Charles went to Eleanor Roosevelt High School where she won the 4 × 400 metres relay in the 2008 Championship of America contested at the
Penn Relays. In her freshman year she won the bronze medal in the 400 metres at the
2011 CARIFTA Games held in
Montego Bay, Jamaica; competing for Antigua she set a new personal best time of 54.23 seconds. She broke the freshman and school records for the outdoor 400 metres, setting a time of 53.6 seconds and was a member of the 4 × 400 metres relay team that competed at the 2011
NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship. To prepare for the Games Charles worked with
Dee Dee Trotter, an Olympic gold medalist at the
2004 Summer Olympics in the 4 × 400 metres relay who had qualified for the
2012 United States team and is a friend of Smith Gilbert from their time together at the
University of Tennessee. ==References==