Reliving the moment of being crowned as the 2015 Miss Peach on Thursday night still seemed surreal for Kendal Elijah on Friday.

“I am still in shock,” Elijah said. “I have never won a pageant before, and I still can’t believe this happened.”

Elijah was crowned by 2014 Miss Peach Tayler Mazingo in front of a packed auditorium at Chilton County High School.

Elijah, 17, was also named the casual wear winner.

This is the second year for Elijah to compete in the Miss Peach pageant after being named second alternate in 2014.

“I knew when I competed last year that I wanted to come back this year and try and win,” Elijah said. “I felt like this year I was more prepared because I had competed last year, and I think that allowed me to be more relaxed and calm.”

There was no swimsuit competition this year, a change from previous years, with girls competing in a casual wear category instead.

Contestants were also asked an onstage question, which they had been given ahead of time, and had an interview portion with judges prior to the pageant starting at 6:30 p.m.

Although the decision to remove the swimsuit category from the pageant this year elicited mixed responses from people within the community, Elijah said she thinks the category should be brought back for future pageants.

“When I first heard about swimwear being taken out, I was kind of upset,” Elijah said. “I am confident in myself, and I think swimwear is a good way to represent that confidence to the judges. Miss Peach is more than your body; it is about your grace and intelligence so in that aspect, wearing a swimsuit doesn’t really reflect those qualities. I respect the decision to remove the swimwear, but I think it should be put back in.”

Elijah’s on-stage question asked what was the best piece of advice she ever received.

“I said that I think doubt kills more dreams than failure ever could,” Elijah said. “I used to doubt my ability to achieve goals that I have wanted in my life, but I learned that doubting is worse than giving 100 percent.”

Elijah is looking forward to her year as Miss Peach and getting to be the “voice” for peach farmers and the peach industry in Chilton County.

“There are so many people from this community, and I get the opportunity to be the one who speaks for so many of them. I also get to be a mom for my peach sisters, and just having the opportunity to go out there and tell people about our county is going to be something I am really looking forward to.”

Elijah is the daughter of Gary Elijah and Tammy Hand.

She will be a senior at Chilton County High School where she is a varsity cheerleader and member of the National Honor Society.

She attends First Baptist Church of Clanton and plans to pursue a nursing degree at Auburn University.

Elijah’s court included Savannah Swindle, first alternate; Kali Trice, second alternate; Ashley Ward, third alternate and Brianna Price, fourth alternate.

Raegan Knight was named the 2015 Miss Congeniality.

Before Miss Peach was crowned, former Miss Peach Queens from previous years were recognized onstage.

Mazingo was also recognized for serving as Miss Peach 2014 and took her final walk after thanking the community for their support.

Elijah joins Junior Miss Peach, Grayson Gann, Young Miss Peach Halle Sullivan and Little Miss Peach Lexie Deavers as the 2015 Chilton County Peach Queens.