The phrase "first ranking" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when referring to a ranking system (e.g., "He earned first ranking in the competition").
After the first ranking, we collected the ranking sheets and summarised the points to create a first ranking list.
First, ranking scores of keyterms are calculated, then based on which ranking scores of candidate phrases are computed.
This is The Economist's first ranking of executive MBA programmes.
THIS week we publish our first ranking of "executive" MBA programmes.
Mr. Sharon and Mr. Netanyahu are competing for the first ranking on the list.
ONE business school emerges as the clear winner in The Economist's first ranking of executive MBA programmes.
[C11.] Atlantic Monthly Ranks Colleges The Atlantic Monthly has published its first ranking of the nation's 50 most selective colleges.
His first ranking was at No. 1,002; it was 2003 when he cracked the Top 100.
It exploits the fact that the electoral commission, a hiring committee which produces a first ranking of applicants, is partly composed of faculty members drawn at random.
His aphorism is worth remembering while paging through this week's issue of U.S. News & World Report, which includes the magazine's first ranking of high schools.
The first ranking was launched in 2009.
