Students at Kenwood High School know Chris Dotson as their technology education teacher, but what they might not know is that he’s a pretty good bowler too. Dotson just returned from the AMF’s $500,000 National In-League Tournament in Las Vegas where he won $5,000.
“It was one of the best experiences I have ever had in any type of tournament,” Dotson said. “I met so many different people. It was pretty cool.”
Dotson is a 24-year-old Middle River resident and is new to the area after moving from Binghamton, NY in August.
Bowling is in his blood as Dotson comes from a bowling family. He and his sister started bowling when they were four years old. His grandparents bowled, and his mom and dad are bowlers too.
“Bowling has always been a great bonding experience for me and my dad,” he said.
When Dotson heard about the $500,000 tournament, he decided to try to cash in on his love for the sport. He started off by finishing first at the local tournament in Middle River. Then he went to the regional tournament in Delaware where he finished first again and qualified for the national tournament in Las Vegas. His success continued out there as he finished fourth in his division, which is out of 27 bowlers. Dotson even surprised himself alittle that he was able to compete with the best bowlers in the country.
“I didn’t have high expectations of winning the tournament. I just wanted to go for the experience,” Dotson added. “But when I finished fourth place, that was pretty cool.”
He  plans  to put some of the $5,000 into a savings bond and will use the rest of the money to pay for education to receive his master’s degree. He will also continue his bowling career every week at AMF in Middle River.