It came down to the wire for Knoxville native and UTC graduate, former Mocs cheerleader Nakeisha Turk on "Kicking and Screaming" Thursday night.
She and her survivalist partner John McPhee, a former sniper, were tasked with balancing together on a suspended line in the episode's elimination challenge. Their combined strength and balance didn't last, however, and they fell in the water and were sent home.
Turk and McPhee, who initially had a strained relationship on the show, only had good things to say about each other when their journey on "Kicking and Screaming" wrapped up.
"I think for the first time Nakeisha was in her element. I'm proud of her," said McPhee.
"We've had kicking and screaming, but you know she's come a long way, and this would probably be her finest day," he added.
"I feel like I've grown a lot," said Turk.
"I couldn't have asked for a better partner," she said. Turk also mentioned that she and McPhee plan to visit each other and eat barbecue.
Turk and McPhee had a tough time throughout the episode. They struggled in the prize challenge, which involved digging for ammo, pulling a canoe across the river and using a blow gun to break targets.
Only two boats were available for teams to cross the river, and Turk and McPhee didn't make it to one first. This put them behind from the start. Then they capsized their canoe, couldn't make up that lost time and finished last in the prize challenge. Scoutmaster Terry Fossum and online personality Natalie Casanova placed first and received $10,000.
In the elimination challenge, Turk and McPhee faced off against the team of model Juliana Herz and Air Force Reserve SERE Specialist Ben Domian, who they picked to send to the elimination challenge. Turk and McPhee got to pick them because they won last week's elimination challenge.
Before the challenge, it seemed that Herz was fine with losing and returning to her comfortable life outside of the jungle. Herz's bond with her partner Domian began to show cracks, too. Turk and McPhee seemed to be getting stronger and relying on each other more, but it still wasn't enough when it came to winning the challenge.
"Kicking and Screaming" takes 10 pampered novices and pairs them with 10 survival veterans, and the duos must survive in the jungles of Fiji together. Now, only four pairs remain on the show.
The team that makes it to the end of the show will win a prize of $500,000. "Kicking and Screaming" airs at 9 p.m. Thursdays on Fox.