There should not be wishful thinking that the ranking won’t matter. It will matter a lot at some colleges and the kids could be worse off in admission to those colleges.
But overall, I still believe that op did what was the best based on the outcome. The assumed better education they received would put them advantageous in admission to colleges ranking matters less or considers competitiveness of high schools. At either case, the kids would be better prepared for the college. College GPA matters too.
An advise I once heard: “Don’t worry too much, because any decision you make as parents will leave some permanent damage.”