THE last time Southampton’s men resided in the top division of British Athletics League, Top Gun was the summer’s must-see movie, GCSEs replaced O’Levels, Alex Ferguson became manager of Manchester United and Southampton track greats Todd Bennett, Kriss Akabusi and Roger Black were in their pomp.

At Basingstoke on Saturday, the class of 2016 emulated their distinguished predecessors by gaining the club promotion back to the BAL Premiership after an absence of 30 years.

Going into the fourth and final match, the mission was simple: finish no worse than three places below third-placed Blackheath & Bromley to join the men’s elite in 2017.

Southampton were seriously depleted through injury and absences, but they were up to the job from the outset.

Sean Adams hammered home a statement of intent in the opening track event, the 400 metres hurdles, by destroying the field and posting a sparkling personal best (pb) of 52.30 seconds.

Epitomising that this was a day when teamwork would win out, 54-year-old Jon Tilt battled his way to a close sixth in the B race to secure precious points and shake Blackheath’s confidence.

Adams returned 90 minutes later for fourth place in the A 400m (48.57).

One of the next generation inspired by the current stars took his first steps towards a bright future when 16-year-old debutant Lynden Olowe followed Adams’ example with fourth in the B-string quarter mile (50.80).

Javelin man Tom Anstice defied a sudden attack of tonsilitis the day before the match, rising from his sick bed to bag second place (54.11 metres).

Also in the field, high jumpers Matt Watson and Adam Jones soared over two metres with Watson securing a B-string victory.

Another to come good was Toby Melville, the A triple jump runner-up (13.62) .

Pole vaulters Sam Bass-Cooper and international decathlete Martin Brockman held their nerve with 4.40m clearances in a high-class competition – Brockman’s clearance earning him a B-string win.

Further denting Blackheath’s hopes were fourth-placed discus throwers Matt Callaway (40.25, pb) and Nicholas Hunt who both finished clear of their London rivals.

Southampton’s middle distance men have been the stable spine of the team all season.

Niall Holt, doubling up at 800m and 1500m, duly delivered a B-string win in the metric mile, while Alex Wall-Clarke achieved a new 3000m pb of 8.37.86.

Steeplechaser Christopher Hilton, turning out after an injury-ravaged season, posted a season’s best 10.07.33, while his B-string wing man Abdi Mahamed finished strongly for second place.

By the relays, Southampton had promotion in the bag, having effectively dominated Blackheath all match.

Acting team managers Sean Foord and Jon Slade bookended the relay teams - Foord running an aggressive lead-off in the sprint relay and Slade (himself smarting from a back injury) anchoring the 4x400 metres with the fastest split of 49.3 seconds.

With local rivals Basingstoke saving themselves from relegation by winning the match, Southampton finished third, just one point behind runaway divisional champions Thames Valley Harriers.

The result was good enough for second place in the final divisional standings, doubling their pre-match advantage over the third-placed team to a whopping eight match points.

“I am incredibly proud of every athlete who has given of their best through the season,” said team boss Gary MacDonald-Gray. “They have punched above their weight and dealt with extreme pressure every match.

“Next season will be tough.

“As with football, there is a huge gulf in resources and facilities between the Premiership and lower divisions, but these men have earned their right to have a crack at the big boys and they have done the previous generations of Southampton’s finest proud.”