Surfing Republica - Costa Rican representatives stand out in the QS ranking of the North American region
Tomas King, Leilani McGonagle and Rubiana Brownell are the highest-ranked Costa Rican representatives in the QS ranking for the North American region.
After a busy weekend at the Vans Pro, a QS 3,000 pt stop of the World Surf League (WSL), the qualifying ranking for the Challenger Series was modified and now three Costa Ricans are in the fight for the top spots.
In the men's competition, Tamarindo native Tomas King delivered an outstanding performance, earning a total of 1,825 points and propelling him to fourth place in the North American QS rankings. It's worth noting that this is Tomas' first QS event of 2022, and his ranking could continue to climb significantly with continued strong performances.
“I’m very happy, mostly because I’ve worked really, really hard this year, and it’s great to see results after all the work and dedication you put in. This result is very important because there aren’t many QS 3,000-point events, and starting the year like this is truly incredible. Now I’ll keep working to finish the year strong, secure a spot in the Challenger Series, and focus 100% on everything that’s coming next year. Let’s go all out,” Tomas King told Surfing Republica . 
Darshan Antequera and Sam Reidy are the other Costa Ricans with the second best ranking and are currently in position # 59. 
In the women's competition, Leilani McGonagle and Rubiana Brownell also performed well at this QS 3,000-point event, earning considerable scores that now place them fifth and fourteenth respectively. Both have participated in two QS events this year, but they could improve their rankings by competing in more QS events.
Taking into consideration that to qualify for the 2023 Challenger Series at the end of the year, only the top 10 male surfers and 8 female surfers will be at these stops that grant qualification to the 2024 CT, the Costa Rican representatives Tomas King and Leilani McGonagle must maintain their current positions, while Rubiana Brownell and the other Costa Rican representatives in the ranking will have to improve their respective rankings to be among those eligible for the Challenger Series next year. 
The next QS event where Costa Ricans can continue to accumulate points will be the WRV Outer Banks Pro, a 1,000-point stop that will take place from August 31 to September 4 in Nags Head, North Carolina, USA.