The Northern Shores Conference (NSC) is an interscholastic athletic conference affiliated with the Michigan High School Athletic Association. It began play during the 2024–2025 school year. It is located in Northern Michigan and contains eight teams that encompasses seven counties: Antrim County, Charlevoix County, Cheboygan County, Crawford County, Emmet County, Grand Traverse County, and Kalkaska County.
History The Northern Shores Conference was announced in April 2023, comprising six teams from the Lake Michigan Conference and one each from the Northwest and Straits Area Conference. The conference formed following the dissolution of the old Lake Michigan Conference, the schools in the conference had concerns with Traverse City St. Francis, and their domination in most of the sports offered, they had almost 50 more conference champions than the next closest school. East Jordan was the first school announced to leave; they were joining the smaller Ski-Valley Conference for all sports. Kingsley, who had previously been denied entry into the Lake Michigan Conference in 2017, and Cheboygan were invited by the remaining six LMC teams, sans St. Francis, to form the new conference.
Administrators at the schools feel the new conference will have better competitive balance, as well as maintaining some of the rivalries that have formed over the years. The new conference however does not affect its members schools association with the Northern Michigan Football League, the new conference will not sponsor football, all member schools except Kalkaska are current members of the NMFL.
In October 2025, it was announced that the Northern Shores Conference would sponsor football starting in the 2026 season, with the exception of Harbor Springs, who will stay in the Northern Michigan Football League. The seven other schools will play a 7-game schedule with non-league games to open and close the season, and one team playing a non-league game each week from weeks two through eight.
Members Team & MascotSchoolLocationJoinedEnrollmentClassPrior ConferenceBoys ChampGirls ChampTotal ChampBoyne City RamblersBoyne City High SchoolBoyne City, Michigan2024412BLake Michigan Conference112Charlevoix RaydersCharlevoix High SchoolCharlevoix, Michigan2024272CLake Michigan Conference55Cheboygan ChiefsCheboygan High SchoolCheboygan, Michigan2024462BStraits Area Conference11Elk Rapids ElksElk Rapids High SchoolElk Rapids, Michigan2024351BLake Michigan Conference9211Grayling VikingsGrayling High SchoolGrayling, Michigan2024458BLake Michigan Conference11Harbor Springs RamsHarbor Springs High SchoolHarbor Springs, Michigan2024236CLake Michigan Conference2911Kalkaska BlazersKalkaska High SchoolKalkaska, Michigan2024441BLake Michigan Conference11Kingsley StagsKingsley High SchoolKingsley, Michigan2024405BNorthwest Conference55
Membership timeline
Sports Boy's sponsored sports by school School Baseball Basketball Bowling Cross Country Football Golf Ice hockey Lacrosse Skiing- Alpine Soccer Tennis Track & field Wrestling TotalBoyne City Ramblers 12Charlevoix Rayders 10Cheboygan Chiefs 9Elk Rapids Elks 11Grayling Vikings 10Harbor Springs Rams 11Kalkaska Blazers 9Kingsley Stags 10 Notes:
° Boyne City - Co-ops with Charlevoix in Skiing; Co-ops with Petoskey, Petoskey St. Michael and Harbor Springs in Hockey and Lacrosse.
° Charlevoix - Co-ops with Boyne City in Skiing; Co-ops with Elk Rapids, Kalkaska, Kingsley, Lake Leelanau St. Mary, Mancelona, Suttons Bay and Traverse City St. Francis in Hockey.
° Cheboygan - Co-ops with Indian River-Inland Lakes, Onaway, Pellston and St. Ignace in Ice Hockey
° Elk Rapids - Co-ops with Charlevoix, Kalkaska, Kingsley, Lake Leelanau St. Mary, Mancelona, Suttons Bay and Traverse City St. Francis in Hockey; Co-ops with Central Lake and Traverse City St. Francis in Skiing.
° Harbor Springs - Co-ops with Petoskey, Petoskey St. Michael and Boyne City in Hockey and Lacrosse; Co-ops with Harbor Light Christian and Petoskey St. Michael in Football.
° Kalkaska - Co-ops with Charlevoix, Elk Rapids, Kingsley, Lake Leelanau St. Mary, Mancelona, Suttons Bay and Traverse City St. Francis in Hockey.
° Kingsley - Charlevoix, Elk Rapids, Kalkaska, Lake Leelanau St. Mary, Mancelona, Suttons Bay and Traverse City St. Francis in Hockey.
Girl's sponsored sports by school School Basketball Bowling Cross Country Golf Skiing- Alpine Soccer Softball Tennis Track & field Volleyball Competitive Cheer TotalBoyne City Ramblers 10Charlevoix Rayders 9Cheboygan Chiefs 8Elk Rapids Elks 10Grayling Vikings 10Harbor Springs Rams 9Kalkaska Blazers 7Kingsley Stags 7 Notes:
° Elk Rapids - Co-ops with Central Lake and Traverse City St. Francis in Skiing.
