I'd say that number of byes is normal with the dwindling # of kids. I know Hoxie was only able to fill 12 of 14 weights, but took 10 of those to state. With full 16-man brackets x 14 weight classes, a completely full regional would have 224 wrestlers. Excluding the # of byes you mentioned, that would leave a total of 170, 175, 176, and 154 wrestlers in the respective regionals you mentioned. This averages out to over 12-13 per weight class except for Hoisington which averaged 11 kids per weight. This means 2 out of every 3 kids at these regionals do not make it to state.

Were there any byes in the 8-man brackets for 5a & 6a?