PASADENA -- Any defending state champion will find a target on its back. But a state champion with a former Olympian as coach, that bull's-eye gets a little bit bigger.
And that suits the Oaks Christian's boys' 4 x 100-meter relay team just fine.
The Lions, the reigning 4 x 100 state relay team champions, edged Serra 41.68 seconds to 42.19 to win the sponsored heat Saturday at the 69th annual Pasadena Games at Pasadena City College.
"We know people are gunning for us," said Terry Johnson, who along with Vinnie Saucer, Ishmael Adams and Brian Owusu formed the relay team. "We're running good right now, but we know we're going to get better."
With Rio Mesa running 41.69 to win the 4 x 100 relay Saturday at the Mount Carmel Invitational in San Diego, the Lions know more improvement is necessary in order to defend their title.
"We have heard people say we're spoiled because we have Maurice Greene as our coach," Adams said. "Last year, we were able to sneak in and win state, but this year everybody knows who we are. It's a huge target on our back and we're loving it right now. We're just trying to beat ourselves from last year and then we're going to worry about some of these other teams."
Saucer also got an individual victory, winning the So Cal Champ heat of the 100-meter dash as he clocked 10.82 and Adams finished second (11.07) behind Alemany's Dominic Davis (10.99) in the sponsored heat of the 100.
Quartz Hill's Malik Hayes was a double winner as he edged Thousand Oaks' Tommy Lopez 4:23.62 to 4:23.89 in the 1,600 and then came back later in the day to edge Monrovia's Max Armenta 1:57.65 to 1:57.84 in the 800.
"I take today's victories as a stepping stone," Hayes said. "I don't know what the end of the season will hold in store, but I am pretty happy about today. I definitely feel I am in a good spot."
St. Francis' James Knowles overcame a shaky start to win the 110 hurdles at 14.65 and Granada Hills' Chris Johnson won the 400 open heat as he clocked 50.27.
The Knight quartet of Donald Jones, Fareed Yates, Toya Johnson and Sergio Andrade captured the 800 sprint medley relay with a time of 1:39.50.
Westlake freshman Abigail Smith was a double winner, with triumphs in the 100 sponsored heat (12.17) and open heat of the 200 girls' races (25.19).
Teammate Brooke Edell won the second heat of the 200 varsity division at 25.58.
Flintridge Sacred Heart's Noelle Neiderhaus had one of the most exciting races of the day in the 800, outstretching Serra's Renetia James at the finish line to win 2:17.09 to 2:17.12.
"I got a little boxed in at 400, but since I'm a sprinter, I was able to go to the outside and go ahead," Neiderhaus said. "I was just determined to get the win."
Asha Culhane, Abby King, Schuyler Moore, and Sarah Johnson combined to win the 800 sprint medley relay with a time of 1:50.90 for Oaks Christian.
Oak Park's Sydney Lewis had a pair of second-place finishes, as the UCLA-bound senior clocked 12.17 in the 100 Fastest Girl heat and 25.35 in the 200 invitational heat.
"My time in the 200 was disappointing," Lewis said. "It's still early in the season so I have time to work on it and get better."
Alemany freshman Nia Britt captured the girls' shot put late Friday with an effort of 44 feet, 2 1/4 inches.
