I have received a 1 2 3 before.
In my case, I believe it actually made sense.
I had a small band. There were many capable players in the woodwinds and trumpet sections, but a small and weak low brass section. It was crowned with a single tuba player who could play with a great sound but was wildly inconsistent. She could play all the parts fine one day and then another day be constantly loudly missing partials and doing wrong fingerings, even with notes written. I didn't have any other options on the low end so I kept her in. Unfortunately contest day was a bad day. I'm not saying the lower ratings were her fault, but I do believe that one judge focused more on the negative low brass sounds, one focused on the positive ww and trumpet sounds and the musicality they achieved, and one went in the middle.