Looking for colleges that are larger and D1 but liberal arts-esque, like Wake Forest

Are you a junior now?

Not exactly what you are asking, but something of which you should be aware, schools with the greatest percentages of varsity athletes (up to ~35-40%) can be found at some D3 colleges such as, particularly, those in the NESCAC.

Actually, smaller colleges often have a high importance of athletics from a participation point of view. The number of athletes on a given set of sports teams is a much larger percentage of the students of a small college than of a big college.

People care a lot about football at Lehigh and hockey at Holy Cross. Both schools have small class sizes and generally are regarded as close knit, spirited communities.

25% of Holy Cross students are members of a varsity sport, and it is a D1 liberal arts school. Many of the Patriot League schools (Colgate, Bucknell, Lehigh, Lafayette, etc) may fit the bill.

Steph Curry shot the rock at Davidson.

Lehigh-Lafayette have a really fun sports rivalry if that is attractive to you.

Wofford and Furman

So track is not going to draw big crowds at college. Some schools punch above their size in basketball in particular.