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UF Student From Lakeland Hangs Around On 'Survivor'

Monty Brinton/CBS

Spencer Duhm has been a fan of the show since he was a child. Duhm was 18 when the episodes were taped in 2008.

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 6, 2009

He hasn't formed any alliances. He hasn't been a party to any dirty dealing, yet. He hasn't made a fool of himself.

So Spencer Duhm, the youngest "Survivor" contestant ever, is still in the running for the $1 million prize on CBS' "Survivor: Tocantins: The Brazilian Highlands."

The Lakeland native and University of Florida student survived another round, as seen Thursday night.

Duhm has said that winning the money is not as important as winning the game. A fan of the show since he was a child, Duhm was 18 when the episodes were taped in 2008.

Duhm wasn't even in jeopardy of getting sent home on the first three shows this season because his team, the Jalapao Tribe, was on a winning streak. But the group stumbled on this week's episode.

Losing the immunity challenge, team members had to attend the Tribal Council, where 53-year-old Sandy Burgin, a bus driver from Louisville, Ky., was sent home.

The crusty, outspoken Burgin appeared doomed from the get-go because other tribe members found her constant chatter irritating. Her Southern drawl probably cost her a few IQ points, too (in her tribe's opinion).

Viewers could have seen Burgin's fate coming because she was the center of the drama on this episode.

Duhm, a sophomore at UF who wants to go into sports broadcasting, sat out the first challenge Thursday. His team won, and the prize was a chance to raid the opposing Timbera Tribe's stash, netting beans and a water can.

When Jalapao raiders J.T. Thomas Jr. and Joe Dowdle returned with only one of the two sacks of beans, Burgin's demise started. She complained that they should have wiped out all of Timbera's food supply. But Thomas said he showed mercy because the teams may be combined down the road, and he would need the goodwill.

Burgin said that's like going up to someone who's got 100 guns and taking just 75, and you still get killed.

Young blonde Sydney Wheeler showed her disgust for Burgin. Not there is any love lost. Burgin trashed Wheeler for using her sexual charms (like going braless and running around in boxer shorts) to win over the guys. That set the stage for a catfight: Burgin told Wheeler to take off her panties if she wants to stay.

In the second challenge, the teams competed in a relay to untie giant triangular puzzle pieces that would spell out a phrase. Jalapao couldn't solve the puzzle and lost.

And now there are 12 contestants.

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.

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