When she's on the range lining up her rifle with the target, Washington High School Air Force JROTC cadet Francesca Pratt doesn't think about her competition and what she's up against.

It's simply between her and the tiny target.

But that's not to say the senior isn't excited to be excelling in one of the few sports where males and females compete against each other.

"It's just cool that women still dominate," the senior said with giggle.

Facing a field of male and female competitors, Pratt put on a stellar shooting performance at the 2012 Air Force JROTC Service Championship Feb. 8-12 at Camp Perry, Ohio.

She finished 20th in her division and earned a spot in the National JROTC Championship March 22-24 at the CMP Marksmanship Center-South in Anniston, Ala.

"I tend to shoot better when there are big things on the line, but I shot better than I thought I would," Pratt said. "I didn't expect to do this well."

Similar to competition at the collegiate level, marksmanship in the JROTC ranks allows males and females to compete against each other. Several female cadets were among the top finishers at the service championship in Ohio, Pratt said.

The trend of females dominating is echoed in the college ranks.

"Maybe it's our ability to focus ... the mental game," Pratt said.

In 2010, the Texas Christian University squad became the first all-women's team to win the NCAA rifle championship. In 2011, TCU went 22-0 in the regular season and were heavy favorites at the NCAA national rifle championship in March before finishing third. This season, the team is undefeated thus far.

"Women have a lower center of gravity and I think that gives them a distinct advantage in shooting from the standing position," Launi Mieli, head coach of the Air Force Academy rifle team and the only American woman to win an Olympic gold in small-bore rifle, told the Wall Street Journal. "I think they have better balance."

While Pratt no doubt has the physical talents, it's her mental toughness that allows her to flourish during crunch time, said Col. John Pardo, the unit's commander.

Last year at the conference championship, she was there as the unit's alternate and managed to finish first out of more than 70 competitors. Going into the kneeling position (the last target to shoot in the competition), Pardo knew she could finish first because all the other competitors' scores were posted and she had done well on prone and standing.

"Before she started kneeling I told her the situation because I knew it would motivate her, and she came through," he said. "That is the last thing I would do with most of my shooters, but she thrives on pressure."

Pratt did the same thing at the AF JROTC nationals, where she was consistently strong throughout the 120 recorded shots.

"I almost cried when I heard I was going to be moving on," said Pratt, who also enjoys archery, golf and chess - other extremely self-focused activities.