# Lakeland Conference (Wisconsin)

The Lakeland Conference is a high school athletic conference consisting of nineteen members in northwestern Wisconsin. Founded in 1934, the conference and its member schools are all members of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

## History
### 1934-1957

The Lakeland Conference was formed by seven small northwestern Wisconsin high schools in 1934: Cameron, Chetek, Clear Lake, New Auburn, Shell Lake, Turtle Lake, and Weyerhaeuser. All of the conference's original members were located in Barron, Chippewa, Polk, Rusk, and Washburn Counties. By the end of the decade, four new schools were added to the conference: Clayton in 1936, Bruce in 1937, Birchwood in 1938, and Prairie Farm in 1939. The next year, the Lakeland Conference split its eleven-member roster into Eastern and Western Sections:
| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Clayton |
| Bruce | Clear Lake |
| Cameron | Prairie Farm |
| Chetek | Shell Lake |
| New Auburn | Turtle Lake |
| Weyerhaeuser | |
Aside from Weyerhaeuser's exit to become a charter member of the Flambeauland Conference in 1946 and their subsequent return five years later, conference membership remained consistent for sixteen years. In 1956, the Lakeland Conference welcomed three new members (Balsam Lake, Centuria and Tony), bringing membership to fourteen schools in two divisions:
| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Balsam Lake |
| Bruce | Centuria |
| Cameron | Clayton |
| Chetek | Clear Lake |
| New Auburn | Prairie Farm |
| Tony | Shell Lake |
| Weyerhaeuser | Turtle Lake |

### 1957-1968

The Lakeland Conference lost three member schools in 1957. Chetek joined with larger schools in the Heart O'North Conference, and Balsam Lake and Centuria merged with Milltown of the Upper St. Croix Valley Conference to form the new Unity High School (not to be confused with the former Unity High School in Unity, Wisconsin). The new school inherited Milltown's conference membership, and the conference was left with eleven schools in two sections:
| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Clayton |
| Bruce | Clear Lake |
| Cameron | Prairie Farm |
| New Auburn | Shell Lake |
| Tony | Turtle Lake |
| Weyerhaeuser | |
Siren was accepted into the Lakeland Conference as its twelfth member in 1959 and took up residence in the Western section. Two years later, Tony would merge with Ingram-Glen Flora of the Flambeau League to form the new Flambeau High School in Tony. The new school took Tony's place in the Eastern Lakeland:
| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Clayton |
| Bruce | Clear Lake |
| Cameron | Prairie Farm |
| Flambeau | Shell Lake |
| New Auburn | Siren |
| Weyerhaeuser | Turtle Lake |

### 1968-1994

In 1968, Winter joined the Lakeland Conference after leaving its former home in the Flambeau League, a conference which would break up two years later. Prentice would join the Eastern Lakeland from the Flambeau League in 1970, following the disbandment of the Flambeau League. Lake Holcombe would also join the Eastern Lakeland in 1970, following a 5-year stint in the Cloverbelt. Cameron moved over to the Western section to accommodate the expansion:
| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Cameron |
| Bruce | Clayton |
| Flambeau | Clear Lake |
| Lake Holcombe | Prairie Farm |
| New Auburn | Shell Lake |
| Prentice | Siren |
| Weyerhaeuser | Turtle Lake |
| Winter | |
Prentice left the Lakeland Conference in 1978 to take up residence in its current home, the Marawood Conference. Two years later, Northwood High School in Minong joined the Western section of the conference after leaving the Indianhead Conference.

### 1994-2002

The conference would operate with fifteen members until 1994, when four schools displaced by the ending of the Upper St. Croix Valley Conference entered the Lakeland: Frederic, Grantsburg, Luck and Webster. The Lakeland Conference realigned itself into a three-division conference that year:
| Central Lakeland | Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Cameron | Birchwood | Frederic |
| Clayton | Bruce | Grantsburg |
| Clear Lake | Flambeau | Luck |
| Prairie Farm | Lake Holcombe | Northwood |
| Shell Lake | New Auburn | Siren |
| Turtle Lake | Weyerhaeuser | Webster |
| | Winter | |
This alignment would only remain in place for two years before going back to a two-division format in 1996. Cornell became the Lakeland Conference's twentieth member school when it moved over from the Cloverbelt Conference in 1998 and was aligned to the Eastern division:
| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Clayton |
| Bruce | Clear Lake |
| Cameron | Frederic |
| Cornell | Grantsburg |
| Flambeau | Luck |
| Lake Holcombe | Northwood |
| New Auburn | Shell Lake |
| Prairie Farm | Siren |
| Weyerhaeuser | Turtle Lake |
| Winter | Webster |

### 2002-present

The Lakeland Conference returned to a three-division format in 2002 when it accepted two of the smaller schools from the Middle Border Conference as members (St. Croix Falls and Unity). Both schools joined the conference's Western division:
| Central Lakeland | Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Cameron | Birchwood | Frederic |
| Clayton | Bruce | Grantsburg |
| Clear Lake | Cornell | Luck |
| Northwood | Flambeau | Siren |
| Prairie Farm | Lake Holcombe | St. Croix Falls |
| Shell Lake | New Auburn | Unity |
| Turtle Lake | Weyerhaeuser | Webster |
| | Winter | |
This alignment would remain for nearly twenty years and was relatively stable in terms of membership. Weyerhaeuser merged with Chetek of the Heart O'North Conference in 2010 with the new school (Chetek-Weyerhaeuser) continuing Chetek's Heart O'North membership. Cameron and St. Croix Falls followed them to the Heart O'North in 2019 and 2021, respectively. The Lakeland Conference would also adopt its current two-division, nineteen-member alignment that year:
| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Clear Lake |
| Bruce | Frederic |
| Clayton | Grantsburg |
| Cornell | Luck |
| Flambeau | Northwood |
| Lake Holcombe | Shell Lake |
| New Auburn | Siren |
| Prairie Farm | Turtle Lake |
| Winter | Unity |
| | Webster |

## Conference membership history
### Current members

| School | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Mascot | Joined | Division |
| Birchwood | Birchwood, WI | Public | 67 | Bobcats | 1938 | Eastern |
| Bruce | Bruce, WI | Public | 131 | Red Raiders | 1937 | Eastern |
| Clayton | Clayton, WI | Public | 93 | Bears | 1936 | Eastern |
| Clear Lake | Clear Lake, WI | Public | 181 | Warriors | 1934 | Western |
| Cornell | Cornell, WI | Public | 111 | Chiefs | 1998 | Eastern |
| Flambeau | Tony, WI | Public | 145 | Falcons | 1961 | Eastern |
| Frederic | Frederic, WI | Public | 116 | Vikings | 1994 | Western |
| Grantsburg | Grantsburg, WI | Public | 255 | Pirates | 1994 | Western |
| Lake Holcombe | Lake Holcombe, WI | Public | 90 | Chieftains | 1970 | Eastern |
| Luck | Luck, WI | Public | 118 | Cardinals | 1994 | Western |
| New Auburn | New Auburn, WI | Public | 95 | Trojans | 1934 | Eastern |
| Northwood | Minong, WI | Public | 87 | Evergreens | 1980 | Western |
| Prairie Farm | Prairie Farm, WI | Public | 129 | Panthers | 1939 | Eastern |
| Shell Lake | Shell Lake, WI | Public | 204 | Lakers | 1934 | Western |
| Siren | Siren, WI | Public | 145 | Dragons | 1959 | Western |
| Turtle Lake | Turtle Lake, WI | Public | 129 | Lakers | 1934 | Western |
| Unity | Balsam Lake, WI | Public | 295 | Eagles | 2002 | Western |
| Webster | Webster, WI | Public | 201 | Tigers | 1994 | Western |
| Winter | Winter, WI | Public | 86 | Warriors | 1968 | Eastern |

### Former members

| School | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Mascot | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
| Cameron | Cameron, WI | Public | 284 | Comets | 1934 | 2019 | Heart O'North | Heart O'North |
| Chetek | Chetek, WI | Public | N/A | Bulldogs | 1934 | 1957 | Heart O'North | Closed in 2010 (merged into Chetek-Weyerhaeuser) |
| Weyerhaeuser | Weyerhaeuser, WI | Public | N/A | Wildcats | 1934, 1951 | 1946, 2010 | Flambeauland | Closed (merged into Chetek-Weyerhaeuser) |
| Balsam Lake | Balsam Lake, WI | Public | N/A | Warriors | 1956 | 1957 | Closed (merged into Unity) | Closed (merged into Unity) |
| Centuria | Centuria, WI | Public | N/A | Raiders | 1956 | 1957 | Closed (merged into Unity) | Closed (merged into Unity) |
| Tony | Tony, WI | Public | N/A | Tornadoes | 1956 | 1961 | Closed (merged into Flambeau) | Closed (merged into Flambeau) |
| Prentice | Prentice, WI | Public | 122 | Buccaneers | 1970 | 1978 | Marawood | Marawood |
| St. Croix Falls | St. Croix Falls, WI | Public | 345 | Saints | 2002 | 2021 | Heart O'North | Heart O'North |

## Membership timeline

Eastern Division Western Division Central Division

## List of state champions
### Fall sports

Boys Cross Country :
| School | Year | Division |
| Webster | 2008 | Division 3 |
Football :
| School | Year | Division |
| Shell Lake | 1980 | Division 5 |
| Turtle Lake | 1988 | Division 6 |
| Shell Lake | 1991 | Division 6 |
| Turtle Lake | 1995 | Division 6 |
| Flambeau | 1997 | Division 6 |
| Lake Holcombe | 1998 | Division 6 |
| Shell Lake | 2004 | Division 7 |
| Luck | 2019 | 8-Player |
Girls Volleyball :
| School | Year | Division |
| Clayton | 1990 | Division 4 |
| Turtle Lake | 1993 | Division 4 |
| Turtle Lake | 1994 | Division 4 |
| Turtle Lake | 1995 | Division 4 |
| Clayton | 1996 | Division 4 |
| Grantsburg | 2001 | Division 3 |
| Grantsburg | 2009 | Division 3 |
| Clayton | 2017 | Division 4 |
| Clear Lake | 2019 | Division 4 |

### Winter sports

Girls Basketball :
| School | Year | Division |
| Flambeau | 2000 | Division 4 |
| Flambeau | 2006 | Division 4 |
| Flambeau | 2007 | Division 4 |
| Flambeau | 2008 | Division 4 |
Boys Wrestling :
| School | Year | Division |
| Shell Lake | 1988 | Class C |

### Spring sports

Baseball :
| School | Year | Division |
| Flambeau | 1980 | Class C |
| Webster | 2018 | Division 3 |
| Webster | 2018 | Division 3 |
Softball :
| School | Year | Division |
| Grantsburg | 2006 | Division 3 |
| Grantsburg | 2009 | Division 3 |
| Grantsburg | 2022 | Division 4 |
Boys Track & Field :
| School | Year | Division |
| Grantsburg | 1997 | Division 3 |
Girls Track & Field :
| School | Year | Division |
| Shell Lake | 2007 | Division 3 |
| Webster | 2022 | Division 3 |