Hello Northerner, I run for Mississippi State University and am from the town in which the University of Alabama is based so my information (although slightly biased) should be reliable.
The big and/or good schools in the LA, MS, and AL area are the University of Alabama, Auburn University, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, University of Alabama-Birmingham, Samford, and Lousiana State University. Honorable mentions are University of Alabama-Huntsville, North Alabama, Tulane (if it exists), and Southern Misssissippi University.
Top 5:
1) Mississippi State.
Why- Because I go to school here, but it has many other fine qualities besides being my residence. First of all, it's cheap. Mississippi State gives automatic benefits to students with high ACT/SAT scores. What I remember is:
ACT of 26- out of state tuition waived
ACT above 26- increasing amounts of money as you go up the scale, capping out at ACT of 33+national merit scholar finalist with some very hefty chunk of change. The University has a good engineering and chemistry departments and there's also a vet school that has a VERY NICE early entry program. The campus is small with most classes within an easy walking distance. The new dorms (which you would live in as a scholarship athlete, and you would probably would get a scholarship) are superb, more like a hotel than a dorm. We should have a Barnes and Noble on campus within 1.5 years and much of the University is undergoing some sort of improvement. The town is, sadly, small but it just makes you appreciate the trips to big meets more. The team is very close and supportive and the coaches, although far from perfect, genuinely care about us. As an added bonus, you'd get to run with Tiffany McWilliams occasionally (well, behind her anyway) and get loads of free Adidas gear.
I'd say you're definitely good enough for a scholarship here. I can't promise anything, of course, but if you called the coaches up they'd be quite happy to talk to you. Our girl's team isn't the best in the SEC, placing 6-9th in SEC XC (12 schools in the SEC, btw). However, the best in the SEC probably wouldn't offer you much. I feel that if we were all healthy and fit we could be top 3 in the SEC for XC.
2) Auburn.
Why- Many of my high school friends went to Auburn and from them I've been told that Auburn is a school with a very active Christian community that borders on the bizarre at times, at least that's how it sounded to me. The University is in a small town but has a nice downtown area. Auburn is stiff with tradition, mostly centering on football but it may spill into other sports. The girl's XC team is consistently top 3-5 in the SEC thanks to Angela Homan and her strong supporting cast. I'm not sure about how they parcel their scholarships out. At the time of my visit, they were not actively recruiting anybody so I have no idea how needful they may be of athletes. Auburn (I think) has a good engineering department and also has a fine vet school.
3) Alabama.
Why- Alabama's team is made up of mostly my high school competition and I can tell you that they are all very nice and talented girls. The coach is very kind, at almost every meet I see him he says "Hi" to me, although I chose MSU over UA. They place in the 6-9 range at the SEC championships. Alabama is just as full of tradition as Auburn, with most traditions focused on Paul Bear Bryant and hating Auburn. Tuscaloosa, the town UA is in, is a mid-sized city with good access to various malls, shops, and restaurants. The campus is somewhat spread out and intersected with streets, but it works. UA has a good business school and has an interesting program called "New College" that essentially allows a student to create their own major. UA is a well-known party school as well.
4) Samford.
Why- I don't know much about them except that Lauren Blackenship is fast. The rest of the team, from my perspective, is her supporting cast and they do a fine job of it. Samford is located in Birmingham which is one of the biggest cities in AL. There's a good mall, many restaurants, nightlife, etc. Samford is a small school located in the midst of all that somewhere (never been there myself) that may not have the scholarships or perks that the SEC schools can offer you. Again, I don't know. I can tell you that the team is good.
4) University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Why- Obviously located in Birmingham, UAB has excellent access to the city and all its wonders. UAB is highly ranked by magazines such as US News for its Med school and offers a good education in general. The team is solid. Some of my high school competition runs there and they have begun to show improvement lately. Not sure about the scholarship situation, but your 18:15 should be good enough to garner some notice.
5) LSU
Why- LSU likes sprinters because they win national titles with them. Thus, we distance runners are not highly sought there. However, they are in the SEC and they do win national titles.