° Harbor Springs - Co-ops with Petoskey St. Michael in Tennis,
Boys Soccer Conference Champions YearChampionRecord2024Elk Rapids & Grayling11-1-02025Elk Rapids14-0
Team Conference Record Conference championship District championships Regional championshipsElk Rapids 25-1-0 2 2 1 Grayling 21-5-0 1 0 0 Harbor Springs 20-6-0 0 2 0 Charlevoix 12-14-0 0 0 0 Boyne City 9-16-1 0 0 0 Kingsley 8-17-1 0 0 0Kalkaska 1-12-1 0 0 0 Cheboygan 0-25-1 0 0 0
State Championship Appearances SeasonNSCNon-NSCSiteDivisionRef2024Elk Rapids (18-7-1)2Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (23-2)3Grand Ledge High School • Grand Ledge, MI3
Boys Cross Country Conference Champions YearChampion2024 Charlevoix2025 Charlevoix
Team Conference championships Final appearances State championships Best finishCharlevoix 2 2 1 1stHarbor Springs 0 2 0 4thKingsley 0 0 0 Cheboygan 0 0 0 Kalkaska 0 0 0 Elk Rapids 0 0 0 Boyne City 0 0 0 Grayling 0 0 0
Individual Champions YearChampionSchoolTime2024 Hunter EatonCharlevoix16:41.332025 Hunter EatonCharlevoix15:59.14
Final Appearances Year School Place Division2024Charlevoix 14th 32024Harbor Springs 4th 42025Charlevoix 1st 32025Harbor Springs 25th 3
State Champions YearChampionSchoolDivisionTime2025 Hunter EatonCharlevoix315:30.80
Girls Cross Country Conference Champions YearChampion2024Harbor Springs2025Harbor Springs
Team Conference championships Final appearances State championships Best finishHarbor Springs 2 2 0 4thBoyne City 0 1 0 26thElk Rapids 0 0 0 Charlevoix 0 0 0 Kingsley 0 0 0 Cheboygan 0 0 0 Kalkaska 0 0 0 Grayling 0 0 0
Individual Champions YearChampionSchoolTime2024 Stefi ReskevicsHarbor Springs19:53.542025 Brynne SchulteElk Rapids19:16.31
Final Appearances Year School Place Division2024Harbor Springs 4th 42025Harbor Springs 21st 32025Boyne City 26th 3
Girls Golf Conference Champions YearChampion2024Harbor Springs2025Elk Rapids Team Conference championships Final appearances State championships Best finishHarbor Springs 1 2 0 8th Elk Rapids 1 1 0 3rdCharlevoix 0 1 0 10thKingsley 0 0 0 Cheboygan 0 0 0 Kalkaska 0 0 0 Boyne City 0 0 0 Grayling 0 0 0
Individual Champions YearChampionSchool2024 Jessica CampbellGrayling2025 Sophie LagattutaGrayling
State Finals Appearances Year School Place Division2024 Charlevoix 10th 42024 Harbor Springs 13th 42025 Elk Rapids 3rd 42025 Harbor Springs 8th 4
Girls Volleyball Conference Champions YearChampionRecord2024Kingsley7-02025Kingsley7-0
Team Conference Record Conference championship District championships Regional championships State ChampionshipsKingsley 14-0 2 2 1 1Elk Rapids 11-3 0 0 0 0Boyne City 9-5 0 0 0 0Cheboygan 9-5 0 0 0 0Charlevoix 4-10 0 0 0 0Kalkaska 3-11 0 0 0 0Harbor Springs 3-11 0 0 0 0 Grayling 3-11 0 0 0 0
State championship Appearances SeasonNSCNon-NSCSiteDivisionRef2025Kingsley (56-4-1)22-26-25-25Kalamazoo Christian (30-11-3)25-24-15-12Kellogg Arena • Battle Creek3
Wrestling Conference champions YearChampion2025Charlevoix2026Boyne City
Team Conference championship District championships Regional championshipsCharlevoix 1 1 0 Boyne City 1 1 0 Grayling 0 0 0 Kingsley 0 1 0Kalkaska 0 1 0 Cheboygan 0 0 0 Elk Rapids 0 0 0 Harbor Springs 0 0 0
Individual Champions Year 106 113 120 126 132 138 144 150 157 165 175 190 215 285 2025Andrew BetzGavin HolmesOwen LewickiGabriel Buyze-PrietoKalen TitusMax HuspenBruyn HaugerColin JessJordan PetersParker GrubbBrady WarcholColton GoethalsDanny BonamieLuke Munger 2026Mathieu MooreKorbin KorpenkoskeyPeyton FrostEvan FradetteAlex MooreOwen LewickiDeegan AnthonyMax HuspenColin JessGage MillerIsaiah CosgroveRyan GlassSawyer BlaszczykZeke Wright
Girls Skiing Conference Champions YearChampion2025Harbor Springs2026Harbor Springs
Team Conference championships Final appearances State championships Best finishHarbor Springs 2 2 1 1stElk Rapids 0 2 0 5thCharlevoix 0 0 0 Boyne City 0 0 0 Grayling 0 0 0
Individual Champions YEARGiant SlalomYEARSlalom2025Drew Bowman, Harbor Springs2025Avery Kita, Lake Charlevoix2026Keeler Brainerd, Harbor Springs2025Grace Rowe, Great North Alpine
Boys Skiing Conference Champions YearChampion2025Great North Alpine2026Great North Alpine
Team Conference championships Final appearances State championships Best finishElk Rapids 2 2 0 2ndHarbor Springs 0 0 0 3rdCharlevoix 0 0 0 Boyne City 0 0 0 Grayling 0 0 0
Individual Champions YEARGiant SlalomYEARSlalom2025Corbin Bogard, Great North Alpine2025Corbin Bogard, Great North Alpine2026Corbin Bogard, Great North Alpine2026Corbin Bogard, Great North Alpine
Boys Basketball Conference Champions YearChampionRecord2025Elk Rapids13-12026Elk Rapids14-0
Team Conference Record Conference championship District championships Regional championshipsElk Rapids 27-1 2 1 0 Harbor Springs 20-8 0 1 0 Cheboygan 18-10 0 1 0 Boyne City 15-13 0 1 0Charlevoix 14-14 0 0 0 Kalkaska 7-21 0 0 0 Grayling 7-21 0 0 0 Kingsley 4-24 0 0 0
Girls Basketball Conference Champions YearChampionRecord2025Harbor Springs 14-02026Kingsley13-1
Team Conference Record Conference championship District championships Regional championshipsHarbor Springs 26-2 1 2 0 Kingsley 24-4 1 0 0 Elk Rapids 19-9 0 0 0 Boyne City 17-11 0 0 0Cheboygan 11-17 0 0 0 Grayling 7-21 0 0 0 Kalkaska 4-24 0 0 0 Charlevoix 4-24 0 0 0
Boys Bowling Conference Champions YearChampionRecord 2025Elk Rapids 2025 Elk Rapids & Cheboygan 10-1-1
Girls Tennis Conference Champions YearChampion 2025Harbor Springs
Boys Golf Conference Champions YearChampion2025Elk Rapids Team Conference championships Final appearances State championships Best finishElk Rapids 1 0 0 Harbor Springs 0 0 0 Charlevoix 0 0 0 Kingsley 0 0 0 Cheboygan 0 0 0 Kalkaska 0 0 0 Boyne City 0 0 0 Grayling 0 0 0
Individual Champions YearChampionSchool2025 Bryce BossCharlevoix
State Finals Appearances Year School Place Division
Girls Soccer Conference Champions YearChampionRecord2025Harbor Springs12-0-02026Harbor Springs10-0-1
Team Conference Record Conference championship District championships Regional championshipsHarbor Springs 22-0-1 2 0 0 Elk Rapids 22-3-1 0 0 0 Cheboygan 13-7-4 0 0 0 Boyne City 10-9-5 0 0 0 Charlevoix 7-14-3 0 0 0 Kingsley 6-15-5 0 0 0 Grayling 3-21-1 0 0 0 Kalkaska 0-14-0 0 0 0
Softball Conference Champions YearChampionRecord2025Elk Rapids13-12026Boyne City13-1
Team Conference Record Conference championship District championships Regional championshipsElk Rapids 23-5 1 0 0 Boyne City 23-5 1 0 0 Kingsley 18-9 0 0 0 Cheboygan 16-10 0 0 0 Kalkaska 13-15 0 0 0 Grayling 10-18 0 0 0 Harbor Springs 4-22 0 0 0 Charlevoix 2-26 0 0 0
Baseball Conference Champions YearChampionRecord2025Elk Rapids13-12026Kalkaska & Harbor Springs12-2
Team Conference Record Conference championship District championships Regional championshipsElk Rapids 21-7 1 0 0 Kalkaska 16-12 1 0 0 Harbor Springs 17-11 1 0 0Kingsley 22-6 0 0 0 Boyne City 18-10 0 0 0 Charlevoix 8-20 0 0 0 Cheboygan 5-23 0 0 0 Grayling 5-23 0 0 0
Girls Track & Field Conference Champions YearChampion 2025Kingsley 2026Kingsley
Individual Champions Track Champions