University of Minnesota Duluth senior guard Garth Heikkinen added a record-breaking sixth All-American honor to his extraordinary 2012 resume today with a selection to Don Hansen's All-American first team. That was one more citation than the previous University of Minnesota Duluth program best, which running back Isaac Odim set in 2009 and Heikkinen matched last fall.
Heikkinen has now made a Bulldog-high 11 All-American teams for his career, earning first team honors on eight of those units (another school record).
Both UMD sophomore nose tackle Buma Foncham and sophomore offensive guard Andrew Muer were Don Hansen All-American honorable mention picks
The recipient of the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award, Heikkinen will suit up in this Saturday's 88th annual East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Fla., for the East Team. He also was a member of the Associated Press (Little All-American first team), American Football Coaches Association (first team), d2football.com (first team), Daktronics (first team) and Beyond Sports College Network (second team) All-American teams in 2012 after starting a Bulldog-record 54 consecutive games over the past four seasons. UMD's first four-time All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honoree (North Division first team in 2010-12 and honorable mention in 2009), Heikkinen anchored an offensive line that allowed the seventh fewest sacks in the nation (seven, none of which came at his expense) while paving the way for the third highest-scoring offense in NCAA II football (a school-record 46.5 points per game).
As a junior, Heikkinen attained All-American status from five different groups including the AFCA (first team), D2Football.com (first team), Daktronics (first team), Associated Press (Little All-American second team), and Beyond Sports College Network (honorable mention). Since Heikkinen, a Duluth Central High School alumnus, assumed a starting role at the start of the 2009 season, the Bulldogs went 47-7, captured one NCAA II national championship (2010), three overall NSIC titles and four NSIC North Division crowns, qualified for the NCAA II playoffs four times, and cracked the top 10 in every AFCA II weekly poll but three (all in 2011 and never below No. 15).
