RENO, Nev. - Kristopher Prather of Milton, Fla., shot 300 in the first game of his adult bowling career last August, and he continued his trend of dramatic debuts with an 800 series in his first appearance at the USBC Open Championships this week.

The 19-year-old right-hander is fresh off his first year at Wichita State University and used the tools he acquired as part of the most successful collegiate bowling program in history to find the spotlight at the National Bowling Stadium on Monday.

He rolled nine consecutive games of 200 or better and improved with each set he bowled, shooting 649 in team and 689 in doubles before making a run at the Regular Singles lead.

Prather left a 10 pin in his first frame of singles and struck on 22 of his next 23 shots for games of 290 and 279. The pins were a little less cooperative in the finale, but he was able to strike under pressure and closed with seven in a row for 249 and an 818 series, which is second overall. Matt Weggen of Muscatine, Iowa, leads Regular Singles with 826.

"I just wanted to keep the ball in play, make my spares and have a good time with my dad (Anthony)," said Prather, who finished just outside of the top 10 in Regular All-Events with a 2,156 total. "I came to this event with my dad when I was younger, and it looked like they were having a great time. I was looking forward to bowling with those guys eventually. I've known some of them my whole life, and I just wanted to bowl well for them."

Prather put the things he learned at Wichita State to good use and was able to get a good feeling about his singles pair by watching the bowlers in front of him.

"I noticed the guy I was following was playing the same area I was, except he was throwing a shiny ball, which carried the oil down and created hold area for me," said Prather, who averaged 196.8 in three collegiate events this season. "I just went out there and tried to put the ball where I thought it needed to be and hoped that was enough. I took what I learned at Wichita this year, and what I learned on my own, and put it to use. But, I've never been that nervous, ever. I'm still shaking."

Prather's 800 series was the record 14th of this year's Open Championships. The previous record was 10 on three occasions- 1991, 1996 and 2002. In six previous visits to the Stadium, there were a total of 21 800s.

Click here to watch video highlights from the 2011 Open Championships.

Presenting sponsors for the 2011 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado Hotel Casino Reno and Silver Legacy Resort Casino Reno. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, Humana, official registration sponsor, US Steltronic, official scoring system, and supporting sponsors Storm Bowling Products, UPS, Nationwide Insurance, Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, Harrah's Reno Casino and Hotel and Peppermill Hotel Casino.