As the old saying goes, patience is a virtue. This season, redshirt freshman Aaron Cashman has waited for his dual-meet debut. Now, his opportunity has now arrived.

In two of Iowa wrestling’s first three duals of the season, Cashman — alongside All-American Spencer Lee — has been listed as a starter at 125-pounds. Cashman has weighed in at every meet but has yet to see the mat.

Cashman will likely be the featured 125-pounder with the absence of Lee from the probable lineup sheet.

Once in the Garden State, Cashman will have his chance to prove he can be a top-tier wrestler. Awaiting the redshirt freshman is Princeton’s Patrick Glory. Glory is currently ranked fourth in the nation at 125-pounds, according to InterMat.

While Cashman has not proved his pedigree in college, he wrestled in big spots during high school. He was a Minnesota high school state champion in 2017 and finished his career at 118-4 at Mound-Westonka High School.

“I’m super excited [to wrestle Glory],” Cashman said. “In high school, I’ve wrestled in tournaments with Pat, but he’s always been a weight class above me. I was the number one guy in the country at 113, and he was the number one guy at 120. At that time, after I got to number one, I wanted to bump up a weight and try to compete with the bigger guys. I’ve always wanted to wrestle Pat Glory, so this is a match I’m super excited for.”

Cashman has certainly gotten his share of repetitions in at practice in college, as well. With lightweight sparring partners like Lee and junior Austin DeSanto, Cashman has learned and improved.

“I just see it as a way to build every day,” said Cashman. “There’s no way I’m not going to get better every day wrestling with those guys. So, it’s great for me, and in knowing in my mind knowing that I’m wrestling with them gives me confidence.”

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Ahead of the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo, Lee and head coach Tom Brands have been adamant that Lee will wrestle Olympic and collegiate in 2019-20. The pair has not revealed much of Lee’s schedule to this point.

“I’ve talked about this all year,” Brands said. “We have a plan, and we’re not going to reveal the plan. That plan is flexible, and it’s a moving plan. We needed him for Wisconsin, and maybe that wasn’t part of the plan in August, but we needed him.”

Cashman is aware of Brands and Lee’s plan, and he is excited about the opportunities it may bring him.

“I was super excited about it, when I was told Spencer may or may not be wrestling,” Cashman said. “You know you’re going to be getting some matches in. That’s why I came here, that’s why I came to wrestle for the Hawkeyes, was to perform and show the fans that I can be a top-ranked guy, too.”

After a week of preparation, Cashman and the Hawkeyes will take on the No. 12 Tigers at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Jadwin Gymnasium.