PREP SOCCER: Connected to the Cougs ... Lake City senior forwards Whitehead, Kortus use family, friendship to land in Pullman

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

Lake City High senior Georgia Whitehead was told for as long as she could remember about the girl from Seattle by her grandparents.

“You need to meet this girl, you’ll really like her.”

This kept going until her sophomore year, when she finally connected with that girl at a soccer camp.

And Whitehead and fellow Timberwolf Elliotte Kortus have been attached ever since.

“I’ve known her grandparents for as long as I can remember,” Whitehead said. “They always told me about her. There’s a girl in Seattle that plays soccer and you’d really like her. They’d always say, ‘there’s a girl in Seattle just like you.’ Elliotte and I stayed together at that Washington State camp after our parents set it up and we’ve clicked ever since.”

“We met at that Wazzu camp and everything kind of fell into place,” Kortus said.

Kortus moved to Coeur d’Alene, enrolling at Lake City as a junior.

“My dad had mentioned something about them moving here and getting her to come to play in Idaho,” Whitehead said. “They’d been thinking about it anyway before that camp, but then it happened quickly after that. She became one of my best friends very quickly.”

Georgia’s grandparents — Jim Walden, the former Washington State football coach, and his wife Nancy — and Elliotte’s grandparents Gary Libey and his wife Trudy, have been longtime friends as well.

“They were super excited,” Kortus said. “Georgia’s grandpa was the head football coach at Washington State for a few years and my grandpa is the judge in Whitman County, so they’ve known each other a while. They were all super excited. I think more so than my parents.”

Kortus transferred from the Seattle Academy of Arts and Science after winning a state 1A title as a sophomore.

Both Whitehead and Kortus — both forwards — have verbally committed to continue their playing careers at Washington State. Both intend to sign with WSU during signing day in November.

“My club coach is really good friends with the Wazzu coach,” Kortus said. “He was the first college coach to show interest in me as a player. By the time I was in the seventh or eighth grade, they were at every single one of my games up until I committed, and even after that. I felt like there was a push for me to go there, and then I discovered on my own that was where I wanted to go.”

It was because of that relationship that Kortus’ list shrunk quickly.

“I didn’t give a lot of schools a chance because I was so set on Wazzu,” Kortus said. “Gonzaga, Washington and Idaho, really all the other local schools around here and a few in California, but I didn’t really give them a look. I really love the coaching staff and the way the school values women’s sports. I think it’s cool that the school cares, not just about football, but the women’s soccer team. I wanted to go to a big school that valued its sports, and it just felt right when I visited.”

Whitehead kept an open mind as the process played out.

“I was kind of keeping my options open,” Whitehead said. “Washington State kind of came along because of my grandpa. He let (Washington State women’s soccer coach) Todd (Shulenberger) know that I was in the recruiting process and he should come watch me. Todd sent his assistant Kevin Boyd to one of my club games in California and they really liked me. That day, he wanted to get into contact and a few days later we were on a Zoom call, and it kind of went from there.”

Like Kortus, Whitehead had plenty of schools interested, including Gonzaga and Washington.

“I was getting phone calls each day, and they were all really good options,” Whitehead said. “But Wazzu kind of stuck out to me. Nothing could have beaten their offer and that place. I just love the campus and coaches. It was just a great environment.”

As for the Huskies ...

“That would have been funny with my family’s past,” Whitehead said. “I’ve grown up hearing about my grandpa at Wazzu and all the stuff about being a Cougar. That’s how my family has been for as long as I can remember. It’s really cool to be a part of that family tradition and his legacy. It’s pretty cool to be going there.”

First things first as both Kortus and Whitehead, as well as their Lake City teammates have other business to take care of as they compete in the state 5A soccer tournament starting today at Bonneville High in Idaho Falls.

Lake City (18-0-0), the top seed and defending champion, opens with Thunder Ridge of Idaho Falls (12-4-4), the eighth seed in the tournament.

“I think we’re more prepared for it,” Kortus said. “Last year, the teams were great and incredible and the south has more teams down there. We didn’t really know what to expect, and those teams didn’t know what to expect from us. It’s not going to be blowout games. They are all going to be close games and we’re going to have to fight until the end like we did (in the 2021 state championship match) against Boise. It’s going to be a lot of the same this year.”

Lake City, with three more wins on the season, will become the first Timberwolves team to post an unbeaten record.

“Coming into districts, it was on our minds a little bit,” Kortus said. “I think we let that motivate us a lot and help us run on it. We’re going to approach it one match at a time at state. But we’re trying to keep it that way and working toward finishing strong.”

Whitehead credits Kortus with pushing her on the field.

“She’s made me a better version of myself and not take any plays off,” Whitehead said. “She’s made me a better player, and I thank her for that.”

Whitehead is a four-year varsity player at Lake City.

“Honestly, she was a young 14-year old player coming into the program, and was one of the best athletes we’ve had at a young age for sure,” Lake City coach Matt Ruchti said. “Her soccer growth in the last four years has been outstanding. She’s always been a top athlete, and when you come in and you want to play on the varsity team as a female athlete, that’s the first characteristic to do that type of stuff. We played her as an outside back and tried to simply the game for her and use her raw ability. And she did a great job. She excelled and became a better soccer player every single year. I anticipate that’s going to continue at WSU and she’ll play a handful of minutes in her freshman year and be right in the mix.”

Same goes for Kortus in Ruchti’s mind.

“From the first day she walked in here as a junior, she’s just raised the level of play,” Ruchti said. “When Elliotte gets on the field and does some of the things that she does and hits the ball, some of the other players were like ‘wait a minute, this is a different level of player,’ and it’s increased the level of each player around her. She was a huge part of the run we had last year and kind of challenged the other players to be better. Her and Georgia are super tight, and together it has raised it has elevated the program as a whole.”

“The bond between her and I was pretty clear right away,” Whitehead said. “I knew it was going to be really fun to play with her and it went from there. We both play for each other and our teammates and do anything to make the team better. When I get her the ball, I know she’s going to finish it, and she knows that I’ll do the same.”

Bridget Rieken, who played at Lake City, winning a state title in 2016, is in her senior at WSU this fall.

“Todd does a great job down there,” Ruchti said. “He recruits strong IQ kids and strong competitors. And that’s what I’d like to think we do in our program as well. That’s what we’re trying to cultivate here and we’re going to compete and increase their ability to play at the next level. And I think that’s something our history will prove is something we’ve been able to do.”