Have you looked into how the research opportunities at the schools on your list compare for undergrads as for graduate students? Oftentimes schools with large graduate departments will have more of the plum opportunities reserved for those students, as compared to a school with few or no grad students where undergrads have a lot more opportunities.
One school I’m thinking about is Davidson. There are about 1900 undergrads here, it’s in a cute town, and it’s about a half hour away from Charlotte. It’s the alma mater of Steph Curry and Davidson gets an A- from student ratings on Niche in terms of athletic enthusiasm. This would probably be a lower probability option.
Another school is U. of Richmond. There are about 3100 undergrads, it gets an A for athletics from Niche, and it’s also in a definite town. I’d call this a low probability school.
Amherst has about 1900 undergrads, gets an A- for athletics from Niche, and is in the 5-college consortium with UMass, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Hampshire. This would probably be a lower probability option. (If you identify as female, as your earlier mention of Wellesley seems to indicate, then Mount Holyoke and Smith could be a likely or a target, if athletic enthusiasm at UMass is sufficient for you.)
None of the above schools have any graduate programs in biology, so undergrads would not need to compete with grad students for any research opportunities.