Matt Austin is from Renton, Washington and works for Woodinville Construction Services building Quadrant homes.  Matt loves to play baseball in his spare time as well as taking long runs with his dog Hemi.  Matt began competitive shooting in late winter of 2004.  Matt won the Master Unclassified Aggregate in his first match appearance.  In the spring of 2005, Matt was elected to represent Washington State R&PA Junior Team as a vice-captain.  Matt also was introduced to long range matches by shooting an AR-15 at 1000 yards which was a difficult task, but not impossible.  From those experiences Matt quickly realized that a Palma rifle was the only way to go!  Matt is now competing in long range competitions in the Northwest as well as the West Coast.  He wants to continue shooting long range and high power to reach those specific goals he has set for international and home range matches.  This is Matt’s first time on the USA Young Eagles.

SPC Tyrel Cooper was born and raised in California.  He is a service rifle shooter with the US Army Marksmanship Unit in Ft Benning Ga, where he currently resides.  In 1999 he began his shooting career in the high power discipline at the age of 14 and picked up long range a year later.  Ty was on the 2003 silver medalist Young Eagles Under 21 team.  Shortly after returning from England, Ty enlisted in the Army.  Since being assigned to the AMU some of Ty's major accomplishments have been:  Winner of the 2005 and 2006 1,000-yard Interservice Championships, 2006 Long Range Interservice Champion, current holder of the Wimbledon Record, Silver medalist in the 2006 Service Rifle Championships and a member of the 2007 Palma Team.  Ty is the Head Coach of the USA Young Eagles Team of 2007.

Andy Doney is currently attending Northern Michigan University and plans on majoring in Chemistry.  He enjoys football, weightlifting, hunting, and not to mention competitive rifle shooting.  His biggest shooting accomplishments include qualifying for the Presidents Hundred and making the Palma 20 in 2006. He was the Wisconsin Long Range Junior Champion, along with being the Master Class Champion for 2006.  He was the Wisconsin State John Garand Junior Champion in 2003, 2004, and 2005.  This is Andy’s first time on the USA Young Eagles Team.

Eric Eilberg is a recent graduate of Denison University with B.S. in Computer Science and Physics.  He would like to work with robotics or aerospace technologies.  Eric is a coach for the Ohio Junior Rifle Team and really enjoys working with the junior shooters.  He also takes pleasure in music and the company of good friends.  As well as earning his Distinguished Marksman badge, Eric has also received the Palma Promotions Junior Achievement Award and won several individual and team honors in Ohio.  He has been Junior Long Range Champion, Regional Long Range Team Champion, Junior State Service Rifle Champion, and won the 2005 Regional Leg Match.  He recently started shooting a match rifle across the course.  This is Eric’s first time on the USA Under 25 team.

Amanda Elsenboss has been shooting high power for 4 years and recently started shooting long range.  In 2004, her second year out to the Nationals, she was High Intermediate Junior with the service rifle.  In 2005, she competed in a shoot off for the Appreciation Cup (200yd rapid sitting). In 2006, she was on the winning Whistler Boy Trophy team, and the 6 man and 4 man winning junior teams. Amanda is a senior in high school and is undecided about life after graduation.  She enjoys playing field hockey, horseback riding, skiing, and of course shooting.  This is Amanda’s first time with the USA Young Eagles.

Kyle Fiegel has shot competitively since 1997, having gotten his start shooting position smallbore rifle.   Later he took up high power and long range rifle shooting.  His accomplishments include placing in the President’s 100, earning the Colorado State Junior High Power Rifle Champion title for three years in a row, being a firing member on the first place junior team in the National Trophy Team Match (Minuteman Trophy), a member of the honorary National Junior Service Rifle Team (Deneke Trophy), a Palma Promotions award recipient, a Distinguished Rifleman, and he set an NRA national junior record for prone slow fire.  At present, Kyle is a senior at the University of Northern Colorado where he is majoring in Business Management.  When he is not shooting, studying, or working, Kyle enjoys playing golf and snowboarding

Vikki Gaddie, age 17, first started shooting with her dad at their local club.  She enjoys shooting long range as well as across the course, but says her favorite rifle is the .308 Palma rifle.  She has achieved many of her shooting goals, including going to South Africa for their Long Range Championships.  There she shot her first clean at 500 meters - shooting her way to one silver and two gold medals.  She's won several Palma awards and placed multiple times at local matches.  Besides shooting, Vikki likes to be
outdoors, play volleyball, baseball, and be with friends.  She plans to go to college for Law Enforcement.  She attributes her shooting accomplishments to her dad, shooting coach, and her friends and family's support.  She lives in Michigan with her parents, and six siblings.  This is Vikki’s first appearance with the USA Young Eagles.

Sherri Gallagher will be graduating as a veterinarian technician in December of 2007.  She enjoys competing, training, spending time with friends, and loving life.  Her international shooting accomplishments include 2003 World Champion and 5th overall at the 2002 British Nationals.  Sherri was a member of the winning Under 21 team in 2000.  Her USA National awards include 3rd overall for the 2004 High Power matches and 2nd in the 2002 Long Range Nationals.  She is excited and proud to be a part of the 2007 Young Eagles team.

Josh Harless works on Fort Carson for a government contractor. He is the leader of a small arms repair team.  His team inspects, services, and repairs small arms equipment, including pistols, rifles, machine guns, and automatic grenade launchers.  Josh graduated from Trinidad State Junior College with a degree in gunsmithing. He enjoys many outdoor activities, including bow hunting, fishing, and building custom rifles.

Jeff Hudak is currently a student at Kent State University, majoring in Architecture and Environmental Design.  When not on the range or in a design studio, Jeff enjoys rock climbing, backpacking, and snowboarding.  Jeff has several shooting accomplishments in Ohio including Service Rifle Long Range Champion, and other Regional and State Junior Service Rifle Championships.  His accomplishments in the international shooting venue include being a returning member of the 2003 Silver Medalist U-25 Team.  He also earned his Distinguished Rifleman badge in 2004.  After being a member of the Ohio Junior Rifle Team for six years he has continued to play an active role as an assistant coach for the past three years. This is Jeff’s second appearance with the USA Young Eagles.

Steven Joyce is 16 years old and lives in Watertown, Connecticut. He is currently a junior attending Watertown High School, where he plans on joining the track team for pole vault. He enjoys playing paintball and video games and also listening to music. Steven has received many shooting accomplishments, including High Intermediate Junior at the 2005 National Championships. He was also a firing member of both the High Junior Six Man Team and the High Junior Rumbold Team at the 2006 US Nationals. His goal in life is to be a marksman in the US Army. This is Steven’s first time competing with the US Young Eagles.