It’s never bad to have young swimmers learning from some of the best in the country.

This year’s Lawrence Aquahawks are getting that chance.

Thanks to a longtime friendship between Kansas University swimming coach Clark Campbell and Mike Soderling, head coach of the Aquahawks, eight KU swimmers are competing with the Lawrence-based swim club this summer — and serving as mentors for the younger team members.

“Clark talked to us today about how we need to be role models,” KU swimmer Kristen Johnson said Saturday at the Roger Hill Swim Meet. “They watch every move we make.”

And why not? Johnson and her Jayhawk teammates had the talent and work ethic to become Div. I swimmers. Now, Campbell and Soderling hope the younger Aquahawks can pick up a thing or two.

“It allows them to see just what it takes to be a college athlete,” said Campbell, who just completed his first season as head coach at KU. “For them to see what it’s like, it’s good for them.”

The Aquahawks hadn’t had Jayhawks with them for several years, but Campbell made sure it happened this summer. He has had positive experiences with local club teams when he was a Minnesota assistant and the Evansville head coach.

So he got in contact with Soderling when he arrived in Lawrence in September and proposed the idea. The two knew each other from Soderling’s swimming days at KU in the early 1990s, when Campbell was an assistant coach.

“When school got out, we joined forces,” Campbell said. “It has been a really good situation for both sides.”

Kansas University swimmer Aly Clover cuts through the water during the 200 freestyle. Clover competed in the Aquahawks' Roger Hill Swim Meet Saturday at Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center.

The NCAA, perhaps surprisingly, allows Campbell to be involved with his Jayhawk team members in the off-season, thanks to a rule put into effect a few years back that allows individual-sport coaches to be affiliated with the local club team.

“We haven’t had to adjust to anything,” Johnson said. “We know his motives, and we’re used to his workouts. We’re just having fun out there.”

Along with the eight Jayhawks, former LHS standout and current Iowa swimmer Andrea Hemphill has trained under Campbell this summer, as well as Kelli Criswell, a Free State graduate now swimming at Truman State.

Soderling said he was thrilled, not only with the college kids hanging around the younger ones, but with Campbell’s impact on the Aquahawks.

“He has brought a lot of enthusiasm, and, obviously, a lot of expertise,” Soderling said. “And, it has brought some national-level kids into our program.”

The Roger Hill Swim Meet wraps up today at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center, with events starting at 8:15 a.m. and lasting throughout the day.

From top, swimmers Josh Cook, Joey Caudle and Ben Purkapile race through the water during the boys 200-meter freestyle. The three swam at the Roger Hill Swim Meet Saturday at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center.