Winning a national title was nothing new this year for Tim Hartung, except that it was his first in freestyle on the Senior level. The former two-time NCAA champion has climbed up the freestyle ladder over the past few years, most likely fueled by his decision to move up in weight last year.    As the top seed at the World Team Trials at 96 kg/211.75 lbs., Hartung is training as the hunted rather than the hunter. TheMat.com recently spoke with Hartung about his training, his move to the top and why he almost decided to retire just a year and a half ago.    TheMat.com: This is a new step for you - being the top seed at World Team Trials - isn't it?  Hartung: Yes it is.    TheMat.com: Some wrestlers prefer to wrestle through the Challenge Tournament. Do you think it will be refreshing to just get a couple of extra days of rest in while also being able to scout out some of your possible opponents?  Hartung: Definitely. I am excited about being able to sit out and have an automatic way to the finals. We have a pretty good plan for Friday and Saturday to get my body ready. It's not just a couple of days off. You have to work hard and be ready to go on Sunday. I think it's always the best position to take so you don't get upset or get hurt somewhere in the Challenge Tournament.    TheMat.com: Do you plan to wrestle some practice matches on Friday and Saturday just to stay focused?  Hartung: Yeah, we already have it mapped out, basically so that it is just like I was in the tournament. I will wrestle a couple of matches each day.    TheMat.com: How has training as the top seed and preparing to wrestle a best two-out-of-three series been different than training to go through the Challenge Tournament?  Hartung: I don't think our training has changed to tell you the truth. We ran through a six-week cycle just like we did for the U.S. Open. It was the same type of stuff. We were a little more specific on a few things based on who we think might come out of the challenge tournament, but mainly our training has been the same. I am just getting a lot of work in and getting my body ready.    TheMat.com: Two years ago, you placed seventh at U.S. Nationals. Last year, you placed fourth at U.S. Nationals but injury defaulted out of the World Team Trials after a loss. What has been the difference for you this year?  Hartung: I hardly wrestled freestyle in high school and didn't wrestle it much through college either. I think it was the fact that I got out of college and needed to adjust to the style. My par terre was really bad when I first started. Even on my feet I was very uncomfortable and didn't have much confidence. It was kind of like my college career. When I first got in college, I lost 18 times as a freshman and then three times the rest of my career. I kind of need to be around it for a while and a lot of times I can pick it up pretty fast and take off. The biggest change for me has been my par terre. I haven't been turned yet this whole year and I have been able to gut wrench and turn most guys and that's just changed the way that my matches have been going.    TheMat.coom: You mentioned a lack of experience coming out of college. Did you ever think about not even wrestling freestyle?  Hartung: I didn't think about not doing it, but just coming off a couple of NCAA titles, I figured I should give it a try. A year and a half ago, I was still trying to go down to 187 and I got hurt a couple of times. I was very close to retiring. I had talked about it a bunch with (Marty Morgan), with J (Robinson) and even with Kevin Jackson. They talked to me about moving up to 213. They said that if I don't make progress in a year or so, I could see what I wanted to do. Once I made that move up to 213, which is now 211, things just started to work out a lot better. It is obviously more fun when you are not cutting weight. I am just getting bigger and working on technique.    TheMat.com: Conditioning is a trademark of the Minnesota program. Has that been a big reason why guys like you, Brandon Eggum, Brandon Paulson and Garrett Lowney have had so much success?  Hartung: I think so. If you look at most of us, conditioning is never a problem. Whenever it's not a problem, it allows you to wrestle as hard as you want. Each one of us does that. When you don't have that problem, guys come at you in a different way. When people know that you are well-conditioned, I don't think they wrestle you quite as hard, quite as fast because they are a little scared of getting tired themselves. We take conditioning seriously up here and we never want to get beat for that reason.    TheMat.com: The University of Minnesota has mainly excelled in Greco in recent years. Is it tough for you as a freestyle wrestler to get training partners in Minneapolis?  Hartung: Not really. We work hand-in-hand with Dan Chandler. He works with the freestyle guys a lot with our par terre. He is always setting me up with Lowney or Quincey Clark and Brian Kraemer. We're not divided at all. We work well as one unit when we're together. We just added Gordy Morgan as a freestyle coach. He has always been a Greco guy, but he has done a great job with us. He has been a state freestyle coach since February. He works with me and Eggum on a daily basis while Marty and J couldn't just because of college wrestling. It's made a big difference just having a guy keeping you accountable for what you are supposed to be doing day-in and day-out. He's putting us through the lifts and through the wrestling workouts. You always get a little more out of it when someone is there pushing you as opposed to being on your own. It makes a big difference for me because I have always excelled when I had somebody setting things up for me and making sure I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.    TheMat.com: You are in charge of Marketing and Promotions for Minnesota wrestling. You have to be a busy man, especially with the draw you had a Border Brawl. When are you able to make time for your training?  Hartung: This past year was very, very hectic. I just got done running our Verne Gagne Golf Tournament that we have every year for fundraising. I told J that I am not doing it for the next couple of years.    TheMat.com: Is it burning you out?  Hartung: It wouldn't be that bad, but I travelled a lot more this year. I went to Ukraine and Turkey and went to Bulgaria with Eggum for the World Championships. When you are gone all the time and come back and have to catch up on stuff in the office, it sucks, plain and simple. I will be around helping out next year, but I'm not going to do the Marketing and Promotions side of things. I think Brett Lawrence is going to do it next year because he is not going to continue to compete.    TheMat.com: In college, you had a rivalry with Lee Fullhart. This year, you beat another member of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club, Chad Lamer, for the U.S. Nationals title. Do you think another rivalry could be brewing?  Hartung: I think so. A college rivalry is going to be a little better just from the crowd standpoint. Especially with Minnesota and Iowa. Those two teams have the best crowds in the country. It takes an audience to make that rivalry. I think I could have one with Lamer, but I don't think it will be anything near what me and Fullhart had.    TheMat.com: There were rumors two years ago that you had challenged Lee Fullhart to a match during the intermission of a Minnesota-Iowa dual. Is that rumor true and if so, is the offer still on the table?  Hartung: Actually, the Wrestling Mall put the offer up. They offered us both $1,000 or something. I think it was going to be held before the Iowa-Minnesota dual. I said I would do it and I guess he didn't. If it would have been down in Iowa City, I don't know if I would have done it, but it was in Minnesota so I figured I would do it.