Race to Survive: New Zealand has its first elimination of the season! Here's who came in last on the first leg

Race to Survive: New Zealand episode 2, "Packrafts, Portages and Pain," picks up just as Oliver and Corry's raft tips putting their lead in jeopardy. But as nail-biting as the race between the Top 3 was, the Bottom 2 teams were who I was paying the closest attention to, after all, one of them was going to be sent home. For the majority of the episode, Steffen and Mikhail would gain ground between themselves and Emilio and Heather, but the determined Rhode Island racers fought to close the gap.

By the time the two teams made it to the rapids portion of the leg, the race was tight. Steffen and Mikhail still had the lead but when they hit a rock, and their raft tipped, it seemed like Emilio and Heather finally had the opening they needed. The episode kept us in suspense but the team in the raft that came around the bend weren't a surprise.

Who was eliminated in Race to Survive: New Zealand episode 2?

Emilio Navarro and Heather Sishco

Steffen and Mikhail claimed the last medallions from the end crate, putting Emilio and Heather in last place and eliminating the duo from the competition. It was a disappointing loss as Emilio didn't foresee them being the first to leave the season. But they were both proud that didn't give up. They kept pushing. Heather worked past her fear of jumping into the chasm, and Emilio kept going despite his scary fall from the rock face when he decided to go up and over the narrow passage in the chasm.

With eight teams left in the race, the competition has become fiercer as they're all aware of the advantages they received based on their ranking or their decision making when it came to stopping for food caches or to forage. Here's how each remaining team did in "Packrafts, Portages and Pain."

Team rankings

1st place - Oliver Dev and Spencer "Corry" Jones

Despite their raft tipping, Oliver and Corry managed to maintain their lead position thanks to some quick thinking when the got to the shallows. Because Oliver is the lighter of the two men, they devised that he would stay in the raft and navigate the rocky bed while Corry walked and guided him. This allowed the duo to move quicker and not expend anymore energy trying to carry the raft. By the time they got back to deeper water, they'd put significant distance between themselves and the two teams trailing them.

Once they reached the end crate, the pair had their pick between bacon, fishing rods, hammocks, or a fire kit. They chose the rods, believing that they'd be able to catch enough fish at survival camp to help sustain them for a portion of the competition. Fishing, however, proved more difficult than they thought but, thanks to Creighton sharing that he'd found goose eggs, they were able to forage necessary sustenance for at least a few days.

2nd Place - Ryan Stewart and Bronsen Iverson

The in-laws held onto second place and were the only team apart of the Top 3 not to tip their raft over in the rapids. When they got to the end crate, they went straight for the bacon. Ryan saw it as a reward for all they'd went through in the first leg of the race. It's also a source of protein that will be invaluable as the journey only gets rougher from here.

3rd place - Ethan Greenberg and Tyrie Mann Merrill

The firefighters intended on giving Ryan and Bronsen a run for their money in the rapids but they fell further behind when their raft tipped. Still, because they came in third, they were able to select a tool from the end crate that could benefit them. With only the hammocks and the fire kit left, they chose the former. Right now, at survival camp, the hammocks are only serving as another layer of material in their tent. We'll have to wait and see how else they might be of use later in the competition.

Though the two were a part of the conversation where Creighton let it slip that there are goose eggs in the area, Ethan and Tyrie didn't capitalize on that knowledge. At least not in episode 2. They were one of the few teams that stopped to get the rations from the second food cache though so they do have some food.

4th place - Paulina Pena and Creighton Baird

"Packrafts, Portages and Pain" was a rough episode for the divorcees not because they struggled on the course but because they kept clashing over their decisions. Paulina didn't want to stop for the second food cache because they ran the risk of losing their position. Creighton disagreed but backed her choice.

Still feeling that it wasn't a good idea to have depleted food stores, and with the day hours away from coming to a close, Creighton decided to follow the impulse to search the rocky area by the river for a nest since he saw a goose. Paulina wasn't for it but relented which paid off since he did find some eggs. Creighton grabbed a few of the eggs but left some for the goose so she had something to come back to.

Once they arrived at the end crate, the only beneficial resource left was a fire kit but since they already had one, Creighton didn't see how it could be useful plus it was hefty. This furthered his conviction that they'd made the wrong decision to skip the second food cache.

Later, during a conversation with Oliver, Corry, Tyrie, and Ethan, Creighton shared that he'd found goose eggs, much to Paulina's surprise and irritation. He, however, didn't see an issue with it since he didn't believe that it gave their competitors a leg up. Considering the amount of eggs that Oliver and Corry foraged, and the lack of footage of Creighton and Paulina doing the same, it looks like Creighton sharing when he shouldn't have may have cut off a food resource for them.

5th place - Coree Woltering and Daniel "Jeff" Watterson

Coree and Jeff are in the middle of the pack but they have a strategy. They're not skipping the food caches at least not yet. Their minds are on the long game. The competition is 40 days in length, when the duo reached survival camp, only three days had passed. With a long way still to go and calories being of the utmost importance since they will burn thousands of them in this difficult trek, food is important and will be highly coveted the deeper we get into the race.

6th place - Rhandi Ohrme and Ashley Paulson

Unlike Coree and Jeff, the endurance athletes did skip the second food cache. However, they grabbed rations at the first cache, so they might be in decent shape at survival camp. The friends have kept each other motivated, and Ashley's spirit has been buoyed by being able to be herself even if it means creating a makeshift vanity using a tree branch in order to put her lashes on.

7th place - Nikola "Nik" Milutinovic and Kennedy Taylor

It's been a tough first leg for Nik and Kennedy since they decided to skip not one but both food caches. Their arrival at survival camp without the nutrients they need to sustain a race like this means they'll be spending the next five days concentrated on foraging and hunting. In the package for the next episode, Kennedy was licking fungi off trees to stave off hunger and Nik seemed determined to pick off one of the geese in the area even though he knows it's dangerous.

8th place - Steffen Jean-Pierre and Mikhail Martin

Steffen and Mikhail are in the same boat as Nik and Kennedy. They, too, skipped both food caches. When asked about it by their fellow competitors, the pair said they pushed through on sheer force of will. However, it's been three days since they ate and they'll need to use their time at survival camp to forage and possibly hunt if they want to stand a chance on staying in the competition.

Next on Race to Survive: New Zealand - It looks like we'll be getting a glimpse at the teams' time at survival camp as they try to replenish, add, or build up their stores of food. But then the second leg of the race will commence and, if you can believe it, what they traversed before won't hold a candle to what awaits them in the next part of the race. Episode 3 airs June 3 at 11 p.m. ET on USA Network, it'll arrive on Peacock come June 10.