Hercules Wimbledon's senior men's team will battle to return to the prestigious British Athletcis League after a 16-year gap when they compete in the qualifying match at Tilsley Park, Abingdon, on Saturday.

The squad survived the first hurdle to get into the match when they finished in the top eight out of the 15 teams that applied in a paper match for the qualifier.

After the best track and field season for a decade - they finished fifth in the Southern Men's League's top division after being promoted from Division Two last season - the athletes now face their biggest challenge of the season and they need to finish in the top eight to qualify for the British League in 2010.

Hercules Wimbledon have been in the British League twice before - in 1972 and 1973 and from 1987 to 1993, rising to Division Three in 1991.

"I was always confident we would get through the paper match as we have a much stronger team this year than in 2008," said club chairman Fred Green.

"We are obviously hoping to make the top two on Saturday, but we are under no illusion it will be a very tough match.

“However, our spirits are high and all the athletes in the team are up for the challenge."

Teenager Liam White, who is a key member of the Abingdon squad, had a fine run in the BUPA Greater London Run 5km road race in Regents Park on Sunday where he was 17th out of more than 1,700 runners in 16 minutes 12 seconds.

Several of the endurance athletes who will be carrying Hercules Wimbledon's hopes at Abingdon, gave their confidence a big boost when they helped the club take the bronze medals in the Surrey senior men's road relay championship at Wimbledon Park last Saturday.

The team was in a medal-winning position on all six stages with Adam Przedrzmirski taking them into the lead on the third leg. His time of 15:11 was the eighth fastest of the day.

Teenager Alex Robinson (15:23) brought the team in third on the opening leg with 18-year-old Andrew Penney (15:12) lifting the team into second spot.

Team manager Chris Coles (16:22), filling in at the last minute, held onto a bronze medal placing before Justin Kelly (15:50) and the youngest member of the squad, Geordie Logan (16:19) secured the medal-winning effort.

The club's veterans team of Peter Clarke (17:25), Stewart Bond (17:49), Peter Lee (16:27) and Stuart Fraser (16:37) also secured bronze medals in their category. The over 50 team of Stu Littlewood (19:16), Fred Green (22:05), Martin Miller (19:43) and Steve Badgery (18:40) finished eighth.

The senior women's team of Michaela Knespl (19:54), Steph Robson (17:46) clocking the 10th best time of the day in moving through from 12th to sixth place, Rosemary Fernando (20:41) and Estle Viljoen (18:53) finished just outside the medals in fifth spot.

Viljoen's run came a week after she took the silver medal in UK Athletics 10km road walking championship at Leicester in 54:11. She also took the gold medal in the British Masters Championship which was decided in conjunction with the event.

At the other end of the age scale, Hercules Wimbledon's 12-year-old Eleanor Smith-Hahn completed a hectic weekend by taking the bronze medal in the Surrey girls under 13 pentathlon championship at Horsham on Sunday.

She was just 18 points off the silver medal position as she took third place with 1976 points. The best of her five individual efforts came in the final event, the 800m, which she won by more than five seconds in 2:40.75.