Hartung had been anticipated to win the event and potentially set a new mark. He followed through by smashing the previous record, held by Bradley Hill who ran 16.1 in 2011.
"I'm pretty satisfied with the result I guess, I can't complain in breaking the record,” Hartung told AFL.com.au.
“I didn't know what to expect because I hadn't trained for it the past four weeks or so considering we had the finals with Dandenong,"
"I was eager to see what I'd get in the beep test. It all turned out pretty well."
Kids showcase skills at combine
Hartung said as he got closer to the record he became more determined to break it.
"I was well aware of the hype around me trying to beat the beep test record, and as I passed the 15-barrier I actually felt pretty good and that egged me on to get to 16.
"Once I got to 16 I wanted to beat it, but I couldn't go much longer after that. A few people said it looked like I could keep going, but my legs couldn't keep going."
The small midfielder built his endurance game as a teenager, when he started doing long-distance running over summer.
"When I was about 15 I played cricket for school but I knew I wasn't trying to go far with my cricket, so I decided to do something that would help me in the off-season (and) took up triathlons mainly for pre-season fitness," he said.
"After a season or two I took it really seriously and it became my second sport. But now, because footy's pretty full on I can't do the triathlons as much, but I still do the training."
Hartung said as he got closer to the record he became more determined to break it.
"I was well aware of the hype around me trying to beat the beep test record, and as I passed the 15-barrier I actually felt pretty good and that egged me on to get to 16.
"Once I got to 16 I wanted to beat it, but I couldn't go much longer after that. A few people said it looked like I could keep going, but my legs couldn't keep going."
The small midfielder built his endurance game as a teenager, when he started doing long-distance running over summer.
"When I was about 15 I played cricket for school but I knew I wasn't trying to go far with my cricket, so I decided to do something that would help me in the off-season (and) took up triathlons mainly for pre-season fitness," he said.
"After a season or two I took it really seriously and it became my second sport. But now, because footy's pretty full on I can't do the triathlons as much, but I still do the training."
Click here to see all the combine test results
A finger injury sidelined Hartung at the start of this season, but he returned to win All Australian honours mid-year after a strong NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.
To beat a tag, he spent some more time across half-back as Dandenong pushed to the TAC Cup Grand Final.
As well as his brilliant running results, Hartung also posted strong results in the kicking tests on Thursday, showing himself as a likely first-round pick come November's NAB AFL Draft.
Shuttle run/beep test results
1. Billy Hartung (level 16.6)
2. Jake Barrett (15.6)
3. Alex Pearce (15.5)
4. Eli Templeton (15.3)
5. Darcy Byrne-Jones (15.2)
6. Nathan Drummond (15.2)
7. Jake Kelly (15.2)
8. James Tsitas (15.2)
9. Josh Kelly (15.1)
10. Nathan Freeman (14.10)
Twitter: @AFL_CalTwomey
A finger injury sidelined Hartung at the start of this season, but he returned to win All Australian honours mid-year after a strong NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.
To beat a tag, he spent some more time across half-back as Dandenong pushed to the TAC Cup Grand Final.
As well as his brilliant running results, Hartung also posted strong results in the kicking tests on Thursday, showing himself as a likely first-round pick come November's NAB AFL Draft.
Shuttle run/beep test results
1. Billy Hartung (level 16.6)
2. Jake Barrett (15.6)
3. Alex Pearce (15.5)
4. Eli Templeton (15.3)
5. Darcy Byrne-Jones (15.2)
6. Nathan Drummond (15.2)
7. Jake Kelly (15.2)
8. James Tsitas (15.2)
9. Josh Kelly (15.1)
10. Nathan Freeman (14.10)
Twitter: @AFL_CalTwomey
