Harlem’s multi-talented athlete is ‘Cooking’ on the spring sports scene
MACHESNEY PARK, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — We’re in that sweet spot of the spring high school sports season with regionals and sectionals going on in baseball, softball, girls soccer and boys volleyball and boys state track this weekend.
There’s one local athlete who doing big things in two of those spring sports…Harlem junior Jackson Cook.
One day Cook is on the baseball field. The next day he’s on the track. He springs from one sport to the other flawlessly making it look easy.
“It’s not super hard for me,” said Cook. “Both of the coaches are really awesome about getting me practice in both sports.”
In track, Cook anchors Harlem’s sprint relays, the 4×100 and 4×200. The Huskies won NIC-10 championships in both events two weeks ago, and last week they won both events again at the 3A Antioch Sectional to qualify for state. In the 4×100 they set a school record time of 42.3 seconds.
In baseball, Cook is a key part of Harlem’s NIC-10 championship team. With his speed he’s often a courtesy runner, and he starts defensively in centerfield where he, again, can use his speed to chase down fly balls and line drives.
“I’ve got a lot of room to cover, and I can cover it, so it’s awesome playing center field.”
The coaches from both teams weren’t going to stand in Cook’s way of shining in both sports.
“When he talked to me about it, he needed to get some numbers for football stuff, and he talked about it, and I said, yea,” said baseball coach Scott McCloy. “He’s super-fast. There’s not a ball that goes out in centerfield that we don’t think he can catch. He’s a freak athlete.”
Fortunately most baseball games and track meets fall on different days of the week, so Cook can usually participate in both.
“Monday, Wednesday, Friday we usually have games for baseball. Tuesdays and Thursdays are when I can practice for both, so I’ll go have track, get some block starts and then just go get a little running in, and then I’ll do some baseball drills, catching the ball and bunting. They (the coaches) do a really good job of evening it out, so I’m really grateful for both of them.”
Both seasons are winding down, but don’t think for a minute that fatigue might be setting in for Cook.
“I’m full gas!”
What advice does Cook have for other athletes who might consider doing two sports at one time?
“Go do it. Go plays as many sports as you can. It’s going to be a fun high school experience if you do.”
NOTE: Cook is actually a four-sport athlete. He plays basketball in the winter, and in the fall, he plays his best sport, football.Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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