The Mat.com recently spoke with Teague Moore, the U.S. Nationals freestyle champion at 55 kg. Moore won his first U.S. Nationals title this year, and has high goals for the years ahead. A top prep star out of Pennsylvania, Moore was a NCAA champion for Oklahoma State University. A member of the new Gator WC, Moore enters the World Team Trials as the No. 1 athlete in a very strong field.    TheMat.com: Explain your thoughts and feelings about winning your first national title this year.  Moore: It was exciting from beginning to end. I am just really happy and really fortunate that everything has kind of fallen in place like it has with my training situation and my health, coming back from ACL surgery. Everything up to this point has just been super and I hope it keeps going.    TheMat.com: What was the key for you in winning the U.S. Nationals?  Moore: It was my mindset. I knew that I had to stay relaxed and at least give myself a chance to get to the finals and perform. At the beginning of the tournament I felt good. It was almost like I was feeling too good physically. As the tournament went on I knew that as long as I didn't make any big mistakes and give up any big points that everything would come through for me.    TheMat.com: Your season has included some international gold medals and a win over World Champion Sammie Henson. What has made the difference in your performance this year?  Moore: It's just the difference in the way that I have been training since I got down to Oklahoma. A lot of it is due to having to go through the ACL surgery this past winter and doing my rehab from that. I had to reassess my whole training situation and competition mindset. Mainly I just told myself 'I have to quit beating myself down.' In the past, I have always been dealing with some sort of injury by the time a tournament comes around and I would be really tired from that. This year I knew that if I went out, I wanted to feel 100%. If I won it, that's great, and if I lost, then so be it. I haven't put any pressure on myself and I hope to continue doing that through this next tournament.    TheMat.com: Stephen Abas, a member of the World Team last year, did not compete at the U.S. Nationals this year. Do you expect him to be at the World Team Trials and if so, have you prepared for him at all?  Moore: I'm assuming he's going to be at the Trials.  He's coming off a tremendous freestyle season and a really good college season. I envisioned competing against Abas at U.S. Nationals when I trained, along with Akin and Mena. I trained accordingly for it. Looking at the Trials, he is someone I am going to train for specifically, but then again, there are a lot of guys I am going to have to stay on top of like Jody Strittmatter and Jeff Prescott. I have to make sure I cover my bases at this event. If something crazy happens at the mini-tournament, which we've all seen in the past, then I want to be ready for whoever comes through.    TheMat.com: Will it be different to get to sit around and watch people battle in a mini-tournament for two days just for a chance to face you at the World Team Trials?  Moore: This is the first time in my life that I get to do something like this. I'm really anxious to get a different perspective of it. I'm excited that I'm in this position. I hope that when the time comes that I'll be relaxed on the mat and just perform to the level I am capable of.    TheMat.com: You overcame an injury from last season. How difficult was your recovery and at any point did you consider retiring from wrestling?  Moore: When I tore the ACL before the World Cup last year, I tried to train through the World Team Trials. At that point, I didn't wrestle at all at the Trials. I ended up seventh and just had a poor tournament. At that point I almost decided that maybe it was time for me to move on and look at a different situation for me in my life. My wife was a big factor in pushing me through and having me go get the ACL surgery. We kind of stepped back and decided that I was going to do this season and see how the ACL held up. If I wasn't able to perform at a World level, then I was probably going to hang it up. I am more than happy with the way things have turned out and just hoping to continue it in the future.    TheMat.com:How is your current training situation going?  Moore: I came to Iowa State to workout with Cody Sanderson and some of the other guys that they have in the wrestling room up here. I haven't trained anywhere else this year except for in Norman, Oklahoma. I have guys like Michael Lightner and Joe Seay to help me out there. That situation in itself has helped me to grow as a wrestler and has just changed my whole mindset as to how to prepare for competition and tournaments. Obviously it has been a positive. I had decided to come here to Iowa State because a lot of guys at OU had taken breaks so when I heard that Iowa State still had some guys here I decided to come up. I just wanted to change the picture a little bit as I'm getting ready for the Team Trials.    Starting on May 30, TheMat.com will feature a daily interview with one of the 2002 U.S. Nationals champions, as well as a preview of that weight class for the upcoming World Team Trials, set for Saint Paul, Minn., June 21-23. Visit TheMat.com daily to read about America's best international athletes and learn about the exciting action expected at this year's World Team Trials.