Utah Teen Stripped of Pageant Title Days After Win Over 'Clerical Error': 'It's Unfair'

Amanda Giraldi, 17, won the Miss Lehi Teen crown, but said she learned three days later she was too old to have competed

A Utah teen says she will no longer compete in pageants after winning one and then having the crown stripped away days later due to a "clerical error."

Amanda Giraldi, 17, was named Miss Lehi Teen on Saturday, but just three days later she was told she'd have to relinquish her crown after learning from pageant officials she was too old to have competed, according to independent station KJZZ-TV.

"The two ladies that ran the local organization came over to my house to basically explain to me what happened," Giraldi told NBC affiliate KSL-TV. "They were not willing to hear me out and they basically had their mind already made up. They asked us for the crown and they left."

The teen went on to say that pageant representatives "explained, basically, that it was a clerical error that Miss America had made on their documents, in their paperwork," per KJZZ-TV.

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The documents she signed included a clause that stated participants must be born between 2005 and 2010, Giraldi, who was born in 2005, told the station. But at some point, she said that pageant representatives had updated the rules, with the new cutoff date being 2006.

“I’m disappointed because I really worked hard for it and I just feel like the opportunity was taken from me,” she told the outlet. “I feel as though it’s unfair."

In a statement obtained by the outlet, the Miss Utah Organization wrote that "we send our sincere apologies.

“Our state leadership takes full responsibility for the oversight in eligibility criteria, and our hearts also go out to you for the distress that was caused by the removal of your crown and sash," the statement read, in part. "We want to be clear that these were the result of human error, not an error from the Miss America national office. We are actively working to put measures into place to ensure that future mistakes like these are prevented.”

A representative for Miss Lehi Teen did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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The pageant is allowing Giraldi to keep the $1,000 scholarship she won, according to NBC affiliate KSL-TV. She also said they offered to create a new title for her, but she's not sure she'll take them up on that.

“I think, ultimately, I am not going to take the city title that they have created for me because it’s really not what I earned,” Giraldi told CBS affiliate KUTV. “Even though it’s a kind offer, it’s just really not what I wanted."

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As for the future, the teen said she doesn't have any plans to compete in future pageants, but is proud of the strides she took in preparing for the competition, per the outlet.

"I was really stretched to my limits. I had to learn how to talk to people, how to interview, how to walk in a gown and be confident in myself," Giraldi told KSL-TV. "I've never done a pageant before and being able to come out winning was crazy. It gave me this faith in myself that I can really do anything I put my mind to."

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