A trifecta of Tar Heels on "Survivor: Nicaragua"

Can the "Survivor" title come back to North Carolina this fall? It will have three good chances.

Three North Carolinians are on the cast of the new season, which starts on Wednesday, Sept. 15 on CBS. (Note the move to Wednesday nights.)

Although other "Survivor" seasons have had North Carolinians, this installment is the first with three Tar Heels competing at the same time.

Those angling for the title are:

--Kelly Bruno, a 26-year-old UNC-Chapel Hill medical student from Durham. She tells CBS her personal claim to fame is "becoming the second and fastest female amputee to finish the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii in 2007."

Kelly was born with a birth defect and had her right leg amputated when she was an infant. She also has had personal tragedy this year: her father was killed in January when the earthquake hit in Haiti, where he was volunteering.

Her pet peeve is "when people chew ice or blow bubbles in an otherwise quiet room."

--Chase Rice, a 24-year-old "pro racecar jackman" from Fairview, near Asheville. Chase also has UNC ties -- he was a former linebacker (No. 44) on the Tar Heel football team. 

On the CBS website, Chase says his personal claim to fame is "winning the John Lotz Award ... awarded to the student at the University of North Carolina that overcomes the most adverse circumstances." Like Kelly, Chase recently lost his father.

Chase graduated in 2009 and now works for Hendrick Motorsports. An aspiring country music singer, Chase also likes hunting and riding four-wheelers. He likens himself to previous "Survivor" winner J.T. (Hmmm, hope he doesn't replicate J.T.'s all-time-dumbest-move-ever from last season -- giving away the Immunity Idol to evil Russell.)

--Jane Bright, a 56-year-old dog trainer from Jackson Springs, a town in Moore County. In addition to showing dogs (she's won best in show!), Jane says she likes snow and water skiing. She describes herself as "crazy, daring and honest," and says "lazy people" are her pet peeve.

Jane likens herself to the lovable, yet sometimes intellectually challenged, "Survivor" contestant Rupert.

Kelly and Chase will be on the La Flor tribe, which will be made up of all younger people. Jane is on the older-skewing Espada tribe, where she'll have former Super Bowl-winning Dallas Cowboys Coach Jimmy Johnson as a teammate.

Fort Bragg military wife Sandra Diaz-Twine won the last "Survivor," the "Heroes Vs. Villains" season, in the spring. She became the first person to win two "Survivor" seasons, worth $1 million each.