aaron Peirsol and Amanda Beard, and is excited by the prospects. “It provides a better environment and better training partners,” Hewko said. “There are a lot of world-class athletes there.”

*

On a roll: La Palma Kennedy High ended its 65-game losing streak Saturday, then recorded a second victory Tuesday.

It marked the first time in six seasons it has won more than one game.

The Fighting Irish will attempt to keep their streak alive today against Garden Grove Rancho Alamitos.

“Things are definitely looking up,” Coach Eric Corona said. “It has been a long three or four seasons.”

Corona credits the turnaround to the construction of a swimming pool on campus.

Before the deck-draining pool opened last September, many of the best players in the area attended Cypress High, which has an on-campus pool.

“Now,” Corona said, “that has stopped.”

The Fighting Irish ended their two-year losing streak in the 11th-place game of the Western tournament, defeating Long Beach Jordan, 18-8.

They got their second victory three days later against Colton, 12-9.

Kennedy is led by freshmen Mose Atuatasi and Eugene Takagi, who accounted for 17 of the 18 goals against Jordan.

“We lost the other games by two and by four goals,” Corona said. “Normally we’d be getting beat by 15 or 20 goals.”

Winning wasn’t such a stretch when the Fighting Irish played in the Garden Grove League from 1986-93. Kennedy won five consecutive league titles, finishing as high as fourth in the Southern Section Division IV rankings.

But when Kennedy returned to the Empire League in 1994, “we became also-rans,” Corona said.

*

Sign of times: At the South Coast tournament last week, Lake Forest El Toro’s 20 players wore red, white and blue swim suits, sewn by one of the player’s mothers. The Chargers, who finished fourth in the tournament, will wear the patriotic suits “until the war is over,” Coach Don Stoll said.

*

A look ahead: El Toro will be the region’s top team in the Villa Park tournament this weekend.

The Chargers, ranked fifth, are one of four top-seeded teams, along with Villa Park, Laguna Beach and La Jolla The Bishop’s, which lost to Corona del Mar, 8-6, in the final of the South Coast tournament.

Play begins today at Villa Park, Placentia El Dorado, Esperanza and Aliso Viejo Aliso Niguel highs. The championship game is 3:30 p.m. Saturday at 3 Villa Park.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

1. Newport Beach Corona del Mar (6-0, SS-Pacific Coast)

Won the South Coast tournament impressively.

2. Anaheim Servite (7-1, SS-Serra)

Third at South Coast, only loss to Corona del Mar.

3. Santa Ana Foothill (6-2, SS-Century)

Fifth at South Coast after early loss to Servite.

4. North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (4-0, SS-Mission)

Defeated Foothill by a goal Tuesday.

5. El Toro (6-3, SS-South Coast)

Fourth at South Coast, big win against Esperanza Tuesday.

6. San Clemente (3-3, SS-South Coast)

Edged by Foothill for fifth place at South Coast.

7. Long Beach Wilson (4-3, SS-Moore)

Didn’t get any favors from South Coast draw.

8. Newport Harbor (2-5, SS-Sea View)

Sailors won first two games at South Coast.

9. Riverside Poly (5-1, SS-Ivy)

Ninth at South Coast with only loss to Corona del Mar.

10. Los Alamitos (5-3, SS-Sunset)

Nearly sent Servite game into overtime last week.