Miss Delaware Amanda Longacre stripped of her crown for being too old

DOVER, Del., June 27 (UPI) -- The woman who was crowned Miss Delaware 2014 was stripped of her crown after the Miss America Organization found out that she will be turning 25 in October.

When she originally won the pageant, Amanda Longacre was awarded scholarship money and the chance to compete in the national Miss American pageant this fall. She has now lost both of those perks.

Longacre won the title on June 14, but Miss America pageant rules require that contestants must be 24 or under during the entirety of their reign.

Brittany Lewis, the first runner-up in the pageant, has taken Longacre's place as Miss Delaware.

"Following the Miss Delaware Pageant, it was determined that Amanda Longacre exceeded the age requirement in order to be eligible to compete. Therefore, the Miss Delaware 2014 title is awarded to Brittany Lewis," the Miss America organization said in a release. "The Miss Delaware Pageant is proud to congratulate Brittany and wishes Amanda the very best on her future endeavors."

"I feel like I'm being erased," Longacre said, the Wilmington News Journal reported. "I'm just heartsick. I'm just really heartbroken. I'm being treated as if I did something morally and ethically wrong."

Longacre's hobby is jazz dance and she previously competed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

"They are making me forfeit everything," she said. "It's really humiliating because I did nothing wrong